Bradley Cooper has received some backlash after revealing that he didn’t provide seats to his employees when he worked as a film director.
The 48-year-old actor has been promoting the second movie that he both directed and starred in, Maestro. He had initially received critical acclaim after making his directorial debut with A Star Is Born, in 2018.
Speaking to Spike Lee for Variety’s Directors on Directors series, Bradley explained that he doesn’t have any chairs on set because he believes they cause “energy dips.”
Bradley Cooper recently revealed that he doesn’t have any chairs on set because he believes they cause “energy dips”
Recalling the times some filmmakers had recognized Bradley’s capacity to “think in terms of the whole”, and therefore assisting at times closely behind the camera, he explained: “For me, it was such a natural transition, once I had the courage to write and direct a movie.
“But when I direct, I don’t watch playback. There’s no chairs. I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair. There’s no video village.”
The star opened up about his experience acting and directing on his latest film, “Maestro,” which centers around the life of composer Leonard Bernstein
Many people took offense to the interview, with some saying that Bradley’s rules on set were “ableist”, referring to the discrimination and social prejudice against people with physical or mental disabilities.
As a result, The Hangover star’s quotes were shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), sparking outrage, as a person wrote: “I think every single person on set should get a provided chair, not just cast/video village because working 12 hour+ days without being allowed to sit down is inhumane.”
“I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair,” Bradley explained in a Variety interview
Another X user commented: “Sorry but even completely able-bodied people are not performing at their artistic best when they’ve been standing for 14 hours.”
A separate individual chimed in: “For Bradley Cooper and everyone else who needs to to [sic] hear it, you get the best work out of folks when they feel safe, included, and their needs are met. If you have to create harsh conditions to get people to work, you are simply not good at leading. It’s a skill issue.”
An additional person echoed the same views and penned: “I understand the artistic reasons not to have a video village and fully support that. But let the people sit, man. They work hard for you.
“They stand most of the time. We all know there is downtime on film sets no matter how efficiently you shoot. Let the people sit.”
Bradley spoke to Spike Lee for Variety’s Directors on Directors series
Other irritated online readers point to the newly published video footage of the interview, which shows Bradley joking about sitting on “apple boxes” instead of a chair.
The comment, which ultimately suggests that sitting down isn’t banned in its entirety, was not included in the write-up of the interview.
On X, a person highlighted Bradley’s comment and wrote: “Yeah apple boxes are not a very nice way to sit. If you work a set for 12 hours you should be able to have breaks and sit down comfortably.”
He also revealed that he didn’t allow Bernstein’s children to be present on set
Meanwhile, on YouTube, the interview was well received by viewers as a person commented: “Just wonderful to see Bradley’s passion and work ethic in this interview. looking forward to him building an amazing body of work and getting a special lifetime Oscar at 60.”
Bradley has received a total of nine Oscar nominations at the Academy Awards but has never won any so far.
Maestro, which is now playing in select theaters before streaming on Netflix on December 20, centers around the life and career of composer Leonard Bernstein. It also recounts his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein.
You can watch the interview below:
According to Buzzfeed, Bradley worked closely with Leonard and Felicia’s children during the making of the film but has been open about the strict boundaries that he had on set.
As well as forbidden chairs, Bradley also admitted that although he allowed the children to read over his scripts and have an input in how their parents would be portrayed on screen, he didn’t allow them to be present for any of the filming.
In the interview for Variety, the filmmaker said: “When we shoot the movie, no one’s allowed on set,” before clarifying that producer Steven Spielberg was the only exception.
Bradley further explained: “Steven Spielberg came three times, but other than him, there’s nobody. It has to be a sanctuary.”
Many people reacted negatively to Bradley’s comments
