The Funny Girl star voiced her opinions on the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born.

By Lidia Molina-Whyte

Published: Tuesday, 17 August 2021 at 12:00 am


The third remake of A Star Is Born may have been a huge success at the box office and in 2018’s awards circuit, but, three years after its release, Barbra Streisand isn’t so sure it was a good idea to begin with.

Streisand, who starred in the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born alongside Kris Kristofferson, told the hosts of Australian talk show The Project the 2018 film was “the wrong idea”.

“At first, when I heard it was going to be done again, it was supposed to be Will Smith and Beyoncé, and I thought, that’s interesting,” the Funny Girl star said. “Really make it different again, different kind of music, integrated actors – I thought that was a great idea. So, I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.”

Despite adding that the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper-starring hit was “the wrong idea”, Streisand also said she can’t “argue with success”.

The film smashed the box office, earned Gaga her first Academy Award and was nominated for Best Picture, with Shallow becoming a hit single.

“I don’t care so much about success as I do originality,” Streisand added.

Streisand’s A Star Is Born was a remake of Judy Garland and James Mason’s 1954 film, which in turn was based on Janet Gaynor and Fredric March’s 1937 film of the same name.

Despite her recent comments, Streisand has been supportive of the 2018 remake, telling Variety she thought Cooper did “a wonderful job”. During the movie’s press, both Cooper and Gaga had also said Streisand had given them her blessing.

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