Barbara Streisand says Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's A Star is Born was "the wrong idea"

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A Star is Born
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Barbara Streisand – who appeared in the third A Star is Born remake – has criticized the 2018 version of A Star is Born, saying the movie lacked originality.

"I thought it was the wrong idea," Streisand told Australian talk show The Sunday Project (via Deadline). "Look, it was a big success. I can’t argue with success. But I don’t care so much about success as I do originality."

Streisand starred in the 1976 version of the movie, playing the role later taken on by Gaga in 2018. Kris Kristofferson played Bradley Cooper's part in the 1976 film. 

The original version of the movie was released in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. A 1954 remake followed, starring Judy Garland and James Mason. 

"At first, when I heard it was going to be done again, it was supposed to be Will Smith and Beyoncé, and I thought, that’s interesting. Really make it different again, different kind of music, integrated actors, I thought that was a great idea. So, I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976."

The 1937 version follows an aspiring female actor who meets and falls in love with an older, more established male actor whose own career begins to fade while her star is on the rise. The three remakes follow the same format, but with musicians instead of actors. Cooper's version, which was the actor's directorial debut, was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Original Song.

If you've already seen A Star is Born, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best Oscar-winning movies of all time. 

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.