7 h. ago How John Bishop inspired Bradley Cooper’s new film Is This Thing On?

British comedian John Bishop became the inspiration for the new film Is This Thing On, directed by Bradley Cooper, after sharing his life story with a film producer at a nightclub in London.

Culture

24 h. ago Bradley Cooper reveals how John Bishop's life directly inspired his latest movie

Is This Thing On? is part-based on the life of British comedian John Bishop and was directed by Hollywood star and Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper

Culture

25 h. ago Bradley Cooper on how his new film was ‘directly’ influenced by British humour

Is This Thing On?, directed by Cooper, is part-inspired by the life of British comedian John Bishop.

Culture

4 d. ago Is This Thing On? review – Bradley Cooper’s comedy of comedians is a charmer

New York film festival: The actor’s third film as director is a gentle romcom of divorce and standup comedy with standout turns from Will Arnett and Laura DernHere’s a joke: a man walks into a bar and, to avoid paying a $15 cover, signs up for an open mic night. He’s in the midst of a divorce and a little high, a walking, middle-aged black rain cloud. He’s never done stand-up before. The punchline? He’s actually kinda good at it – rough around the edges, unpracticed, a little stiff but, under the glare of the spotlight, able to spin some of his pain into self-deprecating jokes and unforced laughs.It helps immensely that this man is played by Will Arnett, the gravelly voiced comedian and former BoJack Horseman who excels at masculine sad-sacks with self-flagellating charm. Like Arnett the celebrity podcast host, Arnett’s Alex is self-deprecating, subtle, effortlessly if dryly funny – in other words, easy to root for, even in the very midlife crisis pursuit of stand-up comedy. That’s ...

Culture

1 week ago Bossing it! The makers of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere on turning Jeremy Allen White into the rock icon

Springsteen’s 1982 lo-fi album Nebraska was recorded when the singer was battling with depression – but about to become a superstar. Now that pivotal period has been brought to the screen – with The Boss’s approvalTwo years ago, film director Scott Cooper and writer Warren Zanes were summoned to Bruce Springsteen’s house in New Jersey. In a sense, the meeting was a surprise: as Cooper notes, Springsteen was known for “saying no to every overture about making a film of his life since 1986”. But something about the screenplay Cooper had written had clearly piqued his interest. It was based on Zanes’ book Deliver Me from Nowhere, not a traditional career-spanning biography, but a forensically researched history of Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska, which Zanes calls “the greatest left-turn performed by someone who is operating at the top of the charts in musical history”.Released between Springsteen’s first US No 1 album, 1980’s The River, and the world-conquering Born in the USA in 19...

Events

last month High Noon heads for the West End as Billy Crudup takes on Gary Cooper role

The Tony award-winning actor will play the marshal in a London stage adaptation of the 1952 western that won Cooper an OscarBilly Crudup is to take on the role that won Gary Cooper an Oscar in a new stage adaptation of the 1952 western High Noon. Based on Carl Foreman’s screenplay, the production will receive its world premiere at the Harold Pinter theatre in London in December, providing a nail-biting alternative to Theatreland’s jollier festive fare.High Noon, once voted the greatest western ever made, unfolds in real time counting down to the noon arrival of a train in the town of Hadleyville in New Mexico. In the film, Cooper plays Will Kane, a newly married marshal on the brink of retirement, who hears that an outlaw is heading to town seeking vengeance. The drama explores the divide between personal concerns and public duty, not just through the marshal’s dilemma but also through the characters of his wife, Amy, and the townspeople whose support he seeks. Continue reading...

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