By Cheng Cheng
"The Birth of a Star", this Hollywood "classic IP" has been nominated for 17 Oscars in the previous three versions in 1937, 1954 and 1977. On October 5 this year, the new version of "The Birth of a Star" was released in the United States. The new version starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper has reached a score of 8.1 on IMDb and won five Golden Globe Awards. Nominate.
In fact, every time the story of "The Birth of a Star" is very simple, a young and unnamed talented female singer meets a male celebrity who is just like the sky. A man takes a fancy to a woman’s talent and makes her famous at the same time. , The two fell in love. However, when women’s careers are rising rapidly, men’s careers have encountered Waterloo. In front of both the newcomer he promoted and his lover, the self-esteem and self-confidence of the man shattered step by step, and the love between the two became vulnerable. .
Strictly speaking, the earliest version of this story comes from the movie "What Price" was produced by legendary Hollywood producer David O. Selznick in 1932, but in this "earliest" version, the heroine is a Very skilled Hollywood "gold digger", and the male lead is a very accomplished director. In 1936, director William Wellman and novelist Robert Carson developed a script together, and approached Selznick to hope that he would produce it. Selznik was not interested. He changed his mind until his wife read the script and highly recommended him. However, this incident almost caused the legal department of Raidenhua, the production company of "What Price" Znik’s prosecution, and Selznick himself eventually gave up his signature in the film.
Acting as the heroine "Ester" is the actress Jenny Gainau, who won the first Oscar for Best Actress. She was not only the first actress of the Oscar, but she also used the " After winning the film in the Seventh Heaven, "Angels on the Road" and "Sunrise", she is the only actor in Oscar history to win awards at the same time with different roles. In the early 1930s, Gaynor's career began to decline, and Hollywood competition was too fierce. Every day, countless stars were born and countless stars fell. When he got "The Birth of a Star", Gaynor immediately took over the script and played the role of the girl in the movie, the girl who went from a small town to Los Angeles in search of a dream. Perhaps, this film tells her own story, and the film has been well received by the media. The Variety Daily commented that "The Birth of a Star" is undoubtedly the best story about Hollywood at the moment. "The Birth of a Star" became the best-selling movie in the United States in 1937, and Gaynor was nominated for the second Oscar for Best Actress in his life.
It is worth mentioning that there is a scene in "The Birth of a Star" about the heroine who won the Oscar for Best Actress, and what Gaynor held in that scene is the one she was in the first place. The statuette won at the Oscars.
Compared to Gaynor, the filming experience of the heroine Judy Garland in the 1954 version of "The Birth of a Star" may be more legendary and more bumpy. When Warner Bros. decided to remake "The Birth of a Star", Judy Garland had already experienced many years of mental problems and drug dependence. During this period, he had tried suicide many times. She became famous as a young girl because she was constantly criticized by MGM's senior management for "not beautiful enough", "not slim enough" and other problems, which caused a huge psychological burden, and these senior management asked her doctor to prescribe a lot of psychotropic drugs for her forcibly treatment, and finally , Garland broke down, she was no longer the cute girl singing "Above the Rainbow" in "The Wizard of Oz". In 1950, she terminated her contract with MGM, who held her out. It was not until 1953 that she accepted an invitation to star in "The Birth of a Star", which was called her "comeback" work, when she had just turned 30. , And it has been more than three years since her last movie "Wanhua Fairview".
1953 was a difficult year for Garland. The sudden death of her mother was a heavy blow to her, coupled with years of mental troubles, Garland's physical condition is worrying. However, she still took over "The Birth of a Star", "This movie must be the best, not just so good. I bet on too many things, and I have to prove myself." George Cook , The director of "What Price in Cinema" was invited as early as the first edition of "The Birth of a Star", and finally took the position of director in this version. Moss Hart, an amphibious screenwriter of a drama film who won a Pulitzer Prize and nominated for the best Oscar screenwriter, is also an old acquaintance of Garland. He soon adapted the 1937 version of the script of "The Birth of a Star". According to Garland’s strengths, the genre of the film has been turned into a song and dance film, and a lot of humorous lines have been added to her. For example, when the male and female protagonists met on stage for the first time, Garland’s character "Este" Pointing to the drunk actor "Norman" on the stage and said, "He is drunk, but he is not bad!"
"You don't understand, when you watch your loved one get destroyed in front of you little by little day after day, but there is nothing you can do... No matter how much you love that person, how do you live your life? How do you live it?" -Esther "The Birth of a Star"
Hart understands Garland. His "Este" maintains the humorous and lovely image on the screen, acting as a superstar "Vickie". Off-screen, she has experienced the experience of an ordinary woman "Este". s pain. "The Birth of a Star" art director Keene Allen once commented on Hart's script, "Cook loves it so much, because this is the story of Judy Garland!"
