Kazu Hiro, make-up designer on Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, has responded to the controversy around the nose of Cooper’s lead character Leonard Bernstein, saying “I feel sorry that I hurt some people’s feelings.”
Speaking at the press conference in Venice for the Competition title, Hiro said “I wasn’t expecting [the controversy] to happen. My goal and Bradley’s goal was to portray Lennie [Bernstein] as authentically as possible.
“Lennie had a really iconic look that everybody knows,” said Hiro, who earlier revealed that the older version of Bernstein required five hours of make-up per day, with Cooper insisting on starting the process at 2am so shooting could start on time at 7am. “There are so many pictures out there, because he was photogenic too. He also inspired so many people.
“So we wanted to respect and love that look, including what’s going on inside. That’s why we did several different tests and went through lots of decisions, and that was the outcome in the movie. That was our intention.”
When a first-look of Cooper’s character was revealed in May 2022, the shape of the character’s nose was the subject of criticism from certain quarters, with some critics suggesting the size of the nose played into anti-Semitic stereotypes.
The criticisms returned when the first trailer for the film was released on August 15 this year. The Bernstein family responded to these criticisms the following day, releasing a statement defending Cooper’s use of prosthetics in the film. The criticisms echoed those around Helen Mirren’s character of former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir in Golda, with Mirren also wearing significant prosthetics.
Hiro revealed that the make-up for the younger version of Bernstein took two hours and 15 minutes to apply; and five hours for the older man. He had begun talking to Cooper prior to the pandemic, and started design for the character in August 2020; the pandemic-induced delays gave him time to do make-up and film tests, “to find the best answer for the look for Lennie.”
Due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the Venice press conference took place without writer-director-actor Cooper or any of his cast, including Carey Mulligan, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman and Matt Bomer.
Their places were taken by several key crew, including Hiro, costume designer Mark Bridges, casting director Shayna Markowitz, sound mixer Steven Morrow, conducting consultant Yannick Nezet-Seguin, editor Michelle Tesoro, production designer Kevin Thompson – plus Bernstein’s daughter Jamie Bernstein, played by Hawke in the film.
Morrow revealed that Mulligan was number one on the call sheet, with the film focusing in large part on her character of Bernstein’s wife Felicia.
Maestro is written by Cooper and Josh Singer; it is scheduled for release on Netflix on December 20, 2023.
The film has its world premiere in the Sala Grande in Competition at 19.00 CET. Venice continues until Saturday, September 9.
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