00:00 - So how long do we have to do this for?
00:01 - Well, we need to build up a very strong connection.
00:04 - Following the debut of the teaser trailer for "Maestro"
00:12 directed by and starring Bradley Cooper
00:14 as Leonard Bernstein,
00:16 the legendary conductor and composer's children
00:18 are defending the film
00:19 against online charges of anti-Semitism.
00:22 The criticism pertains to Cooper wearing a prosthetic nose
00:25 to play Bernstein, who was Jewish.
00:27 Twitter users were quick to call out the aesthetic choice,
00:29 posting side-by-side photos of Cooper's Bernstein
00:32 and his real-life counterpart,
00:33 with some pointing out the prosthetic nose
00:35 was larger than Bernstein's own.
00:37 The online conversation has furthered the ongoing debate
00:40 about who should be able to play Jewish roles,
00:42 as Cooper is not Jewish.
00:44 The conductor's children, Jamie, Alexander,
00:46 and Nina Bernstein, released a joint statement
00:49 in response to the criticism that reads, in part,
00:51 "It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations
00:54 or misunderstandings of Cooper's efforts."
00:56 They went on to say,
00:57 "Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance,
01:00 and we're perfectly fine with that.
01:02 We're also certain that our dad
01:03 would have been fine with it as well."
01:05 They added, "Any strident complaints around this issue
01:08 strike us above all as disingenuous attempts
01:10 to bring a successful person down a notch,
01:12 a practice we observed all too often perpetrated
01:15 on our own father."
01:16 The Hollywood Reporter has reached out
01:18 to Cooper's reps for comment.
01:19 "Netflix, which is releasing Maestro," referred THR
01:22 to the statement from Bernstein's children
01:24 on the Leonard Bernstein Twitter account.
01:26 For more on this story, go to thr.com.
01:28 This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
01:30 (explosion)
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