Clint Eastwood Nearly Directed A Musical Remake That Would Have Starred A Pop Diva

The most recent remake of "A Star is Born" was one of the defining films of 2018. The film was the directorial debut of Academy Award-nominee Bradley Cooper, who also co-wrote, co-produced, and starred alongside Lady Gaga. It was the fourth iteration of the title, beginning with the 1937 film directed by William A. Wellman, which featured Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, followed by a 1954 remake directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason, which was then followed by the 1976 remake directed by Frank Pierson that Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson headlined.

What some may forget regarding the fourth "A Star is Born" film is that before Bradley Cooper signed on to direct, a legendary filmmaker was going to be at the helm. That director was none other than Academy Award-winner Clint Eastwood, who previously directed Cooper in "American Sniper." Along with the involvement of Eastwood, one of the most successful pop stars in the world was in negotiations to play the female lead, and funny enough, she has a notable link to the inevitable titular star that would be born, Lady Gaga.

This ain't Texas, ain't no hold 'em, so lay your cards down! Yes, one of our greatest American filmmakers was looking to direct our recent Grammy winner for Album of the Year, Beyoncé, in his planned remake of "A Star is Born." As for the male lead of the film, some of the A-listers who were looked at to portray the co-protagonist who at the time was described as having a story inspired by Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain included Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler, Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, and Tom Cruise. Eventually, Eastwood was looking to collaborate with his "American Sniper" star Bradley Cooper once again, setting up a Beyoncé and Cooper pairing.

However, "A Star is Born" starring Beyoncé was not meant to be. Production on what would have been Clint Eastwood's film was delayed due to Knowles-Carter's pregnancy in 2011. Eastwood eventually moved on from the project to direct a film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys," followed by "American Sniper." Eventually, Bradley Cooper would sign on to take over directorial duties, and despite initial hesitance to star in the film himself, he agreed to do so. Beyoncé was still the top choice to star in the film, but departed from the project, with her "Telephone" collaborator Lady Gaga signing on for what would become her big breakthrough from her pop music career into movie stardom.

"A Star is Born" became a critical and commercial success, grossing $432.6 million at the global box office and receiving eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (Lady Gaga), and Best Supporting Actor (Sam Elliott). The film took home one statue on Oscar night, Best Original Song for "Shallow," which was also the source of that specific ceremony's undeniable highlight, in which Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga performed the song on live television together for the first time. Their video performance of "Shallow" remains the highest-viewed internet clip from the Academy Awards, boasting over 822 million views on YouTube.

Instead of an upfront salary for his work on "A Star is Born," Bradley Cooper agreed to a back-end deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to secure this project as his directorial debut. Cooper earned nearly $40 million from his pop culture juggernaut, which was a unique moment in cinema during the 2010s, where a film not based on a four-quadrant blockbuster franchise took over the zeitgeist by storm. Cooper's film was a lovely and intimate look into the relationship between the two leads, and while the story may have been seen before, it was done with pure raw human emotion. Fewer scenes of the 2010s are as cathartic as the "Shallow" sequence, and it sure helps that the film's soundtrack by Lady Gaga was as good as it was. For being a third remake of "A Star is Born," it truly followed in the spirit of the following quote by Sam Elliott's character Bobby Maine, who proclaimed, "Music is essentially 12 notes between any octave. 12 notes and the octave repeats. It's the same story told over and over, forever. All any artist can offer the world is how they see those 12 notes. That's it."

"A Star is Born" is available to own on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.