Attendees at this year’s Venice Film Festival were granted front-row seats to witness headline writers the world over being handed a big red bow for their coverage of the premiere of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s new film A Star Is Born, when a giant metaphor struck the building in which it was being held.
Technically it was a bolt of lightning, but still, the point holds. As Variety reports, the festival audience was about halfway through the inaugural screening of Cooper’s directorial-debut remake of the Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand musical (he plays Kristofferson’s role and Gaga plays the Streisand part, though it might’ve been way more interesting if they had switched parts) when the Sala Grande theater was struck by lightning. It blew out the projector bulb, leading to a 15-minute delay before power was restored and the film continued. Gaga laughed and blew kisses during the unexpected intermission, perhaps sensing her good luck at receiving the blessing of the universe for her latest role.
If early reviews are any indication, the verdict rendered by the heavens is accurate: Variety’s own critic Owen Gleiberman describes it as “a total emotional knockout…this is what movies are all about.”EW’s Tim Stack calls it his “favorite movie of the year so far.” And there’s still a month to go before it’s released, meaning plenty more time for other critics to throw their own lightning bolts of praise—with presumably at least a couple tepid late-afternoon fogs of response as well.