Bradley Cooper Spent Six Years Learning How to Conduct ‘Six Minutes and 21 Seconds of Music’ for ‘Maestro’

Bradley Cooper is admitting just how “terrified” he was to portray Leonard Bernstein for the Netflix film “Maestro.”

Cooper, who also directed, produced, and co-wrote the feature, said during a special New York City tastemakers screening Q&A at the Whitby Hotel moderated by Lin-Manuel Miranda that he spent six years mastering how to conduct a six-minute sequence. The post-screening panel also included Cooper’s co-stars Matt Bomer and Carey Mulligan, and the movie debuted to a standing ovation.

More from IndieWire

• Emerald Fennell Wants to 'Get in on the Dinosaurs' and Make an 'Erotic' 'Jurassic Park' Movie

• In the 'Hunger Games' of Box Office, 'Napoleon' and 'Wish' Fall Short of #1 on a Holiday Weekend

The scene Cooper referenced captures Bernstein famously conducting the 1976 London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral.

“That scene I was so worried about because we did it live,” Cooper said. “That was the London Symphony Orchestra. I was recorded live, I had to conduct them. And I spent six years learning how to conduct six minutes and 21 seconds of music.”

Cooper credited his “wonderful teachers” for helping him reenact Bernstein’s conducting.

“I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely
Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976. And so I had that to study,” Cooper said. “And Yannick Nézet-Séguin made videos with all the tempo changes, so I had all of the materials to just work on.”

He added, “It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and then
inviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work. Because I think that I knew, I was terrified, absolutely terrified that if I hadn’t done the work that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in these scenes. And everybody did.”

Moderator Miranda credited Cooper’s “extraordinary” directing style that frames the film.

“The metaphor of a director as conductor is not lost on me in watching this,” Miranda said. “And obviously you love conducting in every sense. That sequence at the end is so insane and that she’s standing and then it pans just a little left and she’s there, I mean that is all one continuous sequence is really mind-boggling and incredible work.”

The “Hamilton” star especially applauded Cooper’s inclusion of a Dream Ballet film technique, something which Miranda said he thought “died with MGM musicals.”

“You brought it back and that means it’s fair game for the next guy,” Miranda said, “and that made me really happy.”

The screening was attended by Academy members and actors such as Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Chloë Grace Moretz, Brooke Shields, Mark Ronson, and Brian Cox.

“Maestro” debuted at the Venice Film Festival, screened at NYFF, and is set to premiere in theaters November 22, followed by a streaming release on Netflix December 20.

Best of IndieWire

• The Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now

• Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 54 Films the Director Wants You to See

• Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.