For years now there been talk of making yet another version of A Star Is Born, which has morphed through various set-ups, with all sorts of actors in line for the main roles and several directors taking an interest. Most recently it’s been Clint Eastwood’s who’s been attached to helm, keeping Beyonce on (who’s been involved for several years now) in the lead female role.
While Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Hamm’s names have floated around in connection with the main male part, Deadline reports that Eastwood is now keen on getting Leo DiCaprio to fill that part, and has been using his time on the J. Edgar set to butter the star up for the role.
If you’ve never seen any of the previous three versions of A Star Is Born, it’s about an up and coming actress/musician, who is taken under the wing of an alcoholic star whose career is on the skids. However while love blossoms, as one rises, the other continues to sink. While the first two versions of the movie (one in 1938 starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March and the second, most famous, coming in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason) focussed on a rising actress and falling actor, it appears this version may follow the lead of the 1976 Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson version, which told the story in the context of the popular music scene.
DiCaprio would seem a bit young to play the boozy man whose career is on the slide, but commercially it makes sense. At the moment it appears the idea is only at the ‘may possibly happen’ stage, but once Eastwood has completed J. Edgar, we should hear more.