Netflix Released a Teaser for Bradley Cooper's Leonard Bernstein Film

Bradley Cooper proved a while ago that he is as capable a director (and producer and writer) as he is an actor—we're of course referring to A Star Is Born, his critically acclaimed 2018 hit with Lady Gaga. For his second directorial project, the multi-hyphenate talent is taking on another musical legend: Leonard Bernstein.

In the photos—and a new teaser, above—released from Maestro, an upcoming Netflix biopic, Cooper, who is also starring in and writing the movie, is unrecognizable in character as the great American composer and conductor. The film will focus on the relationship between Bernstein and actress Felicia Montealegre, who will be portrayed by Carey Mulligan. (Succession's Jeremy Strong and Little Women's Maya Hawke are also part of the cast, while Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are producers.)

Bernstein, who would go on to compose West Side Story and become the youngest ever music director of the New York Philharmonic, was a rising star when he met Montealegre at a party in 1946. They were soon engaged but called it off. In 1951 they reunited, married, and had three children.

The couple's time together (until her death in 1978) was tumultuous, marked by Bernstein's private struggles with his homosexuality. Still, by most accounts, the two loved each other. They were also fabulous entertainers: One particular party they threw in their Park Avenue duplex for the Black Panthers was infamously chronicled by Tom Wolfe in his essay, "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's."

Maestro is set to be released in theaters this November (and on Netflix on December 20). Given Cooper's successful track record, not to mention Hollywood's love of an extreme transformation story (see: Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye, Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, all award-winning portrayals), our expectations are inevitably high. Stay tuned for updates.

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