Will Smith: Born Again?

Will Smith confirms to TV Guide Online that he may headline yet another remake of the 1937 classic A Star is Born. "We have a treatment for a project," he reveals, "but it's been done well quite a few times, so it needs to be perfect."

To that end, a lot of energy has been put into finding the quintessential starlet to play Esther Blodgett to Smith's Norman Maine. Of all the names being bandied about, Jennifer Lopez and R&B superstar Alicia Keys have emerged as early favorites. "Jennifer loves the concept, [and] Alicia really likes it [too]," Smith says. "What I like about Jennifer is that you could go Latin. The music and the environment could be the Latin world, which would be different from all of the other [versions].

"I think it needs to be different," he adds. "I'm trying to figure out a way to make it different, to make it special. But it has to be right. You can't step into something like that and not have it [be] perfect."

The fact that filmmkaker Joel Schumacher is developing and may direct the update is a step in the right direction, Smith believes. "Joel doesn't make bad movies," says the Oscar-nominated Ali thesp, apparently forgetting Schumacher's Batman & Robin misfire. "This entire project is going to be based on the director's vision, so I'm interested in sitting down with Joel and seeing exactly what he wants to do with it."