Hundreds of students lined up outside of the University Student Union for the advanced screening of “A Star is Born” Wednesday night.
Associated Students Inc. employees stood outside handing out movie posters to the highly anticipated movie starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
When students stepped into the auditorium, excited chatter filled the air. Students cheered and clapped for the movie to start.
“‘A Star is Born’ is my mom’s all-time favorite movie and we are huge Lady Gaga fans,” journalism major Audrey Blaster said. “I’m excited to see if it lives up to the hype because the reviews have been excellent and I love Bradley Cooper too so I want to see his directing debut.”
This movie marks the fourth remake of “A Star is Born,” the first one being released in 1937 starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. All the movies are about a musician or actor helping a young singer or actress find fame while his career takes a downward spiral.
The movie marks Cooper’s directorial debut as well as the first major film Gaga has acted in. All of the music for the film is originally written by Gaga and Cooper with the help of other artists and was recorded live.
During the emotional closing of the film, the occasional sniffle could be heard as audience members fixed their eyes onto the screen. As students walked out of the theater, the remnants of tears on their faces was evident, showing the impact that the movie had.
“The movie was super, super cool it wasn’t exactly what I expected. There was comedy, there was really good music, original music and there was also some really heart wrenching and heart-warming moments. It was a little bit of everything,” Parker Chalmers, ASI Beach Pride events coordinator said.
Everyone that showed up with a ticket got in and there were even seats for people on standby. It was a packed theater with a lot of happy excited students.
“The event was great we filled every seat in the Beach Auditorium which is our goal we were able to start on time. We got some really enthusiastic cheers in the beginning and a lot of thank yous and tears at the end. Overall, it’s great to have us fill the theater for an advanced screening like this,” Chalmers said.
The screening was free to Long Beach State students because Warner Bros Studios in association with Spotify, wanted to create buzz before the film was released.
“I feel like when I hear about advanced screenings it’s for like special important people so it makes it more exciting because we get a little sneak peek ahead of time,” communications major Shelby Althoff said.