This is a real shocker, and not just Hollywood but the rest of America should love it. What a coup for Warner Bros getting The Man on this, the 4th version of A Star Is Born. Of course, Clint Eastwood will produce (as always through Malpaso) as well as direct the script by Will Fetters along with producers Billy Gerber and and Basil Iwanyk and Jon Peters (who made the infamous 3rd version of A Star Is Born with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson). No male lead is cast yet, but the possibilities are endless. The project, which has been at WB for several years, had hoped to pair Beyoncé and Will Smith. But how about P Diddy (who’s turning into a surprisingly fine actor along with Beyoncé’s husband Jayz), Eddie Murphy (reteaming with Beyoncé after Dreamgirls), or any white guy imaginable though Robert Downey Jr and Jon Hamm are names that have been floating?

Hey, I’m one of those huge fans who thinks Clint can do anything. And Beyoncé scored at the box office for Screen Gems — one of its biggest — in Obsessed. (And, yes, I do happen to think she can act.) This is going to be a high profile film but low cost since Eastwood is at the helm. The idea is to start shooting in the Fall.

Of course, Clint has had a huge interest in music off and on screen. He intended to major in music theory in college. He learned how not to do a musical when starring in the dreadful Paint Your Wagon (1969). He played that super-cool jazz DJ in Play Misty For Me, his 1971 directorial debut. He sdirected and starred alongside his son Kyle in 1982′s Honkytonk Man about a Depression-era aspiring country music singer. He directing Bird (1988), a biopic starring Forest Whitaker as jazz musician Charlie “Bird” Parker. He more recently has been doing all his own scores for his movies, including Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby and Changeling. Eastwood also partly scored Gran Torino with his son Kyle and Jamie Cullum.

Warner Bros’ idea of a 4th version of A Star Is Born has been floating around for some time now. This pic fell apart and just came back together. Back in January, Deadline reported that Nick Cassavetes was in early talks with Warner Bros to direct an updated version of the well-worn story of a love affair between an alcoholic star on the way down, and a young female artist on the rise. There have been a trio of A Star Is Born versions made since the 1930s, the last one coming in 1976 with Kristofferson playing the boozer and Streisand the wannabe. Or even 4 if you consider What Price Hollywood (1932) made by George Cukor which is often forgotten.

Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.

Get the latest Industry news sent straight to your Wall.