The trailer alone for A Star Is Born is enough to warrant some tears, and we already knew the movie would be a whole other ballgame. Now, Lady Gaga just revealed a heartbreaking story that's going to make one of the most moving moments in the film even more powerful. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the singer recalled the emotional experience behind a scene in which her character, Ally, sings a ballad at the Shrine in Los Angeles.
"My very, very, very dear friend Sonja died of cancer that day," she recalled of filming the scene. "We were supposed to shoot in, like, 30 minutes, and I left the set because her husband called me and I could hear her in the background and I just got in the car and drove. I missed her by 15 minutes and she died. I literally laid with her, with her husband, and their dog, and his son… When I came back, Bradley was so gentle with me and we got through it. I performed the song. He was like, 'You don’t have to do it again. It’s okay.' All I ever wanted to do was sing. I’ll never forget that day. It was really a special scene, and I’ll always remember that moment." Gaga, née Stefani Germanotta, is referring to former Haus of Gaga creative coordinator Sonja Durham, who died in May of last year.
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It's this kind of healing that co-star and co-writer Bradley Cooper hopes people take from the film. He told EW that he hopes audiences watch the movie and "recognise that trauma is real, and traumatic events that occur especially early in life, if they’re not dealt with and aided, will have ramifications that go on and on and on and on."
A Star Is Born hits UK cinemas 5th October. Watch the trailer below: