Streisand/Normal Heart

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:06am

I'm wondering why she felt the need to release a statement…All it does is re-open the question of why she never made the film. She held the rights for a decade. She had the money and the power to get it done. She didn't do it, for whatever reasons, and that's her right as an artist and a filmmaker. So why is she engaging in all this now? Of course Larry Kramer will express his opinion. That's what he does/who he is. I can't figure out why she engages in this.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:14am

Is there a source link to her statement?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:18am

I can't figure out why she engages in this.

Pretty much for the same reason he does.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:20am

Nevermind. I found it. In her defense she was responding to Kramer's distasteful accusation regarding her feelings on gay sex. She had every right to defend herself. He started it so she took it upon herself to finish it. He should keep his big fat mouth SHUT at this point he's.causing more harm than good.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:26am

I think this thread needs Claudia Draper to weigh in.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:38am

There is irony here. No matter what either say/think, Hollywood was just not ready to make the film we have today. For sure Babs could have made something but getting it seen/promoted/broadcast would never have happened with the sex (scenes and dialogue) in the HBO film. I'm not sure how the work plays without it frankly.

IMHO this was one of the first mainstream gay and AIDS films with believable sexuality and romance. In many ways getting it made into a film was passionate people yelling at a brick wall.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:40am

One difference between the two is that, like him or not, this is Kramer's work...Claudia the NUT!!!!

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:54am

Fine- very well said. Hollywood is still not ready for gay films, proven by the fact that this film was produced by hbo and not distributed as a major motion release. Sadly, as a society we are still not there yet.

There's a story from the Anne Edwards "Streisand" biography about when Larry and Barbra were working on the screen play. To put it frankly, Larry wanted a cumshot in one of the sex scenes. And Barbra disagreed. She knew no major studio (specially at that time) would dare go near a film with something like that in it. That was basically the beginning of the end of their working relationship. We all know how Larry is, and we ALL know how Streisand is, so it wasn't exactly a fortuitous paring.

I think it's funny that even with the film just going to HBO, where film makers and screenwriters usually have free rein, Larry STILL didn't get his cumshot. Lol.



Updated On: 5/28/14 at 11:54 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:07pm

I don't remember that story from the Anne Edwards book. I read it back when it came out, which was what 17, 18 years ago? But I don't remember anything about a cumshot. There was a book that Larry described to Edwards as as "very graphic" (maybe Mapplethorpe?) that Larry showed to Barbra. She found the book "distasteful," which has now made its way into Larry's storytelling as Barbra finding gay sex distasteful in general.

I don't have the book anymore, but I'd appreciate clarification on both points if you do.

Updated On: 5/29/14 at 12:07 PM

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:12pm

Yes the gay sex book was apart of it, too. I'll dig out the Edwards biography.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:14pm

Straight people cum too, right?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:18pm

Has there ever been a cumshot in a mainstream film?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:23pm

Not shown on camera. The closest we've got is HBO's Girls.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:29pm

"Has there ever been a cumshot in a mainstream film?"

Do you mean actually seeing the ejaculate leave the penis?

If not, there are two in "Happiness."

[Kad]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:34pm

I cannot imagine ANY mainstream film would feature a cumshot and see any sort of distribution.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:45pm

Take it with a grain of salt, but in The Normal Heart HuffPost roundtable interview, Murphy seems to imply that he didn't look very hard for a film distributor. He says something to the effect of: he was taking meetings with various distributors and HBO was so passionate he stopped looking.

I agree that I don't think any major film distributor would've taken the film as it, but doesn't seem like he even wanted to.

[Claudia Draper]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:51pm

Isn't there a one in SHORTBUS ?

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 12:58pm

The doesn't make sense. A director has final cut, not a screenwriter. She wouldn't think twice about cutting it, if she even shot it.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 1:00pm

HBO would produce any project that has Murphy/Brad Pitt on as producers. Not to mention A-lister Julia Roberts starring.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 1:02pm

The film 9 Songs shows one.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 1:54pm

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA was released theatrically throughout the rest of the world. Here, no mainstream distributor would take it to theatres. I guess we should be thankful for HBO, huh?

[noradesmond]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 3:03pm

I think HBO is the best venue for this film. It reaches a wide audience, wider I think than a theatrical film would, and without compromise.

[morosco]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 3:07pm

Isn't there a one in SHORTBUS ?

Yes. A self facial as I recall.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 3:21pm

Todd Solondz's "Happiness" had a money shot.

[nealb1]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 3:27pm

Here's a link to Barbra talking about how she tried to get the film made with Larry....

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/barbra-streisand-normal-heart-i-694691