Is This Thing On? is a comedy-drama directed and co-written by Bradley Cooper, inspired by the life of British comedian John Bishop. It explores themes of marriage, identity, and reinvention against the backdrop of New York’s comedy scene.
Aactor and filmmaker Bradley Cooper first met actor Will Arnett 25 years ago. They had their entire careers in front of them still. But on this occasion, it was an audition of sorts: Arnett was dating actress Amy Poehler, who had become close with Cooper during the filming of the 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer and was eager to get her friend’s take on her new boyfriend.
Around the same time, 3,000 miles away across the Atlantic, pharmaceutical rep John Bishop was nursing the wounds of a breakup with his wife on the streets of Manchester. To avoid the £4 entry fee at a local pub, he put his name down for the establishment’s open mic night and boldly took the stage for a stand-up comedy set in front of seven people, during which he worked through what was going on with him and his wife. He found it strangely therapeutic, like a form of counseling – until one evening his wife coincidentally turned up in the audience. After the gig, they ended up chatting and found themselves on the road to reconciliation.
As story hooks go, it was an enticing one. The moment Arnett heard it, he began working on a script inspired by Bishop’s story. During the filming of Cooper’s sophomore feature Maestro, Arnett mentioned the broad points of Bishop’s story and it crawled into Cooper’s brain and took root.
“I love stand-up comedy, ever since I was in grad school in 1998,” Cooper says. “I used to go to the Comedy Cellar all the time, and then when I became friends with Dave Chappelle, I would go there with him. When you went with a comic, you really got to experience it – the upstairs restaurant at The Olive Tree and just having your mind blown. You’re eating a sandwich and they’re talking about the monologue for SNL. It was insane! Then being friends with Zach Galifianakis and going to Largo in Los Angeles, all the people and the camaraderie, I just became enthralled by it.”
It was an intimate atmosphere that he had experienced up close and yet never really seen captured on screen. But he wasn’t interested in a “stand-up movie,” per se. Arnett and his writing partner Mark Chappell, who had been in conversations with producer Kris Thykier, spoke with Cooper about taking a crack at a rewrite himself that would make the relationship between Alex Novak (the character inspired by Bishop) and his wife Tess the “A” story, with the stand-up aspect becoming a foil for that narrative.
“I was like, ‘Give me the summer,’” Cooper says. “‘I’m going to write it and then I’ll hand it to you, and if you guys like it, let’s make this movie. If you don’t, no problem. Take what you like from it and make your movie.’”
Arnett and Chappell loved the new direction. In Cooper’s rendition, Is This Thing On? was tapping a much deeper vein, investigating, in the immediate aftermath of a marriage’s disintegration, why that relationship had slowly lost its tether. No big blow-up scene where Alex and Tess call it quits. No dramatic court proceedings. Just two people with kids shuffling through the detritus of their failed 20-year life together, then realising they weren’t unhappy with their marriage, but rather, they were unhappy in their marriage. They work through it separately – Alex with his stand-up “therapy,” Tess re-courting an athletic passion she had abandoned long ago – until they find their way back to each other, stronger than ever.
“People do drift apart, and when things get left unsaid for long enough, that divide can become really great,” Arnett says. “If you look at it on paper, there’s so much that they have going for them, but that’s true in lots of relationships. It’s a lot harder when it’s a near miss, when you can’t put your finger on what happened. I think they just got to that point where they were kind of missing each other. We thought it was a really interesting way to look at what it is about a relationship that makes it work.”
The film ultimately is an unconventional journey of a man finding himself and rediscovering his voice and happiness. On his 50th birthday, Cooper table-read the script with some actor friends. That was in January of 2025. A breezy 33-day shoot and an accelerated post-production schedule later, the film was primed and ready for a debut at the New York Film Festival by October – the perfect landing spot for a movie so steeped in the city’s vibe and atmosphere.
“I wrote this script faster than I’ve written anything,” Cooper says. “And then the filming, I was much more at ease than I’ve ever been. Because you get into a hole on the day sometimes, and maybe things aren’t working. But I just breathed through it, like, ‘It’s going to come. It’s going to come. Stay relaxed.’ The moment you crink up, you’re fucked. It’s like that in anything – stand-up comedy, a fight, sports. You’ve got to stay loose, and I was very loose through this whole movie.”
As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex and Tess Novak find themselves at a crossroads, both collectively and individually. Facing middle age and the specter of impending divorce, Alex seeks renewed purpose in the New York stand-up comedy scene, while Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family. Together, they’re forced to navigate co-parenting, shifting senses of identity and a burning question: Can love and commitment take a new form?
BRADLEY COOPER – Director, Writer, Producer, & “Balls”
Bradley Cooper, born in Philadelphia, is an acclaimed actor, filmmaker, writer, and producer. Cooper’s most recent film, Maestro, which he co-wrote, produced, starred, and directed garnered 7 Oscar® nominations. Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star is Born, which he also co-wrote, directed, produced, and starred in earned 8 Oscar® nominations. In 2020, Cooper began his production company, Lea Pictures, which focuses on developing and producing commercially entertaining and transformational feature films, television, documentaries, and digital content. In 2013, Cooper started the One Family Foundation to help make a difference in the lives of patients with cancer and their families. One Family aims to ease the burden of cancer treatment for patients and their families by reducing financial barriers to care. Cooper is a 12-time Oscar® nominee, Grammy winner, and Tony nominee.
WILL ARNETT – Writer, Producer, & “Alex Novak”
Will Arnett has built an impressive career that spans television, movies, podcasts, commercials, and more. He is also the co-host of the immensely popular podcast “SmartLess”, with close friends Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, and guests have included Vice President Kamala Harris, George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stacey Abrams, Jennifer Aniston, and many more. He previously hosted and produced the hit competition show “Lego Masters”. Arnett can also be seen in the SmartLess: On The Road Documentary that follows Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman on the North American tour of their Podcast. Arnett also recently produced and starred in the hit series “Twisted Metal”. In addition, Arnett serves as an executive producer on the all-new game show “Snake Oil”. Additionally, Arnett is an executive producer and star on “Murderville”. Arnett burst onto the scene portraying “Gob” on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom “Arrested Development”, which earned him his first Emmy® nomination in 2006. He also famously guest-starred on the beloved “30 Rock”, for which he received four Emmy® nominations for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy’s nemesis, Devon Banks. Arnett has starred in dozens of hit live-action and animated movies, including The Lego Movie, Lego Batman, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ratatouille, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, Monsters vs. Aliens, and many more. Audiences heard him in the family film Rumble. In television, he starred for six seasons in the critically acclaimed “BoJack Horseman”. He starred in and produced the comedy “Flaked” and had starring roles on CBS’ “The Millers”, “Up All Night”, “Running Wilde”, “Riviera”, and “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret”. Arnett’s voice is also a mainstay in the advertising world. He has most notably been the voice of GMC Trucks for over twenty years and has done spots for Reese’s Peanut Butter and Bank of America. In August 2014, Arnett launched his production company, Electric Avenue, which develops and produces content across all platforms. Electric Avenue was behind “Flaked”, “The Gong Show”, and Pop TV’s “Hot Date”.
