"A Star is Born"... or, will be *after* the Star's baby is born.
Monday, August 29, 2011 at 9:30AM 
Beyoncé announced her pregnancy at MTV's VMAs last night. I switched channels after Gaga's drag king opening number so the news got to me secondhand.
There be film fallout. The fourth feature film version of A Star is Born (2013? 2014?) is now delayed for at least nine months as Beyoncé gestates and welcomes her first child into the world. The musical, meant to be Clint Eastwood's post J Edgar project, had hoped to go before the cameras early in 2012 and with the speed that Eastwood tends to work we would have probably seen it as a Christmas 2012 release.
But now that Beyoncé is pregnant (and considering also that Leonardo DiCaprio has turned down the male lead role), this won't be happening just yet. The Beyoncé/Jay-Z babe will be born first.
Oscar-obsessives should keep a close eye on this one -- the film, not the babe. While the project seems ridiculous on the surface for both "another one?" superfluity and Eastwood + Beyoncé odd-coupledom, A Star is Born is a durable cultural object. It's always a major morphing showcase for the gifts of its leading lady. The first three incarnations resulted in 17 Oscar nominations and 3 Oscars all told including bids for Best Actress for both Janet Gaynor (1937) and Judy Garland (1954) and a Best Original Song Oscar for Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen" (1976).
Will we see Beyoncé as a Best Actress nominee in 2013 or 2014... or will she have to "settle" for a Best Song Oscar?
Reader Comments (21)
She'll win the Golden Globe, and get a Song nomination-that's my call. She's not winning an acting Oscar for this-Cher is the rare exception, and she paid her dues for a few years before finally getting it for Moonstruck.
Anyone think Terrance Howard "Hustle & Flow* would make a good male lead for this?
Hilary Swank needs a third Oscar, I say Clint cast her as the male lead in this!
What's the point? The Janet Gaynor version was a fine film, the Judy version a work of art, especially in the restored version and although Babra coarsened and cheapened the film by contemporizing it she had the titanic talent and star quality to make it at least watchable with some good songs to boot. Beyonce sings well but is a mediocre actress and not really a compelling screen presence so for me it feels like a miss.
Kudos to Jose’s idea!
Based on Eastwood’s history with his players Oscar-wise, I think he can get the best out of Beyonce.
This baby is a career killer.
It's Clint Eastwood. Why doesn't he just film it over the next two weeks, cut it together in October, doodle out a score for it while handing out the Halloween candy, give Warner Bros. a month to release a trailer and a marketing campaign, and release it on December 30, so that Beyoncé can follow the Portman Playbook of being adorably quick with child while marching toward Oscar? Her Infanta deserves to have an Oscar to play with and, more importantly, to dress up in the crib.
There must be somebody who's free to play Norman Maine this week. Like, I'm sure Mel Gibson isn't doing much, and who plays drunk and fallen better 'n him?
Looking at that picture of Beyonce, she is incredibly beautiful, but there is no way on earth that she's only 30 years old. She took a play from the CZJ and Zsa Zsa playbook and started lying about her age early.
Nick - Is it the "Hate the J Edgar people" week? Stay away from Judi! :p
As much as I love the fact that Grace Kelly won it, I think if the academy didnt award Judy Garland for this performance, then there is no way they'll give it to Beyonce, or if they do expect a huge amount of out cry.
Anybody that instantly gets turned off by coupling of Eastwood and Beyonce must be a trully boring person. I don't have much fanship for either but it drives my curiousty enough for me to keep my ears and intrigue/excitement open for it. It's left field and kinda cool. I'm ready for odd combiations like this. Sorry she's not carey mulligan, vera farmiga, marion cotillard, anne hathaway, or some other bandwagon cunt. Allnpeople can contribute something special, and to see someone unexpected/underestimated in the right/talented hands is awesome. I can't even picture the two talking but that just makes me more curious to see this.
Poppy - I get what you're saying and surprising unions can be creative but just because two people who work together seem so different from each other it doesn't autimatically make the project interesting.
And I assume that if Nathaniel was a big fan of Eastwood (especially recent Eastwood) and Beyonce as an actress, he would find it as interesting as you do.
For example, I'm pretty sure he would love the news of a Haneke - Amanda Seyfried collaboration.
No?
I have absolutely no faith in Eastwood. Invictus is one of the most boring films I have ever seen, and he managed to make my favorite Laura Linney give my least favorite performance of hers in Mystic River (OK, the screenplay is also to blame for that). I remember you mentioning some time ago that the only Margo Martindale performance you dislike is in Million Dollar Baby, and I'm not surprised after reading how he directed her:
"As far as the performance goes, I walked into the house and did what I did when I auditioned. And I finished and said, “Well, what do you think?” And he said, “It looks great.” I said, “Really?” He said, “Yeah, did you like it?” I said, “I’m only listening to what you say.” I think we did two takes and we were done."
I have a mental block when it comes to finally watching Changeling, because Sally Hawkins' Oscar snub must feel even worse afterwards.
I'm just saying there's a lot of talent here, but nothing's a guarantee. I have no favorite clint eastwood movie or favorite Beyonce song but I know they're not just anybody. Not to mention the material they're working with is timeless. I'm just looking at it as it being a risk for all inolved but I think the potential is undeniable(to either be fantastic or horrible) I mean, it could be an awesome disaster. I guess I love experimental stuff, because the result could end up epic. I mean if I heard jennifer aniston was working with Lars von trier I would love the news. The people involved are obviously being inspired by different things and are trying new things, and that always gets me going. This isn't something that's been in my wildest dreams but it's nice to see these two going different routes.
Poppy agreed that it's an interesting collaboration. I wasn't trying to say it would automatically be bad, just that it seems bizarre on the surface. But anyway if it were anybody but Clint i'd assume it wasn't going to be made at all given what usually happens when films are delayed by a year.
but i guess my biggest qualm -- which i didn't even mention! -- is that Beyoncé already did A Star is Born and it was called "Dreamgirls". you know? The getting too famous and too beloved for her husband who created her? That's A Star is Born already.
How is this "different routes"? Beyonce trying another desperate shot at movie stardom, and Clint Eastwood working on yet another perfunctory "old-Hollywood" Oscarbait? There's a lot of talent here, to be sure, but none of it in recent years has to do, respectively, with acting or directing.
No one else has commented on James T's Haneke/Seyfried combination suggestion, which IMO would be FRIGGIN AWESOME. Haneke's distance combined with Seyfried's Chloe-esque cipherness? Fireworks.
That's all.
In the least, I'm very interested to see what happens with this. I think Eastwood will be able to get a performance out of Beyonce...I'm not sure she'll win, but I could see her being nominated, yeah. Definitely.
I just watched Invictus for the first time last night...why were Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman nominated?
SoSueMe -- this is a question only every one who votes on things solely because they're "supposed to" can answer. because seriously WTF with those nominationszzzzz
I guess Matt's nom was residual love for his work in The Informant? Or for his amazing shoulders and man chest? Or his seemingly convincing accent?
Morgan, on the other hand...wow...I don't know...does Mandela speak that slow? Seriously, that is why the movie is over two hours. I have to listen to some of Mandela's speeches on YouTube to get an accurate take on whether Morgan nailed his speech patterns or not.