After spending a few years in development limbo, the latest version of music mentorship romantic drama A Star Is Born is finally on the road to actual filming. Bradley Cooper remains attached to star and make his directorial debut, and his most recent choice of co-star, Lady Gaga, is aboard.
Warner Bros. is backing its American Sniper star to make the move behind the camera after he spent time working on the script that had last seen drafts by Will Fetters and locked in his choice of co-star. He had his eye on Beyoncé last year, but after screen tests and meetings with Gaga, she's won the role. She'll be the younger ingenue singer whose rise to fame runs in the opposite direction to her mentor and sometime lover (Cooper), whose star is fading. Gaga will be writing and performing new music for the movie.
This marks the fourth attempt for the story after versions in 1937, 1954 and 1976, and it has been through years of false starts with the likes of Will Smith, Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio all flirting with the lead. Now Cooper, who has been pushing to do this ever since he worked with Clint Eastwood on Sniper and the director considered him for Star before dropping off the movie himself, will also produce the film alongside business partner Todd Phillips plus Bill Gerber and Jon Peters. He should be working on the movie early next year.
And talking of Phillips, Cooper will next be seen in a small role in the director's latest, War Dogs, which is out here on August 26.