Warner Bros is negotiating with its American Sniper star Bradley Cooper to make his feature directorial debut on the remake of A Star Is Born. The hope is for Cooper to also star in the film.
Once his deal is done, their first stop will be to Beyonce, who was once positioned to play the role of the young woman whose dreams of stardom are helped by a self-destructive icon whose best days are behind him.
She was circling when Clint Eastwood was going to direct the remake, and the director discussed that male lead role with Cooper. She hasn’t yet been re-approached formally. Cooper will take a pass at the script with Will Fetters, who wrote the most recent draft, and the hope is that he can get into this wholeheartedly when he finishes performing The Elephant Man in its London transfer from Broadway.
After a lengthy courtship, Lady Gaga looks ready to play Bradley Cooper’s starlet in his remake of “A Star is Born” for Warner Bros.
Deadline Hollywood reported last month that Cooper wanted Gaga for the part, but Gaga was undecided at the time. Sources now say she’s is on board and negotiations are currently under way.
Cooper will direct and star in the film, which will mark his helming debut. Cooper had been meeting with dozens of actresses for the role after Beyonce had to bow due scheduling conflicts with her latest concert tour and sources say Gaga was high on his list from the start.
The project, based on William Wellman’s 1937 film starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, centers on a fading movie star who helps a young aspiring actress while his own career spirals downward.
This marks the third the film has been remade, the most recent starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Cooper came on as director following his work with Clint Eastwood on the smash hit “American Sniper.” Eastwood had tried getting the film made for sometime and at one point had looked at Cooper for the fading movie star part.
Eastwood eventually left the project but still had hopes it would get made some day and suggested to Cooper that he try directing the pic since Cooper was actively looking for his first directing job.
With Gaga’s commitment, the film is now the closest it has come to greenlight and the studio is now eyeing February 2017 start date for production.
It's hardly like for like. A) Cooper not a seasoned filmmaker and B) Vicki Lester isn't a walk in the park. Not saying that Styles' role is, but 5 will get you 10 it won't demand as much.
