Is the GYPSY Film with Barbra Streisand Still On?

Deadline.com is now reporting that despite comments that Arthur Laurents made to the Hartford Courant earlier this month, that a GYPSY movie starring Barbra Streisand is still a possibility. They report that "a deal is close to being made at Universal Pictures, with Joel Silver producing. Streisand's still in as Rose and so are book writer Arthur Laurents and lyricist Stephen Sondheim." and that "Multiple sources said that the deal that's closing gives the show creators a strong say over the screenwriter, director, choreographer and who'll play the roles of Herbie and Louise. Warner Bros retains the rights to be co-financier after it rejected a deal that would have granted those same approvals to heirs."

Universal Pictures also holds the rights to the film versions of both IN THE HEIGHTS and WICKED, neither which have begun production, which makes them potentially a musical powerhouse studio. 

Back in February, Barbra Streisand confirmed to the LA Times that she would indeed star in a new film version of GYPSY. The news leaked "a little early, because the deal wasn't finished," Streisand said. "I am not sure about directing it. It may just be too much. I know I will be playing the part. It's like a bookend starting with 'Funny Girl.'"

Earlier this month, Arthur Laurents told the Hartford Courant that the film is dead. As per the paper: "But now Laurents says the film version is not going to happen "for a really fascinating reason, much bigger than 'Gypsy.' "

He recently spoke with the musical's lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, who asked Laurents why he wanted to allow the film project to happen. "He said, 'What is the point of it?' And I said, 'They have this terrible version with Rosalind Russell wearing those black and white shoes.' And then Sondheim told me something that he got from the British -- and it's wonderful. He said, 'You want a record because the theater is ephemeral. But that's wrong. The theater's greatest essence is that it is ephemeral. You don't need a record. The fact that it's ephemeral means you can have different productions, different Roses on into infinity.'

"So I don't want it now. I don't want a definitive record. I want it to stay alive.

"I think [Streisand] is disappointed. She wanted very much to do it. That would have been a good exit for her career. Tom Hopper ["The King's Speech"] wanted to direct it. I think he's wonderful."

How would she have been in the film?

"She could have done it," he says"