Also, its weird to see so many commenters here are attempting to play the Candice Owens token card:
“Well, I’m a member of ‘persecuted group X’, and I don’t see a problem!”
Just like Black people, other POC, Trans-people and anyone who is considered OTHER: Jewish folks are NOT monolithic, and just because certain individuals are ‘not offended’ doesn’t mean that the stated actions are somehow inoffensive and not rooted in bigotry.
Self hatred is one of the most insidious forms of hatred, IME.
Jewish actors in Hollywood have had to downplay or deny their Jewishness in order to get decent roles, or even any roles at all. You don’t become an A-list actor if you don’t get roles. Virtually all of the A-list actors are not Jewish. Thus, the argument that a film ‘needs’ an A-list actor will always result in a non-Jewish actor playing the part. And around and around we go.
… or just wear your own face and don’t worry about it, like Anthony Hopkins playing Nixon 
Damn, I’m 5’9". And not much of a composer though I did some music theory classes that required creating some counterpoint, etc.
So you’re not a fan of the “looks like Hannibal Lecter wearing Nixon’s face” portrayal in Watchmen?
LB was a handsome dude with a nose to match. It all worked together. Full review pending – from the little I’ve seen in the trailer, BC seems to be going with something close enough to LB’s distinctive look.
bit of a pushback
Wow. I could not disagree more with literally everything in that article.
I swear gentiles seem to be more up in arms about this than us and it’s weirdly uncomfortable, especially describing Cooper’s nice strong nose is the Nazi hooked antisemitic caricature given it looks like my damn nose.
So, as a “music person,” LB has been a part of my world, when I’ve liked him and when I haven’t, since I was a kid - the Young People’s Concerts are some of my earliest memories of TV. What struck me about the trailer was not the size of the nose - didn’t notice that because I was too busy being shocked, then taken in, by the resemblance, especially to the older Bernstein - add the voice and it’s easy to forget the actor and just buy in to watching and listening. If the makeup helps create such a credible illusion in the service of story, what’s the kvetch?
I think it just the young black and white scene in the trailer people are objecting to, because the parts where he’s older are… I honestly wasn’t sure if it was Cooper or not for a minute.
I mean seriously. The mannerisms, the speech… they could be brothers.
Plenty of us are not happy, but it’s not a 100% thing either way. It’s been a kerfuffle in a lot of online Jewish spaces. (side note, I only recently learned that kerfuffle wasn’t Yiddish) but, you know, two Jews three opinions.
I personally think it’s really not a good look, and that cooper, who directed, produced, and beat out a Jewish actor who was angling for the rights to film, should absolutely have known better. He played the elephant man without prosthetics but Bernstein was a bridge too far? But the family signed off on it all, and they’re defending him. So… it’s complicated.
As for me, I’m more offended by the depiction of Jews in Mrs. Maisel.
Sure, Cooper played the Elephant Man without prosthetics, in a play where that’s both practical and expected. A movie is not just a play though and people expect more.
Bernstein’s nose was one of his iconic features and he was proud of it. This idea that we should avoid displaying it’s equal in a biopic because the actor needs a little help measuring up? Even most Jews would needed help in the nasal department, including Gyllenhaal.
Rami Malek probably would have been a good Freddie Mercury without the teeth prosthetic, but with it? He became instantly recognizable.
I thought the teeth were a bad move for Malek too.
Sticking to Cooper thought, one of the things is that the prosthetic is cartoonishly larger than Bernstein’s actual nose. Cooper’s actual nose is closer to Bernstein’s than the prosthetic, it’s not close. The prosthetic makes him look less like Bernstein (and Gyllenhaal would have been a better match if you were going for similarity of features, but I don’t, personally, actually need that for a biopic depiction). A movie isn’t a play. They’re completely different mediums, but what is “more” here? Higher production value? No, different production value. Makeup will be different because you can get in for a closeup in a way you can’t on stage, but that actually argues against a larger nose on film. On stage, you need to play to the whole house. It is a different sort of intimacy than film. The intimacy of presence vs the intimacy of proximity. Film rewards a performance that actually pulls back.
I’ll also admit that I’m sensitive on this front as I’ve lost count of the number of assholes who find out I’m Jewish and respond by saying, “Oh, I should have known from the nose.” I get my nose from my Scotch-Canadian father, and it’s not stereotypically Jewish looking, it’s just big. But antisemites gonna antisemite.
More is the ability to get the audience to suspend disbelief and completely fall into the story and forgetting the actor isn’t actually the person they’re playing.
My experience isn’t quite the same as my nose is rather like Bernstein’s and no one ever mistook me for anything but Jewish because of it. I remember being incredibly embarrassed by it when I was younger and feeling absolutely certain I would die alone if I didn’t get it fixed. I eventually learned to love my nose, but it took far longer than I care to admit.
For me, having a film starring one of the most attractive men alive embrace having a large strong nose and pulls it off feels good. The calls for a portrayal without such a prominent nose feel way too close to the shame I had when I was younger about my own. The same pressure my own mother bowed to when she had her nose done so she wouldn’t stand out.
Honestly… I’d even suggest more nose prosthetics for other movie roles. Perhaps James Bond could sport a stronger bridge? Just throwing it out there…
Never mind the nose, isn’t there supposed to be some kind of strike going on?
Yeah. They put out movies regardless since they’re already done. The actors skip doing promotion which hurts everyone involved.
Well, except maybe Barbie. I seriously can’t imagine it doing even better than it did even without the SAG strike.
Still, I guess Cooper broke since he responded to the criticism? Not sure if that counts as working.
If James Bond needs anything it’s a full, luxurious mat of chest hair. I realize that not every actor is gifted with Sean Connery’s physique but the technology is available to supplement those that need it.
