Barbra Streisand says A Star is Born remake was ‘the wrong idea’

Artist says she thought remake was too similar to the 1976 film she starred in

Barbra Streisand has opened up about the 2018 remake of A Star is Born in a new interview.

Streisand starred in the 1976 iteration of the film alongside Kris Kristofferson. Prior to that, there was a 1954 version starring Judy Garland and James Mason and a 1937 version of the story with actors Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.

Ahead of the 2018 film being made, which stars Lady Gaga alongside Bradley Cooper, there were rumours that Beyoncé and Will Smith would appear in the film’s leading roles.

Now, in a new interview with The Sunday Project, Streisand has spoken about the remake, saying she thought Beyoncé and Smith would have made the new film more “interesting”.

“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, integrated actors, I thought that was a great idea,” she said.

“So, I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.”

Streisand went on to say that she “thought it was the wrong idea” for the remake but that she “can’t argue with success” after it grossed $436m (£315m) at the box office.

She added: “[But] I don’t care so much about success as I do originality”.

Reviewing the 2018 remake, The Independent wrote: “If you’re looking for an original and surprising variation on A Star Is Born, you’d be better advised to turn to Michel Hazanavicius’ silent film The Artist (2011) than to this downbeat and surprisingly lugubrious version. Cooper and his team simply aren’t able to reinvigorate material that has been pored over so many times before by other filmmakers.

“The star wattage of Cooper and Lady Gaga and their soulful, heartfelt performances aren’t enough to light up a movie that, for all its qualities, is bound to earn unfavourable comparison with its predecessors.”