In development for years at Warner Bros., the remake of “A Star Is Born” seemed like one of those A-list vehicles that would never get made. Not that there was lack of interest or ambition with all kinds of big names — Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Hamm, Russell Crowe, Beyoncé and Christian Bale — tossed around to lead the movie. But nothing ever seemed to really gel, and when it was announced the Bradley Cooper would star and direct, no one could be faulted for being a bit skeptical that it would ever come to fruition. Even with Lady Gaga signing up to co-star. However, it seems this project has the alchemy to go ahead.
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Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has given the movie the greenlight. In addition to directing and starring, Cooper is also co-writing the script with Will Fetters (“Remember Me,” “The Lucky One“), while Lady Gaga is going to be penning some new tunes.
“A Star Is Born” has already seen two previous versions hit the big screen in Judy Garland and James Mason’s pairing in 1954, and Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson getting together in 1976. Now, four decades later, comes Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
Production on the movie will start in early 2017, so could this be ready in time for next year’s awards season? You can bet Warner Bros. is hoping that’ll happen.
Three previous versions, the original 1937 film starred Frederic March and Janet Gaynor and was nominated for 7 Oscars (including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress), winning 2. I think it was the first nominee for BP that was in color. I caught it on TCM recently.