Jon Jon & Co.

Critic's Corner: A Star Is Born
By Jon Jon Lannen

There was not just one star that came out of the premiere of A Star Is Born; two stars were born. Bradley Cooper's stellar directorial debut, starring the iconic Lady Gaga, introduced the legendary story to a new generation of movie-goers. In short, Cooper and Gaga have catapulted themselves into Oscar territory with their performances in A Star Is Born.

A Star Is Born premiered October 5th and earned $43 million in the first weekend - and has grossed millions more since. Along with the film, Lady Gaga wrote many of the songs on the soundtrack of A Star Is Born. This is the fourth version of this movie; the other three included 1937's starring Janet Gaynor & Fredric March,1954's starring Judy Garland & James Mason and 1976's starring Barbara Streisand & Kris Kristofferson. The movie was a riveting piece of art and will surely prove it during the next awards season.

That Podcast hosts LPiddy and Jon Jon were invited to the premiere of A Star Is Born, along with having the honor of awarding loyal listeners tickets. At the end of September, Jon Jon gave away a pair of tickets to one lucky winner who tweeted #LipsyncforyourLaugh and #AStarIsBorn. The winning team of Lipsync for your Laugh all won a pair of tickets, totaling six. Around that time, there was there was an online contest by That Podcast with LPiddy and Jon Jon.

Bradley Cooper's cast and crew was star-studded, most notably RuPaul's Drag Race superstars Shangela & Willam, Lady Gaga as Ally, the female lead, Bradley Cooper as Jack, the male lead, the infamous "Diceman" (Andrew Dice Clay) as Ally's Father, Lorenzo and Noodles was portrayed by comedian Dave Chappelle. Sam Elliot, Anthony Ramos and Rafi Gavron also had wonderful performances A Star Is Born.

To listen to the episode of #ThatPodcast where LPiddy and Jon Jon dish on A Star Is Born, see below:

The movie was raw, emotional and, ultimately, touching. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's love story as Ally ad Jack take the viewers on a roller-coaster of feelings. Along with the pure connections, the conversation surrounding substance abuse in the artistic community was wonderfully depicted.

I have never cried in a movie theater; this movie made me cry like a baby.


The official A Star Is Born synopsis:
'In “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and the heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive. In this new take on the iconic love story, four-time Oscar nominee Cooper (“American Sniper,” “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”;), makes his directorial debut, and also stars alongside multiple award-winning, Oscar-nominated music superstar Gaga in her first leading role in a major motion picture. Cooper portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally. She has given up on her dream to become a successful singer, until she meets Jack, who immediately sees her natural talent. The film also stars Andrew Dice Clay (“Blue Jasmine”;), with Dave Chappelle (“Ch-Raq” and Sam Elliott, whose nearly 50-year career includes standout performances in such films as “Mask,” “Tombstone” and, most recently, “The Hero.” In addition to playing Ally, Gaga—who earned an Oscar nod for the song “Til It Happens to You” from the film “The Hunting Ground”—performs original songs in the film with Cooper, which they wrote with a handful of artists, including Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell and Mark Ronson. The music is original and all vocals for the movie were recorded live during filming. “A Star Is Born” was produced by Bill Gerber, Jon Peters, Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips and Lynette Howell Taylor. Ravi Mehta, Basil Iwanyk, Niija Kuykendall, Sue Kroll, Michael Rapino and Heather Parry served as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Oscar winner Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump” and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters. Cooper’s behind-the-scenes team included Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“Black Swan”;), production designer Karen Murphy (“The Light Between Oceans”;), three-time Oscar-nominated editor Jay Cassidy (“American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Into the Wild”;), and costume designer Erin Benach (“Loving”;). Warner Bros. Pictures Presents, in association with Live Nation Productions, in association with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, a Jon Peters/Bill Gerber/Joint Effort Production, “A Star Is Born.” The film is slated for release on October 5, 2018, and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is rated R for language throughout, some sexuality/nudity and substance abuse.'