Now that we think about it, this feels like destiny: Barbra Streisand is “in negotiations†to direct, produce, and star in a film version of Gypsy, playing Mama Rose. (The previous 1962 movie version starred Rosalind Russell.) According to Michael Riedel, Babs has Arthur Laurents’s permission. Laurents, who wrote the book for the musical, told Riedel, “Barbra and I have had long talks on this very subject. She had a mother who she always thought was Mama Rose. I don’t want to get into the details, but the point is she knows. She’s got it in her. She’s going to be much more than people expect.†The fact that there is not already an easily Google-able version of Barbra singing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses†or “Rose’s Turn†is reason enough to get excited about this project (though there is this clip of Barbra, Judy Garland, and the original Mama Rose, Ethel Merman, doing “No Business Like Show Business“), but we do suspect this means Lea Michele will shortly be singing more Gypsy standards. UPDATE: The Times says Streisand will not direct, just act. [NYP]