Update: 11.:00 PM PST – Warner Bros. has confirmed that Eastwood is in talks to direct and Beyonce is negotiating to star.
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Clint Eastwood may just be tempting fate.
The multiple Academy Award winning director and actor has been known to venture out of his damatic comfort zone with pseudo sci-fi flicks such as “Hereafter” and “Space Cowboys,” but Clint Eastwood is going boldly where he’s never gone before: the world of the movie musical. And not only is he going to venture into that strange unknown, he’s going to do it with Beyonce Knowles as his leading lady.
(Honestly, we’ can’t make this up.)
According to Deadline, Eastwood will direct Knowles in a movie musical remake of “A Star is Born” that would be toplined by the global music icon. We reached out to Warner Bros. to confirm, but no official word from the studio so far.
The general plot of the first two versions finds an aging, alcoholic star (your male lead) who discovers a young talent with major star potential (Knowles in this case). They eventually fall in love and marry, but as her career skyrockets, his continues to fall. Will she give it all up to be with him? Or, can she move forward without her mentor? There have been three notable versions so far. The original 1937 film which featured Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, the 1954 version starred James Mason and Judy Garland and the more recent, 1976 incarnation featured Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand. The first two are considered classics, the last one? Not so much.
Knowles’ movie career has been limited so far. She had a very shaky start in the music filled comedy “The Fighting Temptations,” but director Bill Condon elicited a Golden Globe nominated turn for Knowles in “Dreamgirls.” She received OK notices for playing Etta James in “Cadillac Records,” but went to camp heaven in with her box office catfight hit, “Obsessed.” She also basically played herself in “Austin Powers in Goldemember” and 2006’s “The Pink Panther.”
While his straightforward style is respected by many critics and movie fans alike, Eastwood is not a director who sends a lot of time crafting performances. He expects his actors to show up and deliver what is expected of them. Is Knowles really at that point of her acting career? We’re not so sure.
Needless to say, if the project does occur as reported, it will be one to watch.