Barbra Streisand & Larry Kramer FEUD

Then the following year

"Why make me sad that I'm not directing your wonderful play??," Streisand responded via an email sent by her assistant, according to The New York Post. That question prompted Kramer to reply in a lengthy email that was reprinted in full by the Post.

"When your options lapsed, I said you could buy it for a million dollars and do whatever you wanted with it… You kept telling me I wanted too much money," reads Kramer's email.

He added, "Ryan has wonderful ideas that jell and enhance my work. You said you couldn't get financing. He has his financing. He said if he couldn't get it, he'd finance it himself. (You chose to remodel and redecorate your houses.) This is a man whose driving passion to make this movie is extraordinary… I will always regret not having the experience of working with you on something, but I feel totally blessed that Ryan Murphy has come into my life to take your place."

Streisand issued a statement on her personal website in response to his email, which follows: "Larry Kramer does not need me to publicize his beautiful play. It stands on its own. For the last time – I will answer his complaints, which rewrite history.

"When I saw the play in 1985 I was very moved and immediately contacted Larry to acquire the rights. After going through several drafts with Larry, I hired another writer to develop a screenplay that was faithful to Larry's play—but adapting it to make it more cinematic. It was finished in 1995. Ralph Fiennes and Kenneth Branagh were interested in doing the version that I oversaw.

"I tried very hard to get it made, but when it became clear that we couldn't raise the money to do it as a film due to the controversial nature of the material, I thought, all right, we'll do it on TV. At least it would reach a wide audience. But even HBO would only pay Larry $250,000 for the rights, and he would not let it go forward for anything less than $1,000,000 and no company was willing to move on it.

"After ten years, the rights reverted back to Larry. But even when I had no contractual involvement, I still persisted in pressing to get The Normal Heart made, purely because I believed in the project. As producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron can confirm, I thought that if we could get a great cast together, maybe a studio would finally finance it and we could persuade Larry to let us do it. I offered the part of the doctor to Julia Roberts because I thought she would be terrific. I also asked Mark Ruffalo and Bradley Cooper to be in it, and they said yes to my adaptation of the screenplay. By the way, this is not to say that it wouldn't have been rewritten again. The work is never done until the movie is released.

"I think it's unfair to keep blaming me for the movie not getting made. I worked on it for 25 years, without pay. Larry had the rights for the last 15 years and he couldn’t get it made either. Those are the facts, and none of this is news to Larry.

"More recently, he sent me a note before giving the project to another director, asking me again if I wanted to direct it—but only with his screenplay. As a filmmaker, I couldn't have my hands tied like that. What if I needed changes? Sadly, I turned his offer down and wished him well.

"I will always believe in Larry's play and its powerful theme about everyone's right to love."...

See below for more.

Then Kramer took ANOTHER shot at Barbra

Kramer, who attended the recent New York City screening of the film, said that the thought of two men having sex on screen was "very distasteful" to Streisand.

"I said [to Barbra Streisand], 'I really think it's important that after eons of watching men and women make love in the movies, it's time to see two men do so,'" Kramer told the Times. "I bought her a book of very beautiful art pictures of two men making love, and she found it very distasteful."

In response, Streisand released a statement saying her intention for the movie was "to promote the idea of everyone's right to love. Gay or straight!"

She added, "Larry was at the forefront of this battle and, God love him, he's still fighting. But there's no need to fight me by misrepresenting my feelings. As a filmmaker, I have always looked for new and exciting ways to do love scenes, whether they're about heterosexuals or homosexuals. It's a matter of taste, not gender." Kramer continued to point out that Murphy initially used his own money to buy the rights and believed it "tacky" of Streisand — who couldn't raise the money for the film — to not "think of something like that."

In April, Streisand gave The Hollywood Reporter a firsthand account of how the film fell through. She said, "I tried very hard to get it made, but when it became clear that we couldn't raise the money to do it as a film due to the controversial nature of the material, I thought, 'All right, we'll do it on TV.' At least it would reach a wide audience. But HBO would only pay Larry $250,000 for the rights, and he would not let it go forward for anything less than $1,000,000, and no company was willing to move on it."

She explained that — although the rights to the film reverted back to Kramer — she persisted in getting the project on its feet. Streisand initially asked Roberts, Ruffalo and Cooper, the current film's stars, to be a part of "The Normal Heart." In 2007, Kramer again asked Streisand to direct the film — with his screenplay — but she declined, stating that she could not have her "hands tied" if changes had to be made.

"In the press, Larry kept speaking out against me," she continued. "But I think it's unfair to keep blaming me for the movie not getting made. I worked on it for 25 years, without pay. Larry had the rights for the last 15 years and he couldn't get it made, either. Those are the facts.

