Hoo boy, so let’s recap this one: Last summer, it was reported that Barbra Streisand was going to direct her first film in sixteen years with “Skinny And Cat,” and a pretty solid leading duo in Colin Firth and Cate Blanchett were found. Hooray, right? Well, nothing much was heard about it and earlier this week, Deadline dropped a nugget that the movie was still going forward. So far, so good, but here’s where things get hazy…
Showbiz 411 reveal that while Streisand is developing a movie to direct, it won’t be “Skinny And Cat,” after falling out with producers, as scheduling became an issue. With Streisand also touring this summer, she apparently missed meetings for the movie and the filmmakers perhaps want to get it moving sooner. Particularly as they have financing locked up, and Rachel Weisz reportedly slated to star, replacing Blanchett who has exited. As for Firth, his involvement doesn’t seem clear, but he does still seem to be attached. That being said, whatever Streisand’s movie is, it’s not clear, and there is some suggestion she may try and make a similar story somewhere else, though that would open the floodgates to litigation apparently.
Anyway, back to “Skinny And Cat.” It was penned by Linda Yellen and will tell the true story of the romance between writer Erskine Caldwell and photojournalist Margaret Bourke White. The duo collaborated on three books, the seminal “You Have Seen Their Faces” about the South during the Great Depression, “North Of The Danube” and “Say, Is This The USA.” They married in 1924, but were divorced a couple of years later. A director needs to be found — apparently “Like Crazy” helmer Drake Doremus was attached briefly last fall — but the $12 million budget is ready to be spent, pending someone to point the camera in the right direction.