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Bradley Cooper comedy 'Is This Thing On?' to close NYFF

Bradley Cooper comedy 'Is This Thing On?' to close NYFF

UPI30-07-2025
1 of 5 | Bradley Cooper arrives on the red carpet for the New York premiere of "If" in 2024. His film "Is This Thing On?" debuts at the New York Film Festival in October. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
July 30 (UPI) -- Bradley Cooper's film Is This Thing On? will make its global premiere on New York Film Festival's closing night.
The feature will make its debut Oct. 10 at Alice Tully Hall, the festival announced Wednesday.
"We are honored and humbled to premiere our film at the New York Film Festival. Earlier this year we had the wonderful opportunity to shoot this story all throughout the city, so it's very exciting to debut it on the closing evening of the festival," Cooper said in a statement. "NYC injects an energy into every aspect of filmmaking that just can't be replicated."
The film takes its inspiration from comedian John Bishop's true story.
Will Arnett and Laura Dern portray an unhappily married couple with two children who decide to break up.
"Their separation leads to unpredictable midlife self-reckonings, most dramatically in Alex's (Arnett) wild career pivot to become a confessional stand-up comedian in New York City's West Village, where he finds new direction and camaraderie," an official description reads.
The festival's artistic director, Dennis Lim, described the movie as "a fond tribute to New York City's comedy scene, a sensitive study of midlife discontent and a modern-day comedy of remarriage pitch-perfect in its balance of humor and feeling."
Bradley Cooper honored at American Cinematheque Awards
Actor and director Bradley Cooper of "A Star is Born" holds the American Cinematheque Award during a photo-op at the entertainment industries annual gala. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
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