"I will always believe in Larry's play and its powerful theme about everyone's right to love. It's been 28 years since I tried to get this piece made … so much has happened since. But I'm glad it's finally here." WOW!

So Ned's friend, Fiona from Brooklyn, takes center stage?

Ellen Barkin was incredible as the doctor in the Broadway production. Her big speech towards the end was electrifying. I was so glad that she won the Tony that year.

Barbra wanted Ralph Fiennes. And by 'wanted' I mean as her lover or husband. When he didn't take the bait she lost interest in the project.

Even though his co-star Juliette Binoche beat out Lauren Bacall for her baby The Mirror Has Two Faces?

Kramer had no internal censor, and seemed to consider it some kind of virtue. He confused the cause with his business interests and his professional relationships. It all seemed to be the same thing to him, and when flipped he had no modulation or nuance in his declarations.

I'm just an observer, but this pattern was repeated often enough that it was clear it was Kramer's modus operandi. I would not have wanted to be his plumber, to find myself publicly called our for being a greedy, dishonest, anti-human fiend for charging for a washer.

And because of who Kramer was in the world at large, he was treated with substantial respect and understanding. Even Streisand shows this, in her own way. After all, she also has spent a career making her own declarations and mixing her causes with her career. Maybe rightly, at times. And she held back saying what she could have said, even as Kramer criticized her for doing with her own money what she wanted, rather than giving him a million for the privilege of using his work, or whatever.

Although her citing anything as being a matter of taste is ridiculous, because the one thing Streisand knows nothing about after almost 60 years in the business is taste.

But the bottom line is that no one needed to hear any of this at the time, and it did go on for years. DON'T TALK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS IN PUBLIC AND DON'T AIR YOUR GRIEVANCES AGAINST COLLEAGUES IN THE PRESS. A simple rule. And Kramer never believed it. That's why for all the respect he garnered a lot of people steered clear of him.

And, again, I'm only an observer. It's absurd we all knew so much about this "deal."

I don't think Babs has ever been comfortable with "the gay thing". She never wanted to acknowledge her gay fans (and now- like Cher and Madonna- that's all she has). Have her and Jason ever come out as a gay son and supportive mother? He was OUTED.

Naturally she'd want to remake the play into a musical called "Fiona's Heart".

I’m with Larry on this one 👊

I didn't know Bradley Cooper was ever attached. I knew Barbra wanted Julia and Mark Ruffalo when she was set to direct. Was Cooper up for the Bomer part?

n April, Streisand gave The Hollywood Reporter a firsthand account of how the film fell through. She said, "I tried very hard to get it made, but when it became clear that we couldn't raise the money to do it as a film due to the controversial nature of the material, I thought, 'All right, we'll do it on TV.' At least it would reach a wide audience. But HBO would only pay Larry $250,000 for the rights, and he would not let it go forward for anything less than $1,000,000, and no company was willing to move on it.

From Barbra's official website, from her official statement:

"I tried very hard to get it made, but when it became clear that we couldn’t raise the money to do it as a film due to the controversial nature of the material, I thought, all right, we’ll do it on TV. At least it would reach a wide audience. But even HBO would only pay Larry $250,000 for the rights, and he would not let it go forward for anything less than $1,000,000 and no company was willing to move on it."

From the Barbra Archives site:

"In 1996, Columbia/Tri-Star Pictures had budgeted The Normal Heart at $32 million and Streisand wanted Kenneth Branagh to star as Ned Weeks. “I had wanted certain actors to be in it,” Streisand said, “one said he would do it, but the schedule was off. It was at a time when I had just bought my new house and was trying to design it. I didn't want to be here for construction, so I thought, I'm going to do The Mirror Has Two Faces!"

She needs to shut up about "We couldn't raise the money". She had it. But as usual futzed over it and lost interest.

R12 you expect Barbra to fund the whole movie herself?

Yes, R13! Bitch

"I couldn’t have my hands tied artistically.”

You might break a nail.

The woman has an underground personal MALL. She could have put the money up.

"you expect Barbra to fund the whole movie herself?

Yes, [R13]! Bitch"

If Babs had supplied 100% of the funding, then she'd be entitled to have 100% artistic control.

If you have an "artistic vision" but no fucking money, you and your "vision" are pretty much fucked.

Money talks, bullshit and chumps walk.

Barbra doesn't have $50 Million Dollars to throw around

Mark Ruffalo and Julia were both really good. Streisand had a decent vision of the story. She picked those actors. She got Julia very early on.