Frank Pierson was hired not only to contribute to the screenplay of the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born but to direct the picture — a high‑profile job that quickly became mired in rancor. During production and in the cut‑and‑thrust of post‑production Pierson found himself in escalating artistic disputes with the film’s star, Barbra Streisand, her boyfriend and producer Jon Peters, and co‑star Kris Kristofferson. Those fights were not private water‑cooler spats but full‑blown clashes over tone, cuts and creative control between an experienced writer‑director and a famously hands‑on star/producer team. The disagreements became so pointed that Pierson took the unusual step for a working Hollywood director of going public: he penned a long Village Voice piece titled “My Battles with Barbra and Jon,” laying out his side of the struggle.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Frank Pierson’s Public Break with Barbra and Jon During the Troubled 1976 A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born (1976) / 1970s
Frank Pierson was hired not only to contribute to the screenplay of the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born but to direct the picture — a high‑profile job that quickly became mired in rancor. During production and in the cut‑and‑thrust of post‑production Pierson found himself in escalating artistic disputes with the film’s star, Barbra Streisand, her boyfriend and producer Jon Peters, and co‑star Kris Kristofferson. Those fights were not private water‑cooler spats but full‑blown clashes over tone, cuts and creative control between an experienced writer‑director and a famously hands‑on star/producer team. The disagreements became so pointed that Pierson took the unusual step for a working Hollywood director of going public: he penned a long Village Voice piece titled “My Battles with Barbra and Jon,” laying out his side of the struggle.
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