As his life unravels, a man seeks new purpose in the New York comedy scene in Director Bradley Cooper’s comedic-drama, Is This Thing On?

Cooper’s film tells the story of Alex and Tess, a couple who have reached an amicable end to their marriage and are beginning to figure out how to live separately while raising their two sons and maintaining their friendships. As Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family, Alex discovers a new hobby and, in the process, learns more about himself and his relationship.

On January 20, after the DGA membership screening in New York, Cooper discussed the making of Is This Thing On? during a Q&A moderated by Director Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher).

During the conversation, Cooper revealed why he opted to shoot the film in the European widescreen aspect with only one lens.

“I always knew I was going to shoot New York handheld — I thought maybe I'd be on a dolly or maybe steadi-cam at the suburbs — and the whole movie needs to be one vision. I loved the 1.66:1 aspect ratio for this film. It just feels like the way I experienced New York where the compositions can be beautiful, but the characters are always the stars of the composition. And the 40mm just fit perfectly with that. Every time I would change the lens sized for a different depth it just like, ‘No.’ Long lens close-up is so beautiful but there's a safety to it and the whole point was I never wanted the audience to ever feel safe. One of the things I was very excited about was the opportunity to potentially create what it's like cinematically to be in these stand-up comedy rooms and to be on stage. So that's why we landed on the 40 and that's why we landed in that aspect ratio and handheld.”

Cooper’s other directorial credits include the feature film Maestro. He was nominated for DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for his 2018 feature, A Star Is Born.

Cooper has been a DGA member since 2017.