A Star Is Born is a remake that’s been trying to get off the ground for a number of years. Interested parties have included the likes of Beyonce and Clint Eastwood. Then the project stalled. Now Warner Bros has green lit the film and production is slated to begin in early 2017. This will be the fourth incarnation of the famed musical drama, having previously starred the likes of Janet Gaynor (1937, dir. William A. Wellman), Judy Garland (1954, dir. George Cukor), and Barbara Streisand (1976, dir. Frank Pierson).
Bradley Cooper will make his directorial debut and star alongside Lady Gaga. The Grammy-winning artist has never top-lined a studio vehicle, but she has developed a presence outside the music arena. Gaga has been lauded for her work on the hit FX series American Horror Story and even won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for her performance earlier this year.
Cooper has ascended to the top of Hollywood’s A-list on account of matinee idol looks and the success of films like The Hangover, Limitless as well as his Oscar-nominated performance in American Sniper. Greg Silverman, Warner Bros president of Creative Development, has watched the actor’s maturation the last few years and was well aware of Cooper’s interest in the project when he was working with Eastwood on Sniper. In a published statement, Silverman acknowledged,
“We are honored that he is doing it, here, at his home—Warner Bros.—and with Lady Gaga as a collaborator and co-star. The world is in for a treat as these great artists craft an all new vision of A Star is Born.”
