If Diana had won the Oscar...

I agree she was better than Liza (slightly). It was problably a close call for many voters. If she had won maybe a few studio executives would have found projects for her.

"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.

After LSTB, Ross was offered many different roles - two which ended up going to Streisand.

'A Star Is Born' was originally written as 'Rainbow Road' back in 1974, with Carly Simon/James Taylor in mind to star (neither one of them had any desire to be Hollywood actors, so they turned it down). In late 1974/early 1975, Sonny & Cher were considered to replace them, but the studio thought it wise to pass on them as well since they were in the midst of a very public, nasty break-up (their divorce was finalized at the end of June). The producers then turned their attention to Diana Ross, wanting to pair her with David Bowie (who was an aspiring actor at that time). It's been said both Ross and Bowie were interested, but the studio execs became rather nervous - cautious about a mixed-race romantic relationship would find an audience in 1975-76, and not convinced another all-black musical would be a box office success. They wanted to replace Ross with Cher (opposite Bowie),but then Streisand swooped in - and the rest is history.

A few years later, the project 'The Main Event' was written for Diana Ross, a romantic comedy (more emphasis on the comedy than the romance which made the studio happy) which would star her and her 'then boyfriend' Ryan O'Neal. The writers first sent the project to O'Neal, and his agent Sue Mengers loved it - but would only let him do it only if (her other client) Streisand partnered with him once more (a quasi-sequel tot he 1972 hit 'What's Up, Doc?'). So once again, Streisand was in and Ross was out - before she even got the formal offer.

"The Bodyguard' was then sent to Ross and O'Neal in 1980, but once again - the studios were hesitant on an interracial romance (The original 'TME' was a comedy between two business partners - who eventually fall in love at the end). That ended up taing 12 more years to film.

Aside from 'The Josephine Baker Story' (which was to be titled 'Naked at the Feast' like the biography which they were using) there was a remake of the 1981 French movie 'Diva' which Ross wanted to do. However, she wanted to make a major change to the story - have more emphasis on 'the diva' (Ross) and make her an American pop star rather than an opera star. It never got approved, and fell apart.

It was also said there was a 1980's movie in development called "Jazz Babies", starring Ross, Streisand and Bette Midler. The musical focused on three jazz singers travelling together in Europe during WWII. That never materialized either.

Other projects Ross was rumored to pass on (since 'The Wiz'): "The First Wives Club", "The Color Purple" (as "Shug Avery"), and "Eve's Bayou".


As for Minnelli, many have said her Oscar win in 1972 was more of an homage to her mother Judy Garland from the Academy, as she had died in 1969. Garland never competitively won an Oscar during her Hollywood career (she received a 'special children's award for TWoO in 1940) and many felt giving one to Minnelli 'made up' for that over-sight. It was close, but competitively - Ross really should have won.








"I prefer fantasy over reality TV - like Fox News" - B.Streisand

The problem with LSTB isn't Ross's performance, which is fine for what it is, but the fact that this movie is only nominally about Billie Holiday; the woman portrayed by Ross on the screen bears little resemblance to Holiday (mainly because she is miscast), and to make matters worse they let Ross do her own singing when they should have dubbed her (the results are so bad I had a laughing jag the first time I saw this thing).

The thing is, LSTB just isn't that good a film. In terms of plot it is a mess, an uneasy blend of fiction and half truths with only a little of the reality of Holiday's life on display. Billy Dee Williams is pretty to look at but they must have told him not to give a performance at all for fear of upstaging their Diva, because he might as well have phoned this one in. As for Richard Pryor, I can't decide if his performance was good or not. It has its moments, most notably a scene with Ross where they are both getting high (a scene Ross claimed was mostly improvised and which actually was one of her better moments in the film), but in other scenes he appears out of his element, and once again, the whole thing is so carefully arranged around the Diva that his character sort of gets lost in the shuffle.

This was neither a great film nor a great performance. Ross proved that she could act, no question, but she was not prepared to take on a complex and intricate role, and the problem was exacerbated by the fact that because of the script what we end up with is mostly Ross and very little Holiday.


Never mess with a middle-aged, Bipolar queen with AIDS and an attitude problem!
roflol (><)

Personally, I was rooting for Cicely Tyson that year.