According to the memories of Garland's daughter, when filming "The Birth of a Star", Garland experienced many physical adverse reactions brought about by years of drug dependence. The filming of the film was a huge load for her. And George Cook has always asked the actor to take multiple shots in a scene to achieve the emotions he needs. This cannot but be said to be a practice of methodological performance, but Judy often breaks down and crying and can't help himself. Cook said in a letter to contemporary female star Catherine Hepburn, "Since three weeks ago, strange things have happened to Judy. She is always late, especially, this movie was supposed to be Her own comeback! Indeed, you can understand that she has a mental problem, but her arrogance and selfishness will eventually take away everyone's sympathy for her!"
James Mason, who played Norman, recalled the shooting situation at the time and said: "Judy's state is good and bad, sometimes she can't recover until after the lunch break. If the budget of a movie is overrun, it is because Judy can't help it. Shooting according to the schedule, then Judy will definitely be considered a "big-name star". You know, "big-name players" are often outdated, selfish and have a bad temper. I have cooperated with some of these." Stars". But they have a worse temper now, but this is not Judy." Judy did spend a lot of time on this film. She actively participated in various interviews, practiced dance steps, and tried clothes seriously. She went home every day. Exhausted, she had to coax her two little daughters to sleep. Not only that, but Judy also added his own creativity-to use a small song and dance clip in the play to map his process of becoming famous, but the cost of the play in the play is quite high, I did not expect Warner to agree to this crazy idea. , The reason is, since so much money has already been spent, why care about spending more money to make the movie better? Thus, the classic song "Born in the Trunk of a Truck" was born.
Although angry at Judy's mood swings, Cook has never denied to the outside world his admiration and fanaticism for Judy's genius. After filming a major event-Norman's death, Esther's friends came to persuade her to perform again on stage. In Cook’s memories, Judy began to brew emotions before the filming began. Before the filming, she stared at Cook and whispered, "You really know what this story is about, you really know it." Cook Later, I recalled that I thought she (Judy) must have thought so in her heart, "He (Cook) wants me to dig into my deepest soul, because I know that this story tells my story." Cook shouted , "Start shooting", the actor Tommy Noonan, who plays a friend, walks into the scene and persuades Esther not to give up her career, and even feels a little angry and rude towards her, and Esther should be completely collapsed and cry out loudly. . "When Judy acted, I was totally shocked. She didn't care what she looked like, she was completely distracted, and I was moved by her." At this time, Tommy grabbed Judy and scolded her, "That The line was meant to insult her (Judy), but her reaction was so unforgettable to me. She turned around, and then you see that the anger, madness and fear in her eyes have completely disappeared. She sees It was so calm and fragile, with tears in her eyes. I called to stop, and then quickly asked her to keep her emotions up again. The second article was still very exciting. So I said to her,'You really scared me!'"
The 1954 version of "The Birth of a Star" cost 6 million U.S. dollars, double the original plan, making this movie the most expensive movie in Hollywood that year. The publicity costs are even more exaggerated. Warner Bros. can be said to have spent a lot of money, and spent another six million dollars on a net-like publicity. On August 2, 1945, the grand premiere was held in Los Angeles. It can be said that it was an unparalleled success. Immediately afterwards, the filming events in Los Angeles and New York frequently reported success. Although the movie was three hours long, no one thought it was long. The comments made Garland's performance and singing praised the sky. Many people said, don't cut it! "Time" magazine commented, "As an expert in singing and dancing, Judy's performance is in line with expectations, but her superb acting skills are the biggest surprise to the audience! This movie is her perfect comeback!"
However, Cook thought that most of the audience still couldn't stand the three-hour duration, so he insisted on cutting out the content for half an hour, including that after Norman encouraged Esther to pursue her own career, she bid farewell to the band, Norman’s proposal to Esther and other interactions between the two were later thought to have greatly damaged the relationship between the hero and the protagonist.
Garland was very helpless when she heard the news. She hoped she could do something, but because she did not have the final cut rights, she could only watch those wonderful sections being cut from the movie. Due to the audience's dissatisfaction with the editing, the praise of the film during the screening stage turned into slander, and the film also encountered Waterloo at the box office. Despite this, the 1954 edition of "The Birth of a Star" was nominated for six Oscars, and Garland was still the most popular winner before the awards. On the day of the awards, Judy gave birth to his first son, and the TV station moved the camera directly to the ward-however, the best actress was awarded to the fledgling Grace Kelly. Some media commented, "The movie cuts out Garland's Oscar in one fell swoop." In the end, Cook had to admit that it was very unwise to cut the thirty minutes by himself.
Garland's comeback failed.
In July 1969, Garland died at the age of 47 due to an overdose of sleeping pills.
