BARBRA STREISAND, MARTIN LANDAU COMMENTS ON THE PASSING OF SYDNEY POLLACK

Barbra Streisand: "He knew how to tell a love story. He was a great actor's director because he was a great actor. And he was a very good friend, someone I even shared secrets with."

Martin Landau: "Ever since we started together in New York, Sydney excelled at everything he set out to do, his friendships and his humanity no less than his extraordinary talents."

Martin Landau and Sydney Pollack were friends from their early acting days in New York, and, together with Mark Rydell, they head given leadership to the Actors Studio for a number of years.

Dick Guttman.

Director and actor Sydney Pollack dies at 73

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sydney Pollack, the Academy Award-winning director who collaborated with a long list of elite actors on films such as "Out of Africa," "Tootsie," "The Way We Were" and "Absence of Malice," has died. He was 73.

Pollack was diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago and died Monday afternoon, surrounded by family, at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, said his publicist, Leslee Dart.

Unlike many other top directors of his era, Pollack was also a film and television actor himself, and he used this unique position to forge a relationship with Hollywood's elite stars and create some of the most successful films of the 1970s and '80s.

Sydney was a lifelong friend of Barbra's -- he appeared on Barbra's Broadway Album in 1985 (Putting It Together Dialogue)... and appeared at many of her concerts, including the 2006 Staples concert in Los Angeles. You can see Sydney on Barbra's One Voice Concert DVD (applauding after 'Somewhere'). Barbra presented the Best Director Oscar for Out Of Africa... Barbra also mentioned Sydney during her 2000 Cecil B. DeMille Award Speech at the Golden Globes... and you can see Sydney's insight into the making of The Way We Were on the Special Edition DVD.

Feature: Barbra Makes A Wish Come True...

I wanted to share this story with you all...



Meryl (aged 12) from Holland is a huge Barbra fan. She suffers from Cystic Fibrosis. Her one wish to meet Barbra came true last year after one of the London concerts in July 2007. This is another example of how Barbra doesn't need to publicize her charity work.

Support The Streisand Foundation

Barbra's Timeless Concert Outfit (From Act One) is for sale. All proceeds to benefit the Streisand Foundation.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BARBRAs-Timeless-Concert-Costume_W0QQitemZ280227791770QQihZ018QQcategoryZ104676QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Tidbit on forthcoming TV Special + DVD.

Dear BarbraNews Readers...

Here is a copy of Army Archerd's Blog from yesterday. We presume Army is talking about the 2006 US Tour, and not 2007 tour as he stated.

BarbraNews would like to congratulate Gary and Maxine Smith (and of course Jake!).

Army Archerd's Blog.

"While Jenna Bush was walking up the aisle at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas to wed Henry Hager, in the garden of the Beverly Hills hotel, Brett Kassan, backgrounded by the record of Barbra Streisand singing "Nothing's Going to Harm You," joined Jake Smith for their religious wedding ceremony. They said their vows under a magnificent flower-filled chupah and they were applauded by the 300-plus black-tied guests of the bride's parents Ronnie and Michael Kassan and Maxine and Gary Smith. Inside the hotel's Crystal Ballroom guests were again treated to the sight and scents of botanical gardens at each table.of the civilian and showbiz guests. The bride's father, Michael is a world-renowned media consultant, the groom's is honored showbiz producer, Gary Smith. The bride and groom work for Conde Nast and Ogilvie respectively in New York.

Guests included Barbra Streisand and husband James Brolin. She'd known the groom, Jake Smith and his twin brother and Best Man, Zack Smith since they were -- three weeks old!, Jim Brolin had just arrived from the location of "Nailed" in which he plays the Speaker of the House. Brolin's no strarnger to the territory having played President Ronald Reagan. And now, son Josh B. is readying to star in Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush. "I didn't want to play Reagan," Jim Brolin admitted to me, adding Josh also had negative feelings about playing Bush. However Stone was able to entice him to his office where a few touches of makeup convinced him to play Bush.. "It was amazing," Brolin, pere, told me. P.S. he also said the script is strong.

Gary Smith is also completing work as producer-director on the DVD version of Barbra Streisand's cross-country 2007 concert tour. It will first air as a TV special in Nov. followed by the DVD... Guests also included several members of SHARE. Maxene Smith is the group's Chairman of the Board. Gary again produces the show (May 31 at the Santa Monica Civic with Clint Holmes performing). Gary is also completing segs for the 11th AFI "100 movies" series, this one, "The AFI's 10 Top 10," toasting Animation, Fantasy, Romantic Comedies, Sci-Fi, Westerns, Gangsters, Sports, Courtroom Drama. Mystery and Epics -- with cohosts to match the categories. It airs June 17 on CBS and is the first big special under the AFI's Presidentcy of Bob Gazzale."

Monday, May 12, 2008

Full Length Video of Ascap Awards

You can view the full length (unedited) video of Barbra's speech at the Ascap Awards from Tuesday night by clicking here.

Photos from March 1 Fundraiser.

BarbraNews is proud to have the rights to publish these two photographs, which were shot at Barbra's Malibu Home on March 1st. Photograph number 2 is shown online for the first time.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Barbra Streisand photographed at her home which served as the setting for an Eco-salon fundraiser for Waterkeeper Alliance on March 1st. On more than 170 waterways around the world, Waterkeepers are on patrol - standing up to polluters and enforcing everyone's right to clean water. Waterkeeper Alliance connects and supports these grassroots advocates and fights for clean water worldwide. www.waterkeeper.org

It is kindly asked that these photographs are not copied, or displayed on other websites at the request of the photo owner.




Photo 1: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr; Barbra Streisand; Andrea Lim (Lexus)

Photo 2: Steve Fleischli (Waterkeeper Alliance); Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; Barbra Streisand; Tom Ford (Santa Monica Baykeeper)

Barbra Presents Award...

Barbra made a rare appearance in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (May 6), for the 2008 Ascap Film and Television Music Awards which were held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. She presented the Founders Award to Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

The renowned songwriting duo, who have been married for 50 years and collaborated even longer, were honored with the ASCAP Founders' Award for their half-century of contributions to the Great American Songbook. Many of their songs have become standards, including "The Way We Were," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "The Windmills of Your Mind," "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," "It Might Be You," "The Summer Knows" and many more.

The Bergmans have won three Oscars, three Emmys and a Grammy. Their many composer collaborators have included Michel Legrand, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones, Marvin Hamlisch, Henry Mancini, John Williams, Elmer Bernstein and James Newton Howard.

Streisand appeared near the end of the 40-minute presentation following a film clip from The Way We Were that featured her vocal of the title song, one of the Bergmans' most memorable lyrics (with music by Marvin Hamlisch). Streisand recalled that she first met the team when she was 18 years old, adding that "they have been such an integral part of my life and career. Their words move me every time I sing them. Their gifts have enriched my life and all of our lives."