It is well known that Barbra originally approached Elvis Presley to play John Norman. I was wondering if anyone thinks if Elvis had done the part, would it have affected the quality and success of the film, or would it still have been all about Barbra.
shareElvis wasn't in very good shape when the film was done...having susbtances abuse problems himself. Maybe the caracter of John Norman would have been too close to him...a parody of himself. Barbra's caracter has to take more space than John Norman as he goes down in to depression and she's glowing! It would have been Elvis' last film...so the focus would have been on that more than Bab's performance. Kris did a good job.
share[deleted]
I agree that this film would have been a completely different experience with Elvis playing John Norman. I think it would have been perfect conclusion to his film career, even if the character did hit a little too close to home, but I bet some of the backstage battles with Barbra would have been even more heated than the ones she had with Kristofferson and director Frank Pierson.
shareThis thread caught my eye because I saw this film the night Elvis died.
I came out of the cinema and turned my car radio on the moment they announced his death (in the UK).
I then went to a club where the singer was singing Wooden Heart, during a break I told him the news but he didn't believe me. I sent him off to listen to a radio - he came back with tears in his eyes and ruined everyones night on two counts. Firstly he killed the atmosphere stone dead by announcing the sad news, secondly he proceded to sing Wooden Heart over & over as it was the only Elvis song he new!
In various books they have written, many of of Elvis' body guards said he responded well to challenges and would gotten himself in shape for this. It's too bad he didn't do it because I believe he would have been fantastic in the part.
Who knows? We might have had him around a few more years too.
Yeah, that's quite possible. Plus Elvis was such a dynamic presence this could gotten him an oscar nod. his "True Grit", if you will...
shareRemember Elvis was only 40 when this movie was filming. He really wanted to be taken seriously as an actor & with his obsessive-compulsive personality, I believe he would have gotten himself into shape for the part, especially since he really wanted to do it. We will never know, but possibly his not getting to play John Norman Howard may have hastened his downward spiral...
shareElvis changed his mind on this role - that is, according to Sonny West. And that's not hard to believe, considering where Elvis was at this stage of his career and time in his life. Tom Parker was made a scapegoat for Elvis' reservations on a role that may well have been too close to home, but probably a stretch for an actor - and I use that term loosely with Elvis - who hadn't been in front of a movie camera (acting) for six years and hadn't been pushed for more than double that.
If Elvis had taken the role, who knows what the part itself may have done for his career. Look what happened to Sinatra with the role of Maggio in From Here to Eternity. Granted, Elvis was never in the same league as Sinatra as an actor, but the attention a new acting role would have brought Elvis, and in turn, the attention Elvis would have brought the film, may have helped turn his life and career around. This, of course, is only speculation, and on the other hand, he could have been a disaster on set, think Judy Garland with Annie Get Your Gun or Marilyn Monroe with Something's Got To Give...
NOW TARZAN MAKE WAR!
I though this film was an embarassment and I'm kind of glad he ended up not taking the role for whatever reason. Kristoffersen's songs were not memorable and I kept thinking to myself how could he attract stadiums of 25,000 plus with his raspy voice? He definitelty lacked charisma. And that scene in the bathtub where she puts makeup on his face was cringeworthy and I could never see Elvis doing that kind of scene. The whole film was a Streisand vanity piece.
"No! That’s not true at all. Elvis takes fifty percent of everything I earn." Col. Parker
That's why it didn't work out with Elvis being in the film. Even in the pre-production stage, Streisand was already showing signs of being a prima diva and the Colonel and Elvis wouldn't have any part of it. Elvis wanted to share top-billing but Streisand wanted top-billing and creative control, plus having her hairdresser direct it and only giving Elvis a percentage of the profits (a wise move at the time but didn't seem so for Elvis and the Colonel). I think Elvis knew it would be a battle with her while filming after that and decided to not take it, to avoid the headaches. That said, I wish he still did take the role. The movie wasn't that great but Elvis would have been perfect for that part and it would shown a lot of people he was a serious dramatic actor. I think he would have gotten good reviews and possibly an Oscar or Golden Globe nomination. Also with the adulation it would have given Elvis's own self esteem a boost and perhaps would have prolonged his life a bit. But as they say, we'll never know.
shareI agree in that it would have at least been an A class kind of film for him that would have generated a lot of interest but it might have also been an embarassment. Like I said I just can't see him doing some of the scenes and the character was written as more of a hippie type of entertainer and that's something I just couldn't picture him playing. Some of it is truly awful and IMO it's one of the worst major films of the 70s. I wonder if he ever saw it?
"No! That’s not true at all. Elvis takes fifty percent of everything I earn." Col. Parker
It is hard for me imagine anyone other than Kris Kristofferson co-starring with Barbra Streisand in "A Star Is Born". Kristofferson OWNED that role. Elvis may have attempted to shape up if he could have agreed to play the part. But he had such a long way to go. Kristofferson had six pack abs. Elvis's stomach looked like a keg even though he didn't drink. Elvis was a much better singer than Kristofferson. But Kristofferson's raspy voice worked well for rock music.
shareI thankful Elvis was wise enough to back out of this horrible piece of crap
shareElvis would've made this movie a 'B' movie farce. TG he didn't do it, or Jagger or, GASP, Diamond
share