Personal proof that a star is awesome | Lisa Scottoline

I'm here to tell you something you already know.

Bradley Cooper is awesome.

I know this on a personal basis.

I'm not even kidding.

Not that I met him, exactly.

But I was in the same room with him.

So were several hundred other people, but still.

I could see him clearly.

He could see me clearly, too.

Not that he was looking.

But at least I was breathing the same air.

It felt highly oxygenated.

Because I was panting.

But truly, he is even more awesome than I thought.

And may be even more awesome than you thought.

And I'll tell you why.

How this came about was that I got an email from a friend of mine who is a respected member of the press.

Unlike me.

I'm the comic relief of the press.

Once I tried to get a press card, and they said no.

Never mind that I have written a newspaper column for over 10 years.

But whatever.

So anyway, this friend of mine emailed me that Bradley Cooper was going to be in Philadelphia for a secret screening of his new movie, A Star Is Born, and my friend offered press passes to Francesca and me.

>>READ MORE: Bradley Cooper came home to Philly to promote 'A Star Is Born'

OMG.

Francesca came down from New York, and we said yes in a New York minute.

There was a rumor that the screening would also involve a question-and-answer with Bradley Cooper after the show.

You know the question I wanted to ask him.

Heh heh.

There was also a rumor that there would be a meet-and-greet with him.

You know I was dying for that meet-and-greet.

Except in my case, I would've called it the meet-and-make out.

I'm trying to keep it clean here.

It's not easy.

Maybe I don't deserve a press pass, after all.

I can't be trusted with one.

Because I'm not sure if I met Bradley Cooper I could keep my tongue in my mouth.

Anyway, we watched the movie, which was incredibly wonderful.  It's a remake in name only, because to my mind it was an original reimagining of this great love story, which is about family, passion, and pursuing your life's dream.

And that's just for starters.

And not only that, but Bradley Cooper wrote it, directed it, and starred in it, not to mention he also sang and played guitar in it, as well as managed to erase his completely adorable Philadelphia accent.

In other words, the movie is amazing, and you should go see it as soon as it opens.

Bradley Cooper is a great actor, but he became a rock star.

Lady Gaga, who is an actual rock star, became a great actress.

>>READ MORE: The movies to see this fall: 'Creed 2,' 'A Star is Born,' 'First Man' and more

I loved every scene of the film, which is so genuine, heartfelt, and revelatory that I cried. So did Francesca, and so did much of the audience, who jumped to its feet when Bradley Cooper came out afterward and actually sat down in a chair for a question-and-answer period.

Despite his incredible success, Bradley Cooper remains so awesome that he sat there in jeans and sneakers, just talking like a normal person, when in fact he is a god.

With a Philadelphia accent.

Of course I was too nervous to even ask him a question, though I had so many questions for him.

But all of them bordered on felonies.

So I kept my mouth shut.

With my tongue inside.

Francesca, who was raised better than I was, had a really good question, raised her hand, and asked it, and Bradley Cooper himself answered her so thoughtfully and well that everyone in the audience nodded.

I nodded hardest of all because I was actually witnessing my amazing daughter talk to my amazing crush, and neither of them knew that I was thinking about whether I would wear white to my wedding to Bradley Cooper and that she could be my maid of honor.

Yes, I would wear white to my third wedding.

Because nobody before Bradley Cooper would matter.

I mean, get real.

And beyond all the other things that were so cool about Bradley Cooper, the coolest thing was that he revealed that he was nervous about the risks he took in making A Star Is Born, in that he had never directed or written a movie before, much less sung and played a guitar on film, and that he "really swung for the fences."

And so I actually learned something from Bradley Cooper.

Which is that even gods can be nervous when they swing for the fences.

And swinging for the fences is the only way to hit a home run.

Look for Lisa and Francesca's new humor collection,"I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses," and Lisa's No. 1 best-selling domestic thriller, "After Anna," and her new Rosato & DiNunzio novel, "FEARED," in stores now. lisa@scottoline.com.