Streisand gives early nod to Gaga’s Star
BARBRA STREISAND’S A Star Is Born is being reborn online with scenes she’d cut from the 1976 movie. Long known as a perfectionist, Streisand tinkered with the film to restore an exchange between the starcrossed lovers played by her and Kris Kristofferson and an instrumental take on the Oscar-winning tune Evergreen.
The romantic drama, coming to Netflix along with other Streisand projects, isn’t the only Star on the horizon: A new version with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will be in theatres this fall.
Streisand is giving an early thumbs-up to the fourth version of the romance between a rising young performer and a fading one, which Cooper directed. “What I saw of it was
very good,” Streisand said. “It’s just it feels reminiscent of mine, but they added some new things which I liked, too. ... I’m sure it’ll work.”
She compared A Star Is Born to other classic tales that remain compelling.
“The story works. It worked in 1937. It worked in 1954, it worked in 1976 and it’s going to work in 2018 . ... It’s Romeo and Juliet – everyone knows the ending, but they like watching how we get there.”
The movie some of its songs are also part of a concert film, Barbra: The Music. The Mem’ries. The Magic! that’s on
Netflix and has been submitted for consideration for this year’s Emmy nominations, coming in July.
Streisand, who has made no secret of her reluctance to perform onstage, paused only briefly when asked why she agreed to the 2016-17 concert tour. “My motivation was that I wanted a painting by Modigliani, and so I worked for it. I don’t enjoy live performing. I love recording, I love making movies, but I don’t enjoy being on the stage.”
Did she purchase the Italian artist’s work? “I did,” Streisand said, happily.