How does that song from Hercules go?
"Gonna shout it from the mountaintops
A star is born!"
A star is born!"
It's right after Hercules figures out how to leverage his abilities into becoming a star, i.e. a star was just born.
It's also the perfect intro for the trailer for A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, which just dropped today. We're gonna shout it from the mountaintops! A star A Star Is Born is born!
A Star Is Born stars Lady Gaga, a.k.a. Stefani Germanotta, as a young girl who dreams of stardom and quickly becomes an overnight success with the help of Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper). There have been several iterations of this story: The first one, starring Janet Gaynor, premiered in 1937. In 1954, Judy Garland starred in the first remake, which turned the movie into a full-on musical. (The first version was just a movie with songs in it, if we're getting technical.) Then, in 1976, Barbra Streisand starred in a version that was a rock musical. In every iteration, the main character has been named "Esther."
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The 2018 version deviates in that Gaga's character is named Ally. Ally encounters Jackson, a rock star, and starts writing songs with him. Romantic tragedy ensues. The movie will also star Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliot, Shangela Wadley, and Halsey.
The trailer for A Star Is Born, 2018 version, premiered at Cinemacon in April to rave reviews. Critics said the movie looked — from just the 2 minute montage — "terrific" and gave them "goosebumps." A few said the trailer made them cry.
A Star Is Born was originally scheduled for a May release. It was then rescheduled for September, then again for October. This amount of reshuffling doesn't usually bode well for movies — we all remember what happened with Tulip Fever, the movie that was determined never to come out. But the new trailer, finally out in the world, looks promising. So promising, in fact, that it makes sense that the movie will be coming out during awards season. What if Lady Gaga wins an Oscar?
Watch the full trailer, below.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story misspelled Germanotta's first name. We regret the error.