It's been more than sixteen years since Barbara Streisand directed her last film, 1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces. Considering how much awards buzz every film she helms tends to receive, it's a wonder why she hasn't spent more time behind the camera. But now as she's planning her return to acting as part of Julian Fellowes' remake of Gypsy, she's also putting together her next directorial effort, and she's landed two names that guarantee it will get some Oscar recognition as well.
Colin Firth and Cate Blanchett are set to star in the weirdly titled Skinny and Cat, telling the true story of the romance between writer Erskine Caldwell and photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White. Their marriage was brief, only lasting from 1939 to 1942, but they collaborated on three photo-documentaries focusing on the South. Their seminal work, 1937's You Have Seen Their Faces, is considered one of the greatest books about the struggles of the rural South during the Great Depression. Bourke-White has been portrayed on screen a couple of times before, most notably by Candice Bergen in 1982's Gandhi.
If all comes together financially, we should see production kick off in January. It's a big deal anytime Streisand does anything in Hollywood that doesn't involve playing a Fokker, and with Blanchett and Firth on board this is a film to be kept a close watch on. [Showbiz411]
