Directors seem to love working with Leonardo DiCaprio. Martin Scorsese can’t get enough of Leo having worked with him four times and now Clint Eastwood, whose J. Edgar (starring DiCaprio) hasn’t even completed production yet, is already pleading his case to work with Leo again on his next directorial effort, A Star is Born.
Deadline broke the story that Eastwood has been getting in DiCaprio’s ear about A Star is Born while on the set of J. Edgar and according to sources, the star has yet to say no to the idea. Eastwood’s A Star is Born, which has already booked pop superstar Beyonce, would be the fourth big screen adaptation of the legendary story.
A Star is Born tracks the love affair between an aging actor at the tale end of his stardom and in the midst of his alcoholism, who plucks a rising star from obscurity. The 1937 original was directed by William Wellman and starred Fredric March as the aging actor and Janet Gaynor as the rising starlet. Gaynor earned an Oscar for the role.
The film was remade in the fifties with Judy Garland and James Mason and then again in the seventies with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
Beyonce has been linked to the lead as far back as 2008 while the remake has been on the slate at Warner Brothers since, at least, 1998 when Will Smith was attached to star alongside either Whitney Houston or Lauryn Hill.
Will Smith is still rumored as a contender though after some 13 years of being linked to the project he’s unlikely to have remained interested. Most interestingly, Smith and DiCaprio were each rumored for another high profile flick, Quentin Tarentino‘s Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx has since taken the lead role in Django while DiCaprio’s future remains unclear with Eastwood wanting him for A Star is Born and Martin Scorsese seeking a fifth teaming for The Wolf of Wall Street. Plus, he’s already committed to Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby.
A number of actors, actresses and directors have at various times been attached to A Star is Born including Jennifer Lopez and Gabrielle Union who were both seen as potential co-stars for Will Smith at the various times he’s been linked to the remake.
Director Joel Schumacher came close to directing the Smith and J-Lo version of A Star is Born before the project lost steam. And since Clint Eastwood picked up the project last year, Smith returned to the rumor mill and was joined by Russell Crowe who flirted with the project ever so briefly.
Whether DiCaprio signs on or not, with Eastwood powering the engine behind the scenes, it looks as if this version of A Star is Born is going to happen.