When Lady Gaga‘s version of A Star Is Born came out in 2018, Barbra Streisand, who starred in the 1976 version of the film, praised it, and Gaga, as “wonderful,” and said she “loved it.” She also visited the set and gave the film “a blessing,” according to director Bradley Cooper. Only now, she appears to be singing a slightly different tune.
Appearing on the Australian TV show The Sunday Project, Streisand explained that when the remake of A Star Is Born was first announced, it was going to star Will Smith and Beyoncé, and she thought it was really “interesting” and “different,” and was a “great idea.”
“So I was surprised when I saw how alike [Gaga’s version] was to the version I did in 1976,” Streisand continued. When the interviewer suggested that perhaps she should take that as a compliment, Streisand responded, “I don’t know. I thought it was the wrong idea. Hey, look…I can’t argue with success, but I don’t care so much about success as I do originality.”
Cooper and Gaga’s A Star Is Born scored eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress. It won for Best Original Song, “Shallow.” Streisand’s version got four nods, and won for Best Original Song, for “Evergreen.”
(Streisand talks about “A Star Is Born” at about 4:53 into the video.)
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.