Russell Crowe - to star in A Star Is Born?
It’s true. Russell Crowe has been approached to star in the remake of A Star is Born with multi-Grammy winner Beyonce.
“Having a casual chat about it; nothing definite,” Crowe told me in a email on Friday. “Very casual conversation at producer Billy Gerber’s request.”
The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Warners Bros resurrected the project after Beyonce restated her interest in the movie the studio previously released in 1976. The ’70s version starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
Beyonce to star in the remake of A Star is (re)Born
Gerber produced the 2008 gritty drama Gran Torino, which starred Clint Eastwood as a disgruntled war veteran intent on cleaning up his neighbourhood.
Crowe, a three-time Best Actor nominee at the Academy Awards and one-time Oscar winner, is currently in Sydney between films. He recently completed the thriller, The Next Three Days, a remake of the 2008 French film Pour Elle. Crowe plays a husband who breaks his wife out of jail after she has been sentenced for a murder she didn’t commit in the film directed by Paul Haggis.
But before that hits the big screen, fans can see Crowe as a broody, rugged Robin Hood in the as-yet untitled film that re-teamed him with director Ridley Scott, who directed Crowe to a Best Actor Oscar in the brilliant Gladiator. Hood is due to be released in May.
Russell Crowe as Robin Hood
The remake of Star would be a perfect fit for Beyonce, who hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in her previous cinematic outings. The natural born singer, who picked up several awards at the 2010 Grammys, has reportedly been interested in the film for some time.
In the film, a movie star (possibly Crowe if talks with Gerber result in him signing on the dotted line) helps a young singer/actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism start to disrupt his own career.
Meanwhile, in other news from the Crowe household, the actor’s wife Danielle Spencer’s second album, Calling All Magicians will be released within days and is already garnering great press in the United Kingdom as well as Australia.
Her producer Tony Visconti (he’s worked with Bowie and Morrissey) said he got on board with the petite performer after hearing her voice. “This is the best album I’ve worked on in years,” he told reporters. Her first single, Just a Thought, is “too beautiful for words,” he said.
Now that’s a compliment.
