Rick Farris wrote:A Star Is Born 1976 . . .
I was new in the business when this was being filmed in L.A.
I wasn't a regular on the crew, but one of several extra guys hired to help rig the stage with concert lighting equipment.
We weren't the "show boys" just the "riggers", but we had a lot of fun being a part of the production for that part of it.
I remember when this was shot. Streisand is difficult, but she is incredible on stage.
This was in downtown L.A. at an ancient theatre owned by USC. In years later we'd also film "What's Love got To Do With It" and "Sister Act-2" in the same theatre.
I remember watching this scene being filmed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1rcTIke ... re=related
-Rick Farris
Kris Kristofferson & Barbara Streisand . . .
Not all actors and actresses who play lovers on film get along off camera.
This was a perfect example.
"A Star Is Born" was a big budget remake of the old Judy Garland film and Barbara Streisand was producting the film.
I was new in the business at the time, and only worked a number of days on this big production, however, I would learn a lot about "set behavior".
After a few days, somebody mentioned to Kristofferson that one of the guys on the lighting crew was an ex-boxer, and we were introduced.
It would be the first of several films in which we would cross paths over the years, and I truly like the man. In his younger days he was a wild one!
Kris told me that he had boxed amateur in his youth and he was a knowledgeable fan.
He'd pretty much fit in with our group here, it seems as if we are all similar types, he has that heart.
Streisand, on the other hand, is all business and don't expect too much personality from her off camera.
Nobody's talent or range deserves more credit than Ms. Streisand, but personally speaking she is a pain-in-the-ass, rude and basicaly inconsiderate.
You don't go up to Barbra and say, "Hey, would you mind signing a photo for my aunt who happens to be a big fan?"
She'll look at you as if she'd just found a turd in her punch bowl and keep walking.
If you want an autograohed pic you must go thru her secretary, who will put in a request, and weeks later after you have forgotten all about it, a photo will arrive in the mail.
The picture will not be personalized, or even signed. A stamped signature will be on the photo.
Kris is a musician, too. Only Kris is as comfortable as a pair of old slippers. He likes to jam occasionally after hours, and the crew is all welcome.
We had a ball in Tempe, Arizona, where we did the outdoor concert scenes at Sun Devil Stadium of Arizona State University.
We were all lodged at the Hilton in Phoenix, and the musician visitors on the set were like a "Who's Who" of rock/country stars. Waylon Jennings was there, and others.
In Beverly Hills, we had a number of scenes in a Beverly Hills mansion that was used as Kristofferson's charactor's home.
One of the scenes involved a a big kiss between the two leading performers.
Steisand was upset with Kristofferson and made the mistake of raising her voice to her co-star after a take, prior to lunch.
When we returned from our lunch break, we were all ready to shoot the big kiss scene.
Barbara Steisand not only has a big nose, but is very sensitive to smell, and she's always quick to bitch if something doesn't smell right.
So irritating is this to the crew, that a couple of grips would deliberatly move close to the singer everytime they had to fart.
They'd drop a stink bomb and casually move away before they could be identified, sending her into a rage, and sometimes demanding the "set be cleared" while she was on camera.
It had come to a point where the two actors did not speak unless necessary.
As we prepared to roll camera for the kissing scene, Kristofferson stepped off-stage and took a bite of an onion.
When he stepped back in front of the actress the A.D. yelled, "Rolling", the director says, "Action!"
The two actors exchange dialogue, then fall into a kiss.
Streisand suddenly pulls away from the actor, looks at him with fire in her eyes and says . . . "You son-of-a-bitch. You pig bastard!"
The actor had big smile on his face, the actress left the set.
The days work was over, minus the kissing scene.
This was my last day on the film. Later in the year, I saw it when it was released, and I guess they got that kissing scene eventually, because it was in the movie.
I remember thinking to myself, "man these people really are catered to and babied." Do they really have any clue what life is about?
Yes, they do know about life. But what a strange life it can be.
-Rick Farris
