A Star Is Born Trailer: Bradley Cooper Makes His Directorial Debut

A Star is Born is a movie about debuts, both in the text and outside of it. For Bradley Cooper, it's his first gig as director. For Lady Gaga, it's her first headlining role. And if pre-release buzz is to be believed, the movie just might be a triumph for them both.

A perennial story with versions filmed in 1937, 1954, 1976, and now, Cooper's A Star is Born follows the actor in the lead role as a country music singer who meets his muse while in the middle of a personal decline. 

Sitting at a peak of popularity, he's looking at a future where there's nowhere to go but down. But as he descends deeper into alcoholism and depression, he also helps to pull a young unknown singer up into the spotlight, sparking a relationship that will change both of their lives.

Cooper has come a long way as an actor since he rose to leading man notoriety with 2009's The Hangover. While he's become known for both dramatic work in the vein of Silver Linings Playbook and more light-hearted fare like Guardians of the Galaxy, he's never before helmed a motion picture as director — but from the look of this trailer, he has a remarkably sure hand for a novice.

Gaga — real name Stefani Germanotta, but you knew that — has pivoted into acting at a measured pace, starting with small roles in Machete Kills and the Sin City sequel before landing a regular role in Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story. Now, she's putting all her talents to use at once in a big-screen debut as a leading lady.

In addition to Cooper and Gaga, the movie stars Sam Elliott, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay, and Bonnie Somerville, among others — including some fan-favorite contestants from RuPaul's Drag Race, of all things. So don't you go be thinking that this movie can't surprise you. 

As much as you may want to resist it, A Star is Born really looks like it might have what it takes to make some beautiful noise, come awards season. Check out the trailer above, and size up the flick for yourself when it makes its debut on October 5.