Barbra Streisand usually doesn’t sing for free. But I guess she was convinced by Oprah Winfrey that to get a whole hour for her book, “My Passion for Design,” a little warbling wouldn’t hurt.
I am told that Babs performed “The Way We Were” when she taped Oprah’s show yesterday in Chicago. The hour is said to be a total retrospective of Streisand’s career. It airs November 16th, the same day the book is published.
It’s a busy winter for Babs. In December she returns to the big screen, this time as a grandmother in “Little Fockers.” Her holiday present was getting Dustin Hoffman back as her husband. He came in at the last minute and filmed scenes with her…
RUSSELL CROWE has lots of friends. Among them: Edward Norton, Viola Davis, Patti Smith, Gerard Butler, and Oscar Isaac, all of whom helped him celebrate “The Next Three Days” on Tuesday night at the Oak Bar in the Plaza Hotel. Along with director Paul Haggis and co-stars Elizabeth Banks, RZA of the Wu Tang Clan, and Olivia Wilde, Crowe pulled quite a crowd. And this is a much more mellow Crowe than in the old days. He signed everything, shook everyone’s hand, was jolly and cooperative. He spent a quantity of time hanging out with Norton.
Meanwhile, two time Tony winner Davis (and one time Oscar nominee but more to come, certainly) arrived looking grand with husband Julius Tennon. Viola just finished shooting “The Help.” Next she’s considering an HBO series in which she’d play the headmaster of a girls’ school. Today, Davis is participating in a play reading with a bunch of other A list actors at the home of director Mike Nichols. No one deserves success more. Bravo, Viola!