However, people who love Judy did not stop looking for the 30 minutes that was cut off. Cook himself has been working hard to find the first edition and re-screening, but due to the age too long, he always returns in disappointment. In 1983, after Keen Allen's efforts, the missing fragments were finally pieced together, although some fragments lost the picture and only the singing voice remained. On the night of January 23, Cook passed away, the night before the three-hour version was about to be rescreened.
Time came to the turbulent 1970s. The various movements triggered by the unfavorable Vietnam War in the United States made the atmosphere of the whole society ups and downs, and rock music became popular. As a result, Warner decided to target folk rock star James Taylor and his wife, singer-songwriter Carly Simon. The name of this edition was originally called "Rainbow Road", perhaps, it was a nostalgia for Garland. However, both Taylor and Simon declined the invitation, and the development of the film came to a halt. At this time, the agent Sue Mingle recommended the script to her biggest client, the amphibious star Barbra Streisand.
She became famous on Broadway in the 1960s and was called the "Queen of Broadway". She later won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in "Funny Girl". She was also a pioneer of the feminist movement. Streisand's popularity can be described as unmatched. However, in the 1970s, Streisand fell into her bottleneck-she kept performing various roles, but she couldn't escape the image left to the audience. She was also looking for her next breakthrough. Therefore, for the movie "Rainbow Road", Streisand initially rejected it. However, her boyfriend at the time and her producer and hair stylist Jean Peters strongly recommended in front of her. He believes that the image in this movie is the classic image that Streisand should promote most-a lover of singing. Cinderella.
"Did you know, this movie is going to burst! You must act it!"
"However, there have been two such roles before. I like Judy Garland's "The Birth of a Star"."
But at the time, Streisand had no idea that this movie called "Rainbow Road" was the third version of "The Birth of a Star". However, she still expressed interest and was willing to be the producer of this film, and included all the tracks in the film on the record, and she requested that the film be renamed-"The Birth of a Star".
Streisand hopes that her version of "The Birth of a Star" will have a "Streisand" style. The new version must involve controversial topics, and the relationship between the hero and the protagonist should not follow the settings of the "strong men and weak women" in the previous two editions. Streisand is the spokesperson of feminism. She will never be the traditional American "sweet girl" like Gaynor, nor will she wander around until she collapses in self-identification and self-denial like Garland. Streisand is confident in herself and firm on the path she is going to take. "I want to discuss the relationship between men and women today because it is different in the 1950s and 30s." Streisand said in an interview.
"The aura of a star can fade, because there are always new people to replace you. Hollywood is fiercely competitive. This is what makes this industry disgusting, and those pressures can make performers destroy themselves. And this story is about the excitement of becoming famous, and The price behind it."
In this version, compared to the previous story, Esther is helpless with the alcoholism and depravity of the man with Bole and her husband. This "Est" is brave, independent, and completely indifferent to the evaluation of her by society. She even pushed her cheating husband to the wall. He yelled at him, "Fight me! Fuck, you better protect yourself, or I will kill you!" Streisand believed that this movie should show what a star is like. The pressure and loneliness she has endured have been poured into this new version of "The Birth of a Star". "What we have to do is to break the stereotype, especially in the performance of the relationship between men and women. We have a fight. The actor cried. Men cry. We have another scene in the bathroom. I dressed him up as a woman... After watching this movie, you will know better, Barbara. What kind of person is Streisand."
In 1976, Streisand chose to hold a concert at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona in order to shoot a concert for 10,000 people in the film. This is since she held an outdoor concert in Central Park, New York in 1967. It is the first time to perform live singing in front of the public. When recalling the grand occasion, one fan said, "More than 45,000 fans poured into the stadium to watch Barbra Streisand's remake of "The Birth of a Star". Streisand hasn't performed for many years, so watch the show. There was a long queue of people... She ignited the scene, and it was simply the most wonderful thing in the world. She came out and sang, and the audience was overwhelmed by her singing."
Chris Christopherson, who played the leading actor, once joked, "I'm pretty sure, I can't take away any of her audience."
After several rounds of movie screenings, the comments were not friendly to this version of "The Birth of a Star". The New York Times reported that "Streisand never cooperated with other actors in acting. Her "The Birth of a Star" is nothing but one. A solo show. Everyone is from her musical background." Some film critics even said, "Streisand sings well, but she doesn't perform well."
However, the day the movie premiered was unprecedented. People squeezed into the movie theater like crazy. Then, on Christmas Day, it was released nationwide. It is hard to imagine how enthusiastic people lined up at the entrance of the movie theater to buy tickets on a cold winter day just to hear Streisand. The sound of heavenly singing.
The 1976 version of "The Birth of a Star" became the runner-up in the total box office that year, and the champion was the same inspiring "Rocky".
Not only that, Barbra Streisand won the best Oscar song for her original soundtrack "Evergreen Tree". "Evergreen Tree" later became one of her most enduring songs.
