Streisand on acting, Oscar snubs and singing with Dylan
Barbra Streisand’s 970page memoir, “My Name Is Barbra,” took her 10 years to complete. So it didn’t seem like that much of an ask for me to spend 48 hours listening to her read it, which I did over the course of a couple months.
Exhaustive, but never exhausting, digressive, sure, but usually to fine effect, intimate and honest, Barbra – I feel like we’re on a first-name basis now that we’ve spent so much time together – made for good company. I’d listen while making dinner, making lists of what I’d heard and, by the end of it, making up for lost time because, again, 48 hours.
Even after that deep dive into her life, I still had questions, which Streisand was happy to answer – by email. (If you’ve read the book, you know she likes to fuss over the details.) After spending so much time focusing on her voice, it felt like a novelty to zero in on her words.
Here’s our correspondence: Q: Barbra. It’s Glenn. I listened to your memoir for more than 48 hours, so I know that you appreciate getting to the point. So let’s go…
A: First of all, I’d like to say thank you Glenn for listening to all 48 hours of my audiobook!
Q: As an actor, you say you try to find a connection to the character you’re playing. What character did you feel most connected to?
A: I guess Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” She wasn’t the conventional leading lady, she spoke up when she thought something wasn’t right for her and she wanted so much out of life … just like me when I played that part.
Q: And what character most challenged you to find that connection?
A: Dolly Levi in “Hello, Dolly!” I was too young for the role, and it was far from who I am.
Q: The level of detail in your memoir is remarkable. Did you write in journals throughout your life? I’m half-joking, but when you mentioned the shot in “The Prince of Tides” of the little girl dragging a blanket and how it reminded you of your own baby blanket that you’d rub while sucking your thumb to put yourself to sleep, I thought, “I wonder if little baby Barbra wrote about it in her journal?”
A: Baby Barbra couldn’t write.
Q: It’s a ridiculous thought, but the image crossed my mind. And I had it because of the exceptional, specific detail in the book.
A: Yes, I’ve written many journals. Some were called “Observations.” They were just my thoughts, and I needed to write them down. I notice that I wrote more during the making of my movies, especially when I was directing. By the way, it’s fascinating to watch my 3-year-old granddaughter trying to disconnect from the need to suck her own thumb while holding a blankie. I understand the feeling and really empathize with her.
Q: Talking about being overlooked by the Oscars for directing “Yentl” and “The Prince of Tides,” you used the word “snub.” For “The Prince of Tides,” you noted that the movie had been nominated for best picture but that you had not as its director. “So what’s going on here?” you wondered. People were asking the same question this year about Greta Gerwig and “Barbie.” Do you think the directors’ branch of the academy is still a bit of a boys’ club?
A: I think a bit. And it’s also odd that there are 10 best films at the Academy Awards but only five directors nominated. How can that be? A director is responsible artistically for his or her movie. So maybe they should have just one category – every best picture could also come with best director attached.
Bradley Cooper also wasn’t nominated for best director even though his picture [”Maestro”] was.
Q: You wrote of a story where someone asked if they should become an actor. Your answer: If you have to ask that question, then the answer is no. Can you remember the specific moment that passion was ignited for you? And … do you think there’s a chance it might be ignited again?
A: I do remember … it was when I first saw Marlon Brando when I was 13. I had to become an actress, there was no turning back. Acting has to be a passion that you can’t ignore. It’s like a calling. If it’s just a simple decision like between one career and another, forget it. You have to be strong enough to take the kind of rejection actors get.
And as far as me acting again is concerned, I’ll never say never again.
Q: Bob Dylan says he wrote “Lay Lady Lay” for you. Is there a song in your catalog that you could sing that contains a message you’d like to send to him? (Also: Please follow through on your impulse and collaborate with him.)
A: As a matter of fact, I was going to reach out to him this year as one of the people I’d like to make a record with.
Q: You casually mentioned – just once, I believe – that you may be making a documentary about your life. Are we going to have to wait another 10 years to see it?
A: Back in the early ‘90s, I started putting together all this historical material from the ‘60s, the ‘70s and the ‘80s, but then so much was going on in my life that I didn’t have time to revisit it. And after 30 more years, there’s much more footage to go through. But now that I’ve finished the book, I’m finally ready to tackle it again with a documentary team. And I don’t know how long it will take.