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Last March, Deadline refuted a litany of web reports that Barbra Streisand’s dream to play the stage mother in Gypsy had died because Arthur Laurents no longer wanted the movie to get made. Deadline reported that Universal was making the deal and that producer Joel Silver was boarding the project. Today, Universal has announced it is moving forward with Oscar winning Gosford Park scribe Julian Fellowes. Here’s the official word:
LOS ANGELES, CA, March 13, 2012—Producers Barbra Streisand and Joel Silver have set Academy Award®-winning writer Julian Fellowes to pen the screenplay adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents’ Tony Award winning musical, Gypsy, which Ms. Streisand and Mr. Silver are currently developing for Universal Pictures. Ms. Streisand will portray “Momma Rose” in the new version, her first musical film since Yentl in which the Oscar®-winning actress and iconic singer starred, produced, co-wrote and directed in 1983.
Fellowes won the Original Screenplay Academy Award® for Gosford Park and most recently earned the Emmy and Golden Globe for creating and writing the acclaimed miniseries, Downton Abbey. His musical theatre work includes adapting the script for Disney’s stage production of Mary Poppins.
Gypsy has exhilarated audiences on both stage and screen since its first Broadway run in 1959 with Ethel Merman. Since then, the compelling story based on the memoirs of the famous striptease artist, Gypsy Rose Lee, has spawned numerous reincarnations including the 1962 film starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood, four Broadway revivals, as well as a made-for-television movie.
A celebrated artist, Streisand has gathered Oscar®, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Directors Guild of America and Golden Globe awards, winning Oscars® for both, Best Actress (Funny Girl) and Best Original Song (for her composition of “Evergreen” from her production of A Star Is Born).
Gypsy marks Silver’s first foray into Broadway movie musicals after a career of producing several commercially-successful films including the Lethal Weapon, The Matrix, Die Hard and Sherlock Holmes franchises.
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Yes. Yes. Yes. Mike Nichols to direct.
They’ll need a Krypton-born Superman to direct this.
I’m a big musical fan. Very excited about this. I love seeing classic shows getting fresh, new interpretations. Psyched that the studios are making more musicals again.
Arthur Laurents died so he wouldn’t have to see this.
THIS.
Whoever wrote this press release is not a Broadway fan. It’s Mama Rose, ok? Not “Momma” like “Big Momma’s House.” I mean “Momma Rose” sounds like a Tyler Perry character.
Good point. This is going to be great. I don’t think it matters how old she is. It’s a new take on the character. I personally think Streisand could be a bit too campy, but I’m still going to be there opening weekend!
This is a disaster. The real life Rose was in her early 20′s when she had children. That would make her about 28-35 during the events of the play. At 70, Barbara Streisand is WAY too old at this point. If this happens it will be the biggest vanity project in the history of Hollywood.
Maybe this would have been a good idea in 1980. Not now. PLEASE not now.
Ethel Merman was almost 60 when she played Rose, so age is a moot issue.
Ethel Merman was 51, or 19 years younger than Miss Streisand will be when she films this. I wish her all the best. Maybe they’ll youth-ifier her digitally like they did for Jessica Lange in American Horror Story.
Barbra looks great for her age. Her voice still intact and thrilling. She’ll be swell, she’ll be great!
As for Dave: DONT’T SEE IT! There are enough of us out there to make this movie a hit!
Nor is it Mama Rose. The character only appears as “Madame Rose”, “Rose”, and “Mama” in the script….she is only called Mama Rose but gay male theatre queens who aren’t as up on details as they should be.
you tell ‘em, Barbra!
More like Grandma Rose…
Horrible idea. Streisand is way to old.
Wait until The Gulit Trip comes out and becomes a hugh hit. BARBRA might be 70, but she is back!! A duets album, a 12 dvd box set of unreleased music/footage, another tour, then GYPSY
Oh, Richard Jay Alexander, PLEASE stop banging the drum for Barbra- you’ve done enough damage already
The age issue isn’t a comment on Barbra. As Dave points out above, the CHARACTER of Mama is far younger than 70, even the middle-aged actresses who typically portray her are too old.
There was the reverse problem when 27-year-old Barbra played Dolly. What late middle-aged man wouldn’t want to marry such a young, beautiful widow? Most of the stakes for Dolly’s character were gone.
But Barbra still made a fabulous Dolly, so I’m fascinated to see her take on Rose.
They’re going to have to bring Lucille Ball’s “Mame” lens out of storage to film this.
The entire audience will leave the theater feeling like they have glaucoma.
I am so verklempt
And I’m thinking Lea Michele as Gypsy or Anne Hathaway as Gypsy and Lea as her sister. Depends on how much more “star” power they think they need.
Please, please no Anne Hathaway. That girl is not dynamic in the least. She’s a bore on-screen, even though she’s nice to look at. Just like Mark Ruffalo.
Anne Hathaway as Louise and Megan Hilty as June
Wrong actress, wrong producer and now the wrong writer. Just stop now, please, and return to some other pile of vomit.
And Streisand as a 40-year old woman was believable as a “man” in Yentl. Good grief.
Stop already! You guys are killing me. I say film the comments.
Would some filmmaker please read the memoir and make THAT movie? Like the world needs another filmed version of the Broadway musical. Memoir is rich, gritty page turner, so much left to mine.
Lucille Ball’s miscasting in ‘Mame’ wasn’t just her age it was also her lack of singing ability so an analogy with Streisand is not accurate. Babs can still sing.
In 1962 Rosalind Russell was 55 when she played the role; Streisand looks great and younger than her chronological age and she is, after all, BARBRA STREISAND. Julian Fellowes is also a terrific writer so not sure why he’s felt to be ‘wrong’ here, either. The only odd one in the mix is Joel Silver whose resume obviously doesn’t overtly mesh with a musical but if Barbra is ok w/him–and she’s notoriously picky–one has to assume he’s ‘right.’ So the haters should back off and let it unfold.
What made it worse was the Lea Michele suggestion. This is a very, very bad idea. What’s next? Joan Rivers as Mazeppa?
Ok, so I had my thoughts and opinions before. I was totally opposed to this in the beginning. But after giving it a thought…who cares how old she will be when she makes this movie? In “today’s world of entertainment”, since when does the age matter became an issue? If anything, and with great movie-amking, I’m certain the producers and everyone else in this production will create something wonderful and exciting to see AND with quality. If anything, her age may even enhance the story and make it even more interesting. And, if we all know how Barbra is, she won’t settle for anything but the best. So, in close, I have no worries or doubt that this will be something extra-ordinary.
Yet another totally unnecessary Hollywood remake. The show is great and reworking it is a stupid idea. It was already made as a good movie. The only reason to remake a movie musical is if it was wrong the first time (“A Little Night Music” comes to mind). And Streisand is all kinds of wrong for this part.
I hope that Sondheim has to be okay with it for it to go forward, but I still think it’s a bad idea.
Oh, and Fellowes is the absolute wrong choice to write this movie.
I feel like I’ve stepped into a puddle of HIV.
Yes, okay, Barbra’s a tad mature for the role – but I don’t care, we NEED more movie musicals and I think she would be great as the pushy, overbearing Rose. Unlike Roz Russell, who required most of her songs to be dubbed by Lisa Kirk in the 1962 movie version, Barbra can do her own singing. I think it’s an interesting idea, I would think more Streisand fans would be happy about it.