Bradley Cooper's Is This Thing On? to close NYFF, December release

Bradley Cooper’s next directorial feature, Is This Thing On?, is set to premiere as the closing-night film of the New York Film Festival, with a limited U.S. release scheduled for December and a wider rollout to follow. The drama-comedy stars Will Arnett and Laura Dern as a couple whose marriage quietly unravels, prompting a midlife pivot as the husband pursues a career in stand-up in New York City’s West Village. The project, inspired by the life of British comedian John Bishop, is written by Cooper, Arnett and Mark Chappell and produced by Weston Middleton, Kris Thykier, Cooper and Arnett.

Is This Thing On? centers on Alex Novak, a father of two who, after his marriage to Tess confronts a fracture, seeks meaning through the unpredictable world of stand-up. Tess grapples with the sacrifices she made for family as the pair navigates coparenting, identity and whether love can take an unexpected form. The story, described by the filmmakers as a midlife catharsis rather than a midlife crisis, follows Alex’s dramatic career shift as he finds new purpose amid the New York comedy scene. The ensemble cast includes Andra Day, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds...