Yes No Maybe So: A Star is Born
Friday, June 8, 2018 at 2:30PM by Nathaniel R
When the trailer for the fourth version of A Star is Born hit yesterday everyone was all surprised like "omg this looks... good. Could it be good?" Dear reader, we been saying that via the Oscar charts! It certainly helps that Bradley Cooper enlisted DP Matthew Libatique (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, Tigerland, Iron Man) to shoot it and from early images it looks like Libatique knew what an attention grabber this could be and is really going for broke. So much color and beauty. Yes! Let's do a quick Yes No Maybe So™ on this (and a few more trailers) after the jump...
THE TRAILER IN QUESTION
YES
- Bradley can sing!
- Gaga singing live is always a thrill (they recorded the musical numbers live rather than using the more traditional playback method).
- The color! These teasing images (especially Gaga with tear, Gaga with red curtain, and Gaga covering her face) look totally riveting.
- The few notes of music we're hearing sound good.
- This story keeps being told for a reason. It's a good one, and flexible for the eras and the different qualities of its leading men and women.
NO
- Technically we don't need this after two previous musical versions of this story and another straight drama version so they'll have to imbue it with enough passion that we forget that it's wholly uneccesary!
MAYBE SO
- Bradley Cooper is a great actor but directing is a wholy different skill. Can he conquer it first time out while also directing himself and an untrained actor? Seems like a tall order.
- It's been a long time since the masterful Garland version and the polarizing Streisand film so a lot of people won't be bothered that it's the same story again. But for those who've seen the earlier versions will those films cast a shadow over getting to knwo this one as it unspools?
- Prediction: This lives or dies by the song score and Gaga's acting. We already know that Bradley Cooper is a terrific actor and that Libatique is a great cinematographer and that Gaga is a great singer so there's no element of revelation to harness there. But we don't yet know this score or how well Gaga can act (If you're shouting "American Horror Story: Hotel," at us, shush! That was elaborate posing with a few lines of dialogue here and there. This one will demand real acting to keep up with Bradley as an alcoholic fading star.
And this is our favorite tweet on the matter. Well done, Erik.
Girl, where do you think you're going pic.twitter.com/zJTQmUJaZp
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) June 6, 2018
Obviously we agree as Lady Gaga is in our current Best Actress predictions.
Obviously we're a big ol' yes and trying to shoo away our fears (see: maybe so). You?
P.S. Here are a few other new trailers that hit this past week or so (we can't keep up!).
THE CHILDREN ACT starring Emma Thompson SHARP ACTS (new trailer. We wrote about it previously here. HALLOWEEN (2018)... How many Halloween movies is this now? Michael Myers really can't be killed! WHITE BOY RICK (Matthew McConaughey is the titular character's dad.
Reader Comments (52)
I'm on the maybe so, we sure did not need a new Star Is Born, especially if the focus is on the Bradley Cooper character. It looks like a cross between Crazy Heart and the tv show Nashville with a better budget. Also a bit of a Burlesque vibe that needs more Cher.
It does look good, gorgeous photography.
"We already know that Bradley Cooper is a terrific actor[...]" Who is this we?
At any rate, I'm a maybe only because there are a few variables (Gaga's film debut, Cooper's first directorial effort, well-worn source material that only can feel but so fresh iteration after iteration) that don't make this as tenable as it could be otherwise. From the trailer it doesn't look bad at all, though.
Yes. Yes. YES.
History cannot be denied--Gaga has conquered every single obstacle in her path. Now, onto the red carpet.
There is 1 vote GaGa is defintely not getting and that's Jessica Langes.
Is that the incomparable PIPER LAURIE I see in that WHITE BOY RICK trailer
I’m dreading it.
Well she din't quite conquer the difficult 2nd album or the 3rd or the 4th really.
I ask you WHY???? another remake.
I like the trailer a lot, so hopefully they have cleaned it up and made it work. It seems like they are going for a *good version* of the wretched 70's version directed by Peters/Streisand. This is a side note, but it's been very weird to me that celebrities have been paid to say how good it is, etc. No one ever does that for other people's movies, unless they have been asked to do so.
PS, I am completely looking forward to Sharp Objects. Love Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson.
I'm going on a maybe w/ a bit towards yes for A Star is Born. I like Lady Gaga.
I agree with others who predict Gaga will stick the landing here.
Cher is not a "great" actress but she's a charismatic actress with guts. I expect the same from Gaga. If she stays out of her own head (Madonna's fatal flaw onscreen) and trusts Cooper, it could be magical.
The HFPA will eat it up and if it's a hit, her SAG chances will be strong. I see her getting pretty far with precursors but it will be a "will they or won't they?" situation with Oscar until nomination morning. I'm sure she'll have a song in the running so it could have shades of Mary J. Blige, too.
Wouldn't it be funny if Glenn Close lost an Oscar to Cher *and* Lady Gaga? I don't think that's in the cards but it would be funny.
Not to me.
Is anyone else catching a "Joanne - Music Inspired by the film A Star is Born" vibe here?
I'm kind of dreading it. Cooper is a good actor that's elevated material before (American Sniper) but a good performance in his own bad film is different. The writers (according to IDMB) do not stir very much confidence either - Roth is hit/miss, and the other one is a Nicholas Sparks connoisseur.
Unfortunately I'm getting much more of the disastrous Babs version vibe of Star from the trailer than either the Judy or Janet classics. So I'm a very shaky Maybe so.
I am however a great big YES for The Children's Act.
Thompson deserves her elusive fifth acting nod and her fourth in Best Actress solidifying her perennial status.
It LOOKS great and the little bit of music we get to hear sounds good, but I'm not sold on Gaga as an actress and whoever edited this trailer seems to feel the same way since they made it look like the Bradley Cooper show. I'd be more excited if it were a full-blown musical.
A Star is Born: Maybe, leaning yes.
The others?
The Children Act: If Thompson gets nominated, sure. Otherwise, nah.
Sharp Objects: Yes.
Halloween: On that really cool checkerboard psychiatric yard ALONE, I'm a SUPER YES. Everything else just strengthens the already sealed argument further. I might even wind up slightly preferring this one to the original.
White Boy Rick: Maybe. The real story's out there enough that I seriously doubt you could make a bad movie out of this.
Yes to "A Star is Born" is a classic story that can be remade for a new generation.
I thought they were going with Stefani Germwhatsit rather than Lady Gaga. I wonder why they changed their mind?
My lovely Emma, you look phenomenal and ravishing and you are wonderful with every word that soar up from your lips - but I hope this promising story is better then it's bland trailer ... as arghhh.... you deserve the nomination that they denied to you for "Mr. Banks"
Star is born - could be, might be, feels quiet gosoood - love Bradleys voice, and I don't mean his singing voice here only - and Gaga looks promissing...
Yes to Sharp Objects - great supporting cast ! ... Who's that Jean Smart - Elisabeth Perkins ?
White Boy Rick - Is it just me - I'm getting really allergic to another coke-head performance by Matthew McConaughey
@Dave, WB probably (wisely) figured that promoting this as a Bradley Cooper-Stefani Germanotta movie would be a frankly unnecessary marketing hurdle ("Stefani who?" - average person) when the world at large, for better or worse, knows her as Lady Gaga. It's not like Cher was ever billed as Cherilyn Sarkisian, and that didn't seem to matter much on her path to Oscar-winning success. Anyway, looking forward to this!
i thought Gaga was not great at all in AHS. I think she will not be good in thos at all from am actings standpoint. with that said with more focus on the Bradley character and Gaga’s singing chops, it still may be a good film. fingers crossed
Did Bradley have more plastic surgery? It's true that DeNiro, Penn have told people it's great, and Barbara S gave her usual "very good" since she can barely praise another person. The voice of GaGa is amazing.
Ugh-I’ll see it because I have to, but I cannot stand Gaga as a celebrity, and an awards season with her fawning over herself in speeches is going to test my patience in a way I haven’t been taxed since Jared Leto. Good singer though.
c'mon y'all, give emma her own post! this could be a big career moment for one of our favorite leading ladies :)
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette" was officialy moved to 2019. The stars are starting to be aligned for Glenn Close.
Is Sharp Objects released in time for this yr Emmy?
Its a long time since we last saw Amy!
man, I almost always forget how great of an actor Cooper has become.
I'm a YES for Star, although I'm dreading what looks like a one note performance by Gaga, and a lack of chemistry between the two.
Don't you try coming for my Glenn, honey!
No to a Star is Born they just put what seems to be what Gaga can do as an actress (and I like Gaga don't get. me wrong, but her presence in the trailer seems to short, to fragmented) I don't think she can act (American horror Stories was painful to watch (And I love American horror stories even that season ish))
Hayden- If Close looses an Oscar to Gaga after loosing to Cher AND Jody Foster performance that was AT best Emmy worthy it would be the saddest thing after the Americans elected a clown (I am not being nice to clowns sorry)
that's DAME emma thompson, mister!
It’s a really really big ‘if’ on if Lady Gaga can act. Although I sense she’ll be in the Eddie Redmayne camp of exhaustive and exhausting campaigner.
Yes. But Oscar for Best Actress? No ma'am. For original song maybe.
It's been ages since I'm not this excited for a mainstream movie, and I'm not even a Gaga fan.
I'm a yes. A big, big yes. The movie seems to have that "it" factor, not surprising given its two stars both have "it." And yes- the music sounds amazing.
And thank goodness they've hired a real singer to play the Gaga role. Some idiot on another site lamented that they hadn't hired a real actor to play this musical role, a la Zellweger/Zeta-Jones in Chicago, Hathaway in Les Miz, or Stone in La La Land. I wanted to cut that queen. The musical genre needs more people who are actually musically talented and less who can just 'get by' with mediocre vocals.
Also, Shangela is in it. Shangela 4 Best Supporting Actress!
NO: White Boy Rick, Halloween, A Star is Born
YES: Sharp Objects, The Children Act
It looks fantastic! And it will be a huge hit. Never underestimate the power that has on the Academy. Not to single out anyone out, but certain Best Actress contenders are going to struggle for ticket-buyers.
Also, Liza Minnelli herself has said that she normally hates remakes of Judy's films, but she's okay with this one because Gaga is in it. What more does anyone need?
I think Sam Elliott is the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor.
Yes, yes, yes...Gaga's singing really hits you in the heart. She is so effortlessly connected to her emotional body when she sings. I really hope her acting soars like her voice. This looks like Bradley's best (as an actor) to me. Beautifully cut trailer. Even Dave Chappelle's grim, foreshadowing line has so much depth and soul.
I am beyond excited for this. Hope Gaga slays this. Btw, Joanne is such an underrated album. Love love love Diamond Heart and the title track especially.
was going to mention that shangela is in "a star is born" (hopefully in the final cut), but evan already did that! halleloo!
(trixie who)
ASIB-for now-Maybe. I guess that I want to see some acting on Gaga’s part. Seems like this is her Desperately Seeking Susan where she just seems like be playing her life story. I also want to her an Evergreen-type smash love song before I’m drawn in..
Yes! Bradley can get ittttt with his Kris Kristofferson realness going on! Hawt!
Not as sure about Stefani. Just gonna say it. What's going on with her nose? I hope that's a prosthetic happening and not for real. Lead actress will be difficult unless she's undeniable. Academy voters are still snobs no matter how many new and "diverse" members u add. Original song should be a given tho.
It looks dull and pretentious.
I was more intrigued by the idea of Beyonce in A Star is Born tbh
Is this my most anticipated movie of the year? No. But it looks solid and I'm sure I'll end up seeing it.
Re: Lady Gaga--haters will claim that her performance is atrocious, and Little Monsters will insist it's the second coming of Christ (a histrionic EW headline insisted that she should get an Oscar based on the trailer alone LOL). I have a feeling that she will pull this role off. The trailer doesn't show enough of her acting to really get a sense that she is "amazing" in it, but there is no evidence that she is terrible, even if some folks might want her to be.
Fellow celebs love her and the hype machine is already buzzing. She's got Liza on her side. Barbara likes her. Elton loves her. Sean Penn is raving about this in advance. She seems to have a lot of friends and fans in the industry, and she has never seemed truly divisive as a performer within the industry. She is TOTALLY getting an Oscar nod. I think Nathaniel has already mentioned this, but when a big diva shoots for her Oscar moment, she typically gets at least nod if she's good (except for Madonna in Evita and Courtney Love in the People Versus Larry Flynt). Bette, Cher, Diana Ross, Barbara ... .I strongly suspect Gaga will join this list.It doesn't help that many of the potential nominees in the Best Actress category this year are in films that look like they won't exactly be lighting the box office on fire. If Gaga doesn't WIN Best Actress, she is at the very least winning Best Song.
Anyway, the real surprise for me in this clip is actually Bradley Cooper. He looks really good in this!
Why specifically remake a remake that was so disastrously bad? At least give us leads of color and switch the genre of music. That trailer looks more like A Star is Bored. I love Gaga but I will pass.
All the way in for both Children and Sharp.
Maybe on Halloween. It might make me forget the other five or six sequels that came after the original, minus H20.
Hell 2 the no on White Boy. Matthew is really feeling himself.
JJM: Don't bring Courtney Love into that comparison. She's a ROCK star, not a POP star, and the Academy has NEVER gone in for Rockers turned actors. If Bowie (the best Rocker turned actor) couldn't get enough heat...?
NewMoonSun: Even disregarding race, that is odd. If these have to be white people in 2018, couldn't they have based it on Trent Reznor or Chris Cornell or...SOMETHING more modern?
Based on the trailer, I'm a Yes for ASIB. There are some big ifs involved, and it looks like it's right on the line between great and awful which will make it an exciting experience. And Cooper really is a great actor.
@Sister - what plastic surgery do you think he's had? I know he definitely looked "refreshed" a few years ago so I can believe he got a facelift, but do you think he's had anything more than that?