Everybody loves Barbra Streisand
Film Society of Lincoln Center to celebrate singer/director/producer/writer/actress
FILE – This Oct. 11, 2012 file photo shows singer Barbra Streisand performing at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that the 70-year-old singing veteran will hit the stage on Feb. 24. It will be her second performance at the Oscars, and her first in 36 years. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file)
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Although Barbra Streisand’s proverbial popularity has never been far off the Hollywood radar, the star is enjoying a renaissance, of sorts.
The two-time Oscar winner performed at this year’s Academy Awards–something she hasn’t done in 36 years. Last year in her hometown of Brooklyn she performed two sold-out shows at the Barclays Center. For an upcoming summer concert in Israel, the 70-year-old singer had to add a second show after the first sold out in roughly 24 hours. And she starred in her first film since 1996’s The Mirror Has Two Faces when she appeared last year alongside Seth Rogan in The Guilt Trip. Seventeen years ago was also the last time she directed: though she’s slated to direct an as-yet untitled love story based on the relationship between photographer Margaret Bourke-White and author Erskine Caldwell.
And tonight, Bill Clinton will present Streisand with the Chaplin Award from the Film Society of Lincoln Center for lifetime achievement. The society honed in on Streisand’s role in Yentl, the first film to credit a woman as director, producer, writer and star. She’s in pretty good company, too: past recipients include Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and Meryl Streep.
More evidence of the affection fans feel for Babs can be seen on the The New York Times website: It recently invited readers to ask Streisand questions, which she would in turn answer. Some highlights:
- Who would she invite to a dinner party? (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Edward Hopper, Gustav Klimt and Fanny Brice.)
- What’s the biggest misconception about her? (She’s not that interested in herself.)
- Who was the better love interest: Hubbell Gardner from The Way We Were or Nicky Arnstein from Funny Girl? (“It’s like choosing between your two kids … I can’t!”)
When the Film Society invited fans to share Streisand-related stories and memories–in 200 words or less — it was overwhelmed by the number of replies and forced to extend the deadline for those trying to win tickets to attend the gala.