Bradley Cooper 'embarrassed' by Best Director Oscars SNUB

The actor's directorial debut failed to get an Academy nod
Natasha Sporn6 February 2019
The Weekender

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Bradley Cooper has admitted that he felt “embarrassed” when he was snubbed for Best Director at the Oscars .

The actor, who made his directorial debut with A Star Is Born, failed to get a nod from the Academy for his work – although the film itself scored seven nominations – leaving fans furious.

Cooper, 44, has admitted that he was left feeling rattled by the omission because he felt like he had failed in his first foray into directing.

“I was embarrassed. I was at a coffee shop in New York City and looked down at my phone and Nicole [Caruso, his publicist] has told me congratulations and said what we had been nominated for,” he said on Oprah Winfey’s SuperSoul Conversations from Times Square.

“They didn’t even give me the bad news. I was embarrassed because I felt I hadn’t done my job.”

A Star Is Born is up for Best Screenplay and Best Picture – finding itself in a similar situation to Ben Affleck’s directorial debut Argo which saw him snubbed.

Cooper, who stars as Jackson Maine in the film, is up for Best Actor while Lady Gaga, who stars opposite him as Ally, is also nominated in the Actress category. Shallow is up for Original song as is Sam Elliott for Supporting Actor.

In the months following the film’s release, Cooper has been nominated for both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his direction.

He has also won a National Board of Review award in the USA as well as two at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for Best Director and ones to watch.

In the same year as his omission, Affleck’s film scooped Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay – something that could be replicated by Cooper’s A Star Is Born.

Roma director Alfonso Cuaron, BlacKkKlansman’s Spike Lee, Vice's Adam McKay, The Favourite's Yorgos Lanthimos and Cold War’s Paweł Pawlikowski will all battle it out for Best Director.

Academy Awards 2019 Oscar Nominations - In pictures

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The 91st Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 24

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