In 2011, Warner approached Clint Eastwood, hoping that he could direct the new version of "A Star Is Born". Eastwood finds Bradley Cooper, who is cooperating with him in "American Sniper", and hopes that he can play the leading role, and the heroine is looking for Beyoncé, who was in full swing back then. Cooper refused. At that time, he didn't know if he could play a good singer. Beyoncé also quit because of pregnancy and the project was stranded.
Four years later, Cooper has experienced "The Happiness Line Behind the Dark Clouds", "American Sniper", "American Hoax" and three Oscar nominations, a year of uninterrupted performances of the Broadway drama "The Elephant Man", and the death of his father. . In 2015, he is ready. This time, not only will he play the leading role in "A Star Is Born", he will also serve as the director and screenwriter of this version.
As we all know, the success of "A Star Is Born" depends on the heroine.
Cooper heard an extremely moving "Life of the Rose" in a concert during the anti-cancer activity.
"That voice conquered me all at once."
Cooper immediately found the owner of the voice and called her agent. He rushed to her house and saw the owner of the voice-Lady Gaga.
Lady Gaga's home is by the coastline of Malibu, and she can see the vast sea on her head. Her garden is full of roses. Gaga bought the house four years ago and called it his "oasis of the soul." At that time, she was experiencing both physical and mental torture. Since she debuted in 2008 and became popular in 2009, Gaga has experienced the slander of every star in the process of becoming famous. At the age of nineteen, when she was still named Stephanie, she was sexually assaulted by a music producer. After that sexual assault, she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2013, Gaga was diagnosed with a torn lip of the right hip and immediately cancelled all performances for treatment. In 2017, Gaga announced that she was suffering from fibromyalgia, and her health was deteriorating. What made her heartache most was that many people didn't believe that she was sick, and accused her of pretending to be pitiful and sympathetic.
"I'm irritated by people who don't believe that fibromyalgia is. For me, for many people, it really causes gusts of anxiety, depression, trauma, and panic, all of which make the nervous system overexcited. Then you will have neuralgia. Such a chronic disease is not a joke, because I don't know what kind of pain I will encounter today when I wake up every morning."
Cooper still remembered that there was a huge tripod piano in the living room. Gaga was doing lunch for Cooper. He asked her if she could sing a song with him. Gaga came to the piano and Cooper played the piano. The individual began to sing. At that moment, Cooper decided that the woman in front of him was his heroine.
"She is like an atomic bomb." Cooper thought so, and he told Gaga, "This movie is about you having a dream, but you haven't realized it at 31, not 21." Gaga told him that he was in She started in the Lower East Side of New York. She once went to a drag bar there to perform. Cooper immediately felt that that should be where the story began.
"They are all complicated people with rich and deep emotions, and he (Cooper) caught this. That's why I think this movie is so successful, because it's so real, and I find it in this movie So I can interpret it.” Gaga said in the interview, “One day Streisand came to visit the class. That moment was amazing. I felt like I had received the torch she handed me.”
The 2018 version of "The Birth of a Star" was released on October 5th. So far, it has won a box office of 190 million U.S. dollars in the United States alone.
"I am not a brand, I have my own special existence, and everyone has their existence... If you don't face the injustices in this world, you will become ignorant and may become an accomplice. But when we Looking at each other’s eyes, there is a certain empathy, and I believe this world will get better."
Beginning with Jenny Gaynor, Hollywood has reproduced "The Birth of a Star" over and over again, whether it is Garland’s 1954 version of the sorrowful ending, Streisand’s 1976 version of the empty alley, or the 2018 version of the double harvest of word-of-mouth business. There seems to be a curse that attracts America's top and most special female celebrities. Whether it is Garland, Streisand or Gaga, they are not "beauty stars" in the traditional sense. However, "The Birth of a Star" is just like the history of fame for each of them, as a roller coaster quickly changes between highs and lows. Interestingly, the four versions of female stars received this "telling of Cinderella's fame" story when they experienced a period of prosperous career, and when they were at a low ebb or bottleneck.
And the reason why each version has become a classic, perhaps these four female stars are too understandable, after a female star is brilliant, in the shadow of the flash gap, those painful to bear.
In Garland’s song: “Somewhere above the rainbow, the sky is so blue. As long as you dare to dream, it will come true.”
In Streisand’s song: "The memory may be beautiful, what is the pain that makes us unwilling to remember? It made us simply choose to forget, so we will only remember to laugh."
In the song of Lady Gaga: "I am beautiful in a unique way, because God has never made a mistake. I am on the right track. I was born that way."
Maybe God really cares for them, hoping to let the audience relive their splendid years.
I am looking forward to the next version of "The Birth of a Star".
This article was originally published in "Movie" magazine, author Cheng Cheng, public account: dianying2001
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