Barbra Streisand was apparently not a big fan of the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga version of A Star Is Born in 2018.
“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. Really make it different again. Different kind of music, you know, integrated actors. I thought that was a great idea,” Streisand told Australia’s The Project.
“So, I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.”
The original A Star Is Born, starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor, came out in 1937 and it was remade in 1954 with James Mason and Judy Garland. Streisand starred in the second remake opposite Kris Kristofferson.
“When I did A Star Is Born, I thought Judy Garland was so great in it, I thought, Oh my god, how am I going to do this? I have to change it,” Streisand recalled. “I’ll become a guitar-playing singer-songwriter … and we’ll change the story a bit.”
Streisand doesn’t think Cooper and Gaga brought anything new to the story. “I thought it was the wrong idea,” she said. “But, look, it was a big success, so I can’t argue with success.
“But, I don’t care so much about success as I do originality.”
The 79-year-old music icon also revealed that the Beyoncé rendition of “The Way We Were” that viewers saw on the Kennedy Center Honors special in 2008 was a do-over.
“Well, she first sang it once, and I didn’t think it was good enough, actually, for her,” recalled Streisand. “I know she did it over, and she did it beautifully the second time.”
Did Beyoncé know her first attempt wasn’t good enough? “I think she knew it,” said Streisand. “I think she was the one who actually asked … to do it over.”