Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper literally brought the thunder as “A Star Is Born” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Friday when the venue was struck by lightning causing technical difficulties.
Midway through the screening, the venue was apparently struck by lightning that caused the screen to go dark and the sound turned off, according to multiple individuals at the premiere who tweeted.
The movie was said to have gone black in the middle of the screening around 8:30 p.m. local time for about 20 minutes. When the projector came back on, attendees cheered and gave thunderous applause.
LADY GAGA IS ELECTRIFYING. Literally. I’m in Venice for the film festival and sitting in the audience at the premiere of “A Star is Born,” and the theater was just struck by lightning—no joke—and damaged the projection. And now we’re all waiting for it to start. ⚡️🇮🇹
— Derek Blasberg (@DerekBlasberg) August 31, 2018
Spectacular lightning storm over Venice right now, and this just happens to be the moment when A Star Is Born is having its premiere. Coincidence? Yes. But look, rationalists can admire this film too #Venezia75
— Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) August 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/GerrickKennedy/status/1035602720277712896
Meanwhile, critics are raving about Bradley Cooper’s remake co-starring Lady Gaga, giving the film a score of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
TheWrap’s film critic Alonso Duralde wrote, “For all the reasons that a fourth iteration of ‘A Star Is Born’ — fifth, if you count the 1932 drama ‘What Price Hollywood?’ whose DNA is in every ‘Star’ — shouldn’t and wouldn’t work in 2018, it’s an extraordinary surprise that this new version packs such a wallop … Between Bradley Cooper (as a filmmaker) and Lady Gaga (as a big-screen lead), the title applies to both of them.”
In the film, Cooper plays seasoned musician Jackson Maine who discovers struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She is about to give up on her dream of being a singer until Maine coaxes her into the spotlight. But when Ally’s career takes off, Jackson has to fight against his own inner demons.
The film co-stars Sam Elliott, comedian Dave Chappelle and Andrew Dice Clay. Bill Gerber, Jon Peters, Cooper, Todd Phillips and Lynette Howell Taylor are producing, while Ravi Mehta, Basil Iwanyk, Niija Kuykendall, Sue Kroll, Michael Rapino and Heather Parry serve as executive producers.
Cooper, Eric Roth and Will Fetters wrote the screenplay. Following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, “A Star Is Born” is slated for release on Oct. 5, 2018.