Barbra Streisand Directing 'Catherine the Great' Movie
By Dave McNary
Barbra Streisand will direct the historical drama Catherine the Great with casting under way.
The gig will be Streisand’s fourth following Yentl, The Prince of Tides and The Mirror has Two Faces.
Gil Netter is producing. Streisand will direct from a Black List script by Kristina Lauren Anderson about the young Catherine trapped in an abusive marriage with the heir to the Russian throne. But when her inept husband proves incapable of ruling, she utilizes her intelligence, fortitude and passion to rise to power, becoming Catherine the Great.
In 1984, Streisand became the first woman to win a Golden Globe for best director for Yentl. She was first woman to direct, write, produce and star in a major studio film.
Netter’s credits include Life Of Pi, The Blind Side and Water for Elephants. His upcoming slate includes The Graveyard Book, directed by Ron Howard; Just Mercy with Broad Green Pictures; The Glass Castle for Lionsgate; and The Shack, starring Octavia Spencer and Tim McGraw.
Anderson was recently hired to co-write The Black Count with Cary Fukunaga for Sony. Her other projects include a Warner Bros. and Di Novi adaptation of Invisibility and Studio Canal’s Life and Death in Eden with Grand Electric producing.
