Barbra Streisand is getting into the music documentary game.
The singer, actress, director, producer and EGOT winner has started production on a multipart documentary about her life and career directed by Frank Marshall and produced by Alex Gibney, the project’s creative team announced Thursday. The project aims to be an “intimate and comprehensive exploration of every facet of the iconic multi-hyphenate” with access to the Streisand’s own archival materials as well as footage of her work on current projects, the announcement stated.
The film will follow Streisand from her Brooklyn upbringing through her early career in New York nightclubs and acclaimed performance in the original Broadway musical Funny Girl, which later was adapted into the 1968 William Wyler film starring Streisand. Following her Oscar-winning turn as Fanny Brice in that film, Streisand starred in Hello, Dolly!, The Owl and the Pussycat, What’s Up, Doc? and A Star Is Born before making her feature directorial debut with Yentl. The latter marked the first time that a woman had written, directed, produced and starred in a major feature film. On the music front, Billboard reported in 2021 that Streisand was the only female recording artist to have gotten her albums on the publication’s Top 20 list in every decade starting in the 1960s.
In a statement, Streisand said, “For years I’ve been thinking about the best way to share the vast amount of content I’ve been safely storing in my vault. These films, photos and music masters — many never seen or heard by the public — hold some of my most cherished memories. I’m so pleased that producer Alex Gibney and director Frank Marshall have agreed to take this journey with me.”
Across the course of her decades-long career, Streisand has been awarded two Oscars, eight Grammys, four Emmys, eight Golden Globes and a Tony Award (not including lifetime achievement awards).
“People have been talking about the need for the definitive documentary on Barbra Streisand for years,” said Gibney in a statement. “After a series of wonderful conversations and rigorous research, we are moving forward with Frank Marshall at the helm. I am delighted to produce this film on Barbra, a legendary singer, extraordinary actor, director, and political activist who inspires us all. Did I forget to mention that she’s a great storyteller who is funny as hell?”
The documentary will be co-produced by the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions. Producers include Gibney, Marshall, the Kennedy/Marshall company’s Aly Parker, veteran music documentary filmmaker Michele Farinola, Sony Music Entertainment president of premium content Tom Mackay and record producer and songwriter Jay Landers, who has worked multiple times with Streisand.
The film will be distributed by Sony Music Vision in partnership with Columbia Records, with Sony Music Vision handling global sales. Sony Music Vision is a production arm of Sony Music, of which Streisand’s longtime label Columbia Records is one subdivision.
With the project, Streisand will join the likes of Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Billie Eilish, who have all participated in documentaries in recent years. The boom in music documentaries began as streamers sought to fill their content slates a few years ago, a trend that has led to some titles that are editorially independent and others that are in part produced by the star in question and/or members of their team.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
