The internet was on fire after the trailer of ‘Maestro’ came out. People quickly pointed out Bradley Cooper using a prosthetic nose to play Leonard Bernstein. Despite Cooper having support from Bernstein’s children, the prosthetic has been deemed culturally insensitive and thoughtless.

‘Maestro’ has received widespread praise after its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival this year. Despite the celebration, the film’s makeup artist, Kazu Hiro, had to apologize for the prosthetic. It remains to be seen if this controversy will affect the film’s chances in the coming awards season.

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‘Maestro’ Makeup Artist Kazu Hiro Expresses Regret For The’Jewface’ Controversy

The objective of some art isn’t to offend but to create beauty in the world. It comes from a good place, which is what happened with ‘Maestro.’ Kazu Hiro, who worked on the makeup for Bradley Cooper‘s upcoming film, didn’t realize the movie would garner such controversy. He addressed the controversy during the Saturday press conference at the Venice Film Festival, apologizing for “hurting some people’s feelings.”

Kazu Hiro told the reporters, “I wasn’t expecting that to happen… I feel sorry that I hurt some people’s feelings. My goal was and Bradley’s goal was to portray Lenny as authentic as possible. Lenny had a really iconic look that everybody knows — there’s so many pictures out there because he’s photogenic, too — such a great person and also inspired so many people. So we wanted to respect the look too, on the inside. So that’s why we did several different tests and went through lots of decisions and that was the outcome in the movie.”

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‘Maestro’ Receives Warm Reception At The Venice Film Festival

‘Maestro’ is off to a cracking start. Variety has reported that Bradley Cooper’s second directorial venture received a rousing, seven-minute applause as the screening ended. Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan were noticeably absent due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. But the Bernstein children, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Maria Felicia were there to receive love from the audience.

Bradley Cooper writes, directs, and stars in ‘Maestro,’ based on the life of Leonard Bernstein. A once-in-a-lifetime musical talent, he was the first American-born conductor to lead a major American symphony orchestra. The film will be available in select theatres starting November 22, 2023. ‘Maestro’ will be available to stream on Netflix on December 20, 2023.

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