While Bradley Cooper received advice and inspiration on his role as Jackson Maine in his new film A Star As Born from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, there are also some striking similarities between Jackson and late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Jackson’s beard and hairstyle resembles both Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell, and his guitar looks very similar to Cornell’s signature green Gibson guitar. He also wears a dog tag pendant, like Cornell did. Also a spoiler to those who have not seen the film, but Jackson tragically dies in a suicide by hanging at the end of the film, though this is likely a coincidence as the film was written before Cornell and other celebrities passed away, and started filming shortly before his death.
Fans on Twitter also noted the similarity, with Ruen D. Smith tweeting, “Watched a star is born. Film was mediocre, but reminded me of chris cornell such a great loss.”
Look at me when I’m talking to you tweeted, “Listened to Black Eyes off of the A Star Is Born soundtrack earlier. Uh, somebody was listening to a lot of Chris Cornell when they wrote it… AND when they sang it. Cooper’s doing such a straight Chris impression that it actually hurt to listen to. #noonesingslikeyouanymore.”
Vince Bob tweeted, “A Star Is Born reminds me of the tragedy of Chris Cornell and ofcourse Chester..”
Will Boone tweeted, “Watched A Star is Born this past weekend. Brought memories of @chriscornell The Guitar Bradley Cooper played and the Ending. Rocked out the rest of the day to his music. Then downloaded the soundtrack @ladygaga I am a fan now!#loudlove #noonesinglikeyouanymore #keepthepromise.”
Cooper told Yahoo in a recent interview that his character in A Star Is Born is a mix of John Norman Howard from the original film and other artists.
“It was an amalgamation, on a subconscious level.”
Cooper told Yahoo than his friend Eddie Vedder helped him create the character Jackson Maine, and gave him tips on songs he was writing for the film. Vedder wrote music for Into the Wild in 2007, featuring the hits “Hard Sun” and “Rise” that have become classics.
“I went up to Seattle and spent four or five days with him and I asked him 9,000 questions,” Cooper revealed. “And he gave me minor, little things that only musicians know about what to do, just aesthetically and the inner workings.”
Vedder’s did have trepidation though about Cooper doing the film. “He thought it was crazy I was going to do this movie,” Cooper laughed. “He was like, ‘What? Bro, don’t do that.’ Cooper said that Vedder was ‘wonderful.’
Listened to Black Eyes off of the A Star Is Born soundtrack earlier. Uh, somebody was listening to a lot of Chris Cornell when they wrote it… AND when they sang it. Cooper's doing such a straight Chris impression that it actually hurt to listen to. #noonesingslikeyouanymore
— Look at me when I'm talking to you. (@aristeia) October 29, 2018
Watched a star is born. Film was mediocre, but reminded me of chris cornell such a great losshttps://t.co/3QQfvT6GCj
— Ruen D Smith (@RuenDSmith) October 30, 2018
A Star Is Born reminds me of the tragedy of Chris Cornell and ofcourse Chester..
— Vince (@vincenbob) October 25, 2018
Watched A Star is Born this past weekend. Brought memories of @chriscornell The Guitar Bradley Cooper played and the Ending. Rocked out the rest of the day to his music. Then downloaded the soundtrack @ladygaga I am a fan now!#loudlove #noonesinglikeyouanymore #keepthepromise
— Will Boone (@Wile_E_Boone) October 24, 2018