We were so looking forward to seeing Beyoncé Knowles put her pipes to use on the silver screen, but news came on Tuesday afternoon that the Houston-born singer has bowed out as the lead female character in Clint Eastwood's production of A Star Is Born.
Warner Bros. isn't talking, but Variety's sources say that "her schedule was already too packed and that without a set start date the scheduling became too complicated."
Variety's sources say that Knowles' "schedule was already too packed and that without a set start date the scheduling became too complicated."
A Star Is Born, which was first filmed in 1937 starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March and reprised in 1954 with the lead lady limned by Judy Garland, was most recently remade in 1976 featuring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
Eastwood's version, penned by Will Fetters, features a lead male character inspired by Kurt Cobain. After first securing Bey, he looked for leading men in everyone from Russell Crowe to Christian Bale to Leonardo DiCaprio to Tom Cruise to Bradley Cooper, with even Will Smith, Jon Hamm and Jay-Z mentioned as possibilities to fill the role — which is still unoccupied.
The project was put on hiatus during the pop star's pregnancy last year, but now that her second baby bump rumors have been laid to rest, we wonder if said "complications" stem from political differences.
After all, Beyoncé has an open admiration for both Michelle Obama and Barack, and Eastwood certainly didn't paint the prez in a flattering light during his empty chair speech at the Republican National Convention.
This role retreat doesn't necessarily mean Bey will have to put that Oscar win on hold: Her next project, the 3-D animated film Epic, is expected to be released in May of next year.
