The film chroniclesBad Blake, a down-and-out country singer/songwriter. Once a rising force, he’sbecome encumbered with numerous ex-wives and a serious drinking problem. Theerstwhile star has been reduced to the status of a dissolute vagabond. Baddrives a battered Dodge to a litany of demeaning gigs in bowling alleys andbars, where he’s backed up by local pick-up bands.
The 39-year-oldCooper was born and raised in the artistic community of Abingdon,Va., in the Blue Ridge Mountains. “I cut my teeth on bluegrass musicians, listening toBill Monroe, Ralph Stanley and Doc Watson,” he recounts in a mild Southernaccent. Originally, Cooper had hoped to do a straight biopic of Merle Haggard.Instead, he ended up adapting the novel by Thomas Cobb.
“I tried to staytrue to the spirit of the novel, but if you’re a filmmaker, you try topersonalize it in what you want to say,” Cooper notes. “I took liberties bypersonalizing it as I know it, basing things on people I knew, who suffered throughalcoholism or some of the great radio heroes I grew up on and how they wroteabout their life experiences. You use the novel as a blueprint and embellishfrom there. I made it fictionalized as opposed to a straight biopic.”
How did Cooper seguefrom a struggling actor to writing and helming a feature film? It seeminglystems from his relationship with actor/director/producer Robert Duvall, who hedescribes as his “mentor.” The two men met on the set of the Civil War epic Gods and Generals. Duvall portrayed Gen.Robert E. Lee, while Cooper was relegated to a significantly less substantiverole.
“After seeing mywork, Duvall thought I should have had one of the lead roles,” Cooper says. “Hereally liked my approach to the work. He likes actors and directors who don’tpush the emotion.
“I had dinner withhim soon thereafter,” Cooper continues. “We ended up becoming very close. Weshared similar tastes in actors and films. I ended up getting married on hisfarm in Virginia.I’m blessed to now have a 10-year relationship with him. I count him as one ofmy closest friends.”
As the protagonistof Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges won theGolden Globe as best actor and is widely touted as the prohibitive favorite foran Oscar in the same category. Cooper wrote the role specifically for Bridges.Cooper recounted that when Duvall expressed interest in producing the film, “Itold him if I can’t get Jeff Bridges, I shouldn’t make this movie. He was theonly one who could play this part. He’s a musician and very good guitarist andshares the physicality of people like Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.”
Cooper describes thecollaborative relationship he developed with Bridges: “We worked very closelyfor a year, working on the music together and shaping the character. I inundatedhim with music that influenced me while writing. I gave him lots of concertfootage of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings performing. So he really embodiedthat outlaw sensibility of these guys.”
Referencing thecountry supergroup of Cash, Jennings,Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, Cooper says Bad Blake “would have beenthe fifth member of The Highwaymen.”
Crazy Heartwas made under the aegis of Paramount Vantage. However, the studio folded. Itappeared that the film was doomed to go directly to DVD without the benefit ofa theatrical release. Fortunately, that dubious distinction was averted whenthe film was picked up by Fox Searchlight.
“I guess that I wasborn under a lucky star,” Cooper says.
