Barbra Streisand: Lady Gaga’s ‘A Star Is Born’ Is ‘Unoriginal’
Barbra Streisand doesn’t seem to like Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s 2018 version of A Star Is Born; Streisand starred in the 1976 remake of the same movie.
The singer, actress and producer said of the fourth remake, “I thought it was the wrong idea.” Per USA Today, Streisand co-starred with Kris Kristofferson, following in the footsteps of Janet Gaynor’s 1937 original and Judy Garland’s 1954 version.
Streisand said Gaga and Cooper’s version lacked originality saying, “At first, when I heard it was going to be done again, it was supposed to be Will Smith Smith and Beyoncé (Beyoncé was previously attached to the project in 2011 with director Clint Eastwood before Cooper took over). I thought, ‘that’s interesting.’ Really make it different again, different kind of music, integrated actors. I thought that was a great idea.”
79-year-old Streisand was unimpressed with how she felt the actors’ version of A Star Is Born was so similar to her 1976 role saying she was “surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.” She expected Cooper to “change the story a bit,” as she did for her remake.
“When I did A Star Is Born …Judy Garland was so great in it, I thought, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to do this?’ ” Streisand recalled. “I have to change it. I’ll become a guitar-playing singer-songwriter, and Kris Kristofferson is already a singer-songwriter.”
Cooper’s directorial debut went on to gross more than $436 million worldwide, taking home the Oscar for best original song and many more accolades. But to Streisand, originality is more important saying, “I can’t argue with success but I don’t care so much about success as I do originality.”
A Star Is Born follows a famous musician struggling with alcoholism who helps a young and promising singer find fame – and then, the two fall in love.
Streisand’s recent thoughts on 2018’s A Star Is Born changed from her original positive reviews, telling Extra at the time of the release how much she “loved” the film adding, “I think it’s wonderful. (Lady Gaga) is wonderful.” She also visited Cooper’s set during filming, to which he said Streisand “gave us a blessing. Everybody was so excited she was there. We just looked at each other and were like, ‘Wow. How are we here right now?’”
Watch the trailer for Barbra Streisand’s 1976 A Star Is Born below:
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