...

















...the ending was real. My interpretation: He shot himself onstage and died. Everything that follows in the film is in his mind the moments before he actually loses consciousness. In his idealized fantasy, he has critical acclaim, his family situation has improved (the love/respect of his daughter and his ex-wife by his side), etc.

This is also supported by the fact that the transition into the hospital scene is the first time in the entire movie where there is a cut and not part of the long continuous shot.