Leonard Bernstein’s Children Discuss Biopic ‘Maestro’

Legendary composer Leonard Bernstein’s children, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina, attended the Venice Film Festival premiere of Bradley Cooper’s biopic Maestro, which covered their father’s life and career. They later were interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom, giving their perspectives on the film’s production and their respect for Cooper’s direction, performance, and passion.

At the premiere, the trio welcomed a nearly seven-minute standing ovation with their playful impersonations of their father’s conducting style. They all did it out of good fun, but they also couldn’t help but feel they were reliving their childhoods and resurrecting Leonard. “We just did what used to happen when the Overture of Candide was on TV; we watched our father and imitated him in the living room,” Nina reminisced.

Most of the film’s production had those moments where they felt they were bringing back the past in a shockingly tangible way. For instance, there were scenes where the younger Bernstein children were talking on their family estate lawn. The production crew shot on the real Bernstein estate, giving the real Bernsteins a surreal moment where they saw their lives play out. Alexander recounted how Nina described “those dreams you have when you’re in your house, but it somehow isn’t your house.” Alexander felt it was a dream since his “parents were there, but they sort of weren’t [his] parents.”

The biopic endured a long, arduous journey from development to distribution. Multiple directors and writers were assigned to the project, though they eventually had to move on. Even Martin Scorses was signed on at one instance. Even so, the siblings did not give up on the project, sticking with producers Fred Berner and Amy Durning throughout the process.

They soon came across their miracle in the shape of Steven Spielberg after his recent remake of West Side Story. When Bradley Cooper was brought onto the project, the Bernsteins were impressed by his passion and creative choices. “[T]he more Bradley got involved in the project, the more he talked to us, the more he felt the story was his,” Alexander recalled. After Jamie watched Cooper’s direction and acting in A Star is Born, all three realized they had found the perfect person to bring their father’s story to life.

While the final film brought about complicated emotions, the siblings showed gratitude for Cooper’s work. Jamie said, “There was an atmosphere of mutual trust.”