Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1520149
Fran: Definitely. Barbra: You know what I would suggest to anybody? Examine your dreams. [They are] the key to your unconscious before you are ready for it to be conscious … Fran: You love working with actors. What is your process to get [your vision] out of them? Barbra: Well, I'll give you an example. When I was doing The Mirror Has Two Faces, [with] Lauren Bacall … It's a scene where she is up all night; I'm her daughter. It was the night before she had to film it, and I came in to just rehearse it with her. And she was using a toothpick, and she didn't know her lines very well. … I said to her, "Forget the lines. You don't even have to know the lines. Just tell me what you feel about this. What do you feel about how you've spent your life and what you didn't do? What you didn't get done? What are your regrets, in a sense?" She spoke from her heart. She spoke from her truth. Her memories of what she was like as a younger actress in the movies. I got the performance that I wanted, [and] we didn't have to shoot it in the morning. Another moment I wanted where she said something, "It's wonderful, it's wonderful," but her reaction when we were filming was [flatly], "It's wonderful. It's wonderful." And I said, "Turn off the cameras." … [And then I asked her] "When you were in those movies, like when you first met Humphrey Bogart and he became your husband and stuff, and you were just wanted by everybody and every director, what was that like?" She had to think about it, and very quietly, she said … [emotionally] "It was wonderful." Fran: And that's what we see in that movie. Barbra: That's in the movie, and in [another] scene as well. And she was nominated, and she got the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. I had to get to understand her, to know her, to love her … Do you know what I mean? Fran: As a director, you have to be a little parental, right? Barbra: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have to be loving; you have to love them in a way. Fran: You've made three movies, you've received 14 Academy Award nominations. Many of the actors achieved some of the best performances that you got out of them. What would you like to be remembered for? Barbra: Well, I would say my films, my records, my book now and my philanthropy. Philanthropy is very, very important in my life. Fran: I'm so glad you brought that up because that was an area that we never got to. Barbra: Yeah, it's important. I was able to start my foundation … Fran: The Streisand Foundation. Barbra: … in 1986, when I was horrified by what happened at Chernobyl. And that's why I agreed to sing again: to raise money for five Democratic senators that took over the Senate. We became Democratic. I knew that [they] shared my values, and [were] against nuclear proliferation. It was for women's rights. It was for protection of the environment because I was scared in 1986 about what was happening to the earth. … What struck me and made me very happy was George Shultz, who was Reagan's secretary of state, came up to me and said, "Thank you." And I said, "For what?" You know, I thought he liked my singing or my acting or my movies, whatever. He said to me, "No, for what your foundation funded to fight against nuclear proliferation." Now that is something that I'm very proud of. Do you see what I mean, like — just trying to save the fucking world. Fran: Yes. You're a very special woman: very dear, very intelligent and I'm wildly impressed by you. Barbra: [laughs] Well, I'm impressed by you, too. We'll meet again, I'm sure. Fran: I hope so. • Director, producer and star Streisand on the set of The Mirror Has Two Faces, 1996. Scan to check out their illuminating one-on-one, or watch at sagaftra.org/videos. COLUMBIA PICTURES/PHOTOFEST 72 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2024 | sagaftra.org