Streisand works on first directing project since ’96

Singer-actress Barbra Streisand hopes to go behind the camera to direct her first film in 16 years. The star’s spokesman confirmed Thursday that Streisand wants to direct “Skinny and Cat,” a love story that follows writer Erskine Caldwell and photojournalist Margaret Bourke White. Oscar-winning stars Colin Firth and Cate Blanchett are expected to play the leading roles. “Skinny and Cat” would be Streisand’s, 70, first directing project since “The Mirror Has Two Faces” in 1996. But the “Funny Girl” star is having some trouble funding the project. Streisand, who is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award, told the Los Angeles Times last week it was proving hard to raise the $20 million financing for the film.