A Star Is Born is one of the most remade movies of all time, first made in 1937, then in 1954, then 1976, and now 2018.
This time around the aging star is being played by first-time director Bradley Cooper with the ingenue played by real life pop icon Lady GaGa.
Video: 73 Questions With GaGa
But this remake has been trying to get off the ground for 16 YEARS, and the casts that almost played the lead pair are… hard to imagine.
2002
Will Smith was attached to star for a long time. Director Joel Schumacher announced he was planning to make the movie with the Fresh Prince and huge star Jennifer Lopez — whom Smith said at the time could put the movie in a Latin environment.
It’s unclear why this didn’t take off, but Smith and Lopez did appear in a movie shortly after: Jersey Girl. Huh.
Moving on…
2010
Years later, Alpha Dog director Nick Cassavetes was announced to direct with stars Beyoncé and… Russell Crowe.
Luckily this would have been more the acoustic rock crooning Crowe does with his band and less the theatrical musical cantering of Les Miserables, so it may have worked.
But we’ll never have to find out.
2011-2012
Clint Eastwood becomes attached as director and loves Beyoncé. But her male counterpart proves more difficult.
First Clint wants his J. Edgar star Leonardo DiCaprio, but that didn’t work out — he decided to go make Django Unchained instead.
Then they actually discussed Tom Cruise, who would have been hot off critical acclaim for his singing in Rock Of Ages — if there had been any, which there was not.
At one point Clint even called Johnny Depp!
That script was calling for an aging grunge rocker the writer referred to as Kurt Cobain-but-in-his-50s, but still. Johnny Depp and Beyoncé??
2015
Finally BCoop, who starred in Clint’s American Sniper, got his chance behind the director’s chair and did not let it go to waste.
Whew.
Would YOU have watched any of those other versions??
[Image via Regina Wagner/LK/C.Smith/Kento Nara/Dan Jackman/Dave Bedrosian/Gisele Tellier/Future Image/WENN.]
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