With Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Hamm, Russell Crowe, Rihanna and Alicia Keys having been linked at various points over the years, we had our doubts about the pairing of director Clint Eastwood and Beyonce to Warner Bros. long gestating remake of “A Star Is Born” holding. But not only does it appear to still be moving, a leading man is being eyed.
Deadline reports that Eastwood is talking about the movie with his “J. Edgar” star Leonardo DiCaprio. It doesn’t seem to be much more beyond the two of them discussing it right now. Anyway, the familiar story about a wide-eyed girl dreaming of stardom who finds a helping hand from a washed out, alcoholic older leading man was first made as a drama by William Wellman in 1937, but truly became legendary when it became a musical in 1954 starring Judy Garland and directed by George Cukor. In 1976, Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson tried to repeat that success but were met with dismal results. The updated version will take place in the music world with a young singer falling for an older rock star. Leo and Beyonce are separated by about seven years so we suppose that could work.
Last we heard, “A Star Is Born” was gearing up to shoot this fall, but DiCaprio will likely be busy with Baz Luhrmann‘s “The Great Gatsby” down in Australia, not to mention his likely turn in Quentin Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained,” and Eastwood needs to sleep at some point (and also do the press run for “J. Edgar” coming out this awards season), so we’d guess the shoot has been pushed to late 2011 or early 2012.
It would be an interesting move for DiCaprio and certainly a nice gear change for the actor who seems to be ready to shake up his onscreen image a bit. We’re not sure Eastwood is exactly the best fit for this material or his workmanlike, crank-em-out approach, but maybe he too is ready to stretch out and do something a little off the beaten path. More to come, but if DiCaprio passes, there will be no shortage of leading men wanting to come aboard.
