How much access did Leonard Bernstein’s family give Bradley Cooper during the filming of ‘Maestro?’

Bradley Cooper’s latest directorial effort, ‘Maestro,’ centred around the life and times of the great American composer Leonard Bernstein, is already doing the rounds on the film festival circuit after its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. But a recent interview by the family members reveals just how in-depth his filmmaking efforts went.

Speaking to Variety, the surviving family members recounted the access they gave to Cooper, including one particular item of clothing that once belonged to Bernstein that itself has managed to earn a cameo in the feature film. “I had a FaceTime call come in, and I didn’t recognize the number. But I chanced it, and it was my father as an old man!” Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein, one of Bernstein’s three children, recalled. 

“Obviously, that was not my father as an old man, it was Bradley. I could not stop laughing. He had the cigarette and the glasses, it was so spot on.” One of the items that Cooper was allowed to use was their father's medicine case and their mother's gold cigarette lighter, though we’re unsure if he lit said cigarette during the FaceTime call with the lighter.

During the making of ‘Maestro,’ the family allowed Cooper full access to Bernstein’s personal belongings, including a bathrobe once worn by the composer which Cooper adorns during the film. “There was a bathrobe that he actually wore in some of the footage,” Jamie Bernstein told Variety after they attended the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival on Monday evening. “And there was a dress of our mother’s that Carey [Mulligan] wore.”

Cooper was allowed to film scenes in the family's country house in Fairfield, Connecticut, which housed a home studio that Bernstein used to get away from the hustle and bustle of New York City. The home was featured in a New York Times editorial that focused on Jamie Bernstein earlier this year.

When does ‘Maestro’ arrive on Netflix?

'Maestro' is scheduled to begin streaming on Netflix from December 20 2023 after a short run in selected theatres beforehand - in order to qualify for the 2024 Academy Awards race.