Sunday, August 28, 2011

A Star is (Re)Born!


Hollywood most definitely believes in reincarnation. Just look at the never-ending parade of remakes. Moviemakers don’t even have to go back that far in search of subjects. We’ve got a remake of Footloose (ugh) coming out this fall, a remake of Dirty Dancing that's in the works (guess everyone’s agreed to pretend that Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights never happened, eh?)...they’re even rebooting the Spiderman franchise a mere four years after Tobey Maguire peeled himself out of the suit.

But there’s one movie in particular that has never seemed to be able to rest in peace: A Star is Born. It has had numerous incarnations over the years and Hollywood doesn't seem to be sick of it yet! I’ve only seen one version - the original. Released in 1937, it starred Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress taken under the wing of an alcoholic has-been actor played by Fredric March.

The '37 one was the first-born, if you will - yet it’s not even the first search result for A Star is Born in IMDb. That honor goes to the 1954 musical remake, starring Judy Garland as the wide-eyed wannabe and James Mason as her movie star mentor whose own career is on the downward slide.

Cut to 1976 and the story is updated with Barbra Streisand as an up-and-coming singer who falls for a fading rock star (Kris Kristofferson).


Now it’s 2011 and Clint Eastwood is looking to put his own spin on the decades-hopping flick. Get this - Beyonce is being touted for the starring role. First it was rumored that Will Smith might play opposite her, then it was Leonardo DiCaprio, now it’s being reported that Christian Bale is considering the role. But the Oscar-winner has a lot of other options on his plate, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets crossed off the list soon too.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Beyonce’s a good choice? Who would be a good male lead? Dunno about you but I can totes see Hugh Jackman in the role.

3 comments:

kate gabrielle said...

Wow, I hadn't heard about this one! I've only seen the original too, and it's so good I don't think I'd ever want to see any other version :)

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Teresa Halminton said...

That means "A star is born" is still the inspiration for many people.
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