Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 4, 2022

AsNetflix released the first stills from the set of Maestro,Bradley Coopers upcoming biopic film about Leonard Bernstein, there was one thing most fans could agree about.

Cooper looked utterly unrecognizable, especially in one image as an elderly version of the iconic Jewish conductor.

From the set of MAESTRO. pic.twitter.com/y3qsYILk6P

NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) May 30, 2022

But as legions of angry social media users pointed out on Monday, part of Coopers transformation involved a prosthetic nose, something that many found to be antisemitic especially since Cooper is not Jewish.

Theres no reason to believe that the decision to wear a fake nose is a deliberately antisemitic act, wrote James Hirsh, a co-host of the Menschwarmers podcast about Jewish athletes, in theCanadian Jewish News. Cooper is presumably interested in exploring the life of a great composer whom he admires. A number of Jews are involved in the production. And the prosthesis arguably helps with the resemblance.

But this is Coopers third time portraying a historical figure on screen, Hirsh added. No prosthetics were used to play American Snipers Chris Kyle or Licorice Pizzas Jon Peters. He didnt use them to play the Elephant Man on Broadway.

Hirsh was far from alone in calling out the prosthetic.

Thisfeels antisemitic. Y'all couldn't find a single actor with those features? I'm not picky, he could be greek, italian, Turkish, whatever. But likeBradley Cooper in prosthetic Mediterranean features? https://t.co/udoMzOdbDT

Usdi Crittenden (@LilUsdi) May 30, 2022

"jews run hollywood" and yet i have to see leonard bernstein played by bradley cooper in an obscene gigantic nose prosthetic. cool.

shoshana gottlieb || (@TheTonightSho) May 31, 2022

Sigh. My question, "How many pounds of latex would it take to make Bradley Cooper into an elderly Jewish man?" was supposed to be rhetorical.

The answer, BTW, is "Enough latex that somebody should probably find it a hair problematic." https://t.co/4sI5HGNwBG

Daniel Fienberg (@TheFienPrint) May 30, 2022

Even though actors frequently adapt their bodies while playing historical figures, conversations about how manynon-Jews play Jewish characters in Hollywood and on what scale that should be allowed have circulated for years.

But theJewface debatereceived a boost last year, especially after non-Jewish actress Kathryn Hahn was cast as the outspokenly Jewish comedy pioneer Joan Rivers (in a series that was eventually dropped). ComedianSarah Silverman made headlines by berating the casting, saying Right now, representation f***ing matters on an episode of her podcast.

The Bernstein biopic discourse has been particularly charged since 2018, when Cooper and Steven Spielberg who was first slated to direct Maestro, before it became Coopers directorial follow-up to his 2016 hit remake of A Star Is Born beat out the actor-director team of Jake Gyllenhaal and Cary Fukunagain securing the music rights from Bernsteins estate.

In talking about the Bernstein sweepstakesin an interview last year, Gyllenhaal who like Spielberg is Jewish mentioned Bernsteins Jewishness in admitting defeat.

Sticking your neck out, hoping to get to tell the stories you love and that have been in your heart for a very long time is something to be proud of. And that story, that idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America and his struggle with his identity was in my heart for 20 some odd years, but sometimes those things dont work out, he told Deadline.

Production on Maestro, which co-stars Carey Mulligan as Bernsteins wife Felicia Montealegre, started this month. The film will likely be released in 2023.

See the original post here:

Bradley Cooper in prosthetic nose reignites Jewish representation debate - The Jewish News of Northern California

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