Academy Award-nominated singer Beyoncé was Bradley Cooper’s first choice to play the struggling artist Ally in the 2018 version of “A Star Is Born.” The renowned actor says that he pitched the “Texas Hold ‘Em” star in their home as her husband sat and watched “Judge Judy.”
In an interview with NBC News Willie Geist during the SAG-AFTRA Foundation panel on Feb. 12, Cooper explained how nervous he was to pitch the Houston native in her home and how, despite having a cough, he did not disrupt her husband’s TV time.
Cooper shared with the live audience that the producer for the film told him that he could have $25 million to do the film and that he had to get one of the world’s biggest stars to remake a version of the film that Barbara Streisand made famous in 1976, “A Star Is Born.”
“I went to Beyoncé’s house, and Jay-Z was watching ‘Judge Judy,’” he said. “So, I remember I had this weird cough when I was pitching it to her. Like it was so crazy.”
Despite the pitch being crazy, the 32-time Grammy Award-winner said she was all in.
“She was incredible,” Cooper recalled. “And so was he [Jay-Z]. We developed it for like a year together… and then that fell through.”
According to “The Hangover” actor, Queen Bey was “one of the greatest people of all time,” even though a more important project had fallen in her lap. She became pregnant with her first child.
This is not the first time that this news has been made public.
Beyoncé, who recently made history by becoming the first Black woman to top Billboard’s country chart, shared with the world in July 2011 that she met with Clint Eastwood, who directed the Oscar-nominated film about the role that would eventually go to Lady Gaga, to star in the remake.
“I didn’t think I would ever get the opportunity to be the star,” she said in an interview with Reuters. “I met with Clint, and I was so nervous, and I know that it is the biggest opportunity of my life.”
A month later, while performing “Love on Top” at the MTV Video Music Awards, she revealed to the universe and all that were watching her precious baby bump.
Producer Bill Gerber said that everyone was excited about Beyoncé being a part of the project, but then a bun in the oven known as Blue Ivy Carter crashed their party.
“There was a moment where that was the best version of the movie, and then all of a sudden, Beyoncé got pregnant. Do we wait?” he rhetorically asked in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
Gerber said that Beyoncé knew that the producers and studio might go a different direction despite everyone wanting to make it work.
Between being a new mom, the wrapping up of her “4” album, and the production of her 2013 “Beyoncé” album, the singer had her plate full.
By October of the following year, she decided not to participate in the film due to scheduling conflicts, according to Goldderby, causing them to look at other options.
Two years later, the “Irreplaceable” singer was back in the conversation. However, rumors suggest, according to Page Six, that she asked for too much money, and Warner Bros. shut it down.
Lucky Lady Gaga was able to land and smash the role, earning herself a Best Actress nomination at the 2019 Academy Awards.
Streisand said she was looking forward to Beyoncé starring in the role but did not like the screenplay even after the success of the movie.
“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,” the singer said in an interview with The Sunday Project. “So, I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.”
“I thought it was the wrong idea. I can’t argue with success, but I don’t care so much about success as I do originality,” she added.
That same year that the movie received recognition at the Academy Awards Beyoncé starred in Disney’s “Lion King” and produced “The Lion King: The Gift.”
The album would go on to reach No. 1 on four different charts (U.S. Kids Albums, US Soundtrack Albums, U.S. World Albums, and US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums) and No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
