The Way They Were
How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen
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The first ever account of the making of the cinematic classic The Way We Were starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford, revealing the full story behind its genesis and continued controversies, its many deleted scenes, its much-anticipated but never-filmed sequel, and the real-life romance that inspired this groundbreaking love story…
It’s one of the greatest movie romances of all time. Fifty years on, the chemistry between Barbra Streisand as Jewish working-class firebrand Katie Morosky and Robert Redford as all-American golden boy Hubbell Gardiner remains potent. Yet the friction and controversy surrounding The Way We Were were so enormous, the movie was nearly never made at all.
Impeccably researched and eye-opening, here is the full story behind the challenges, rivalries, and real-life romance surrounding the movie. Even the iconic casting was fraught. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents wrote the role of Katie with Streisand in mind, but finding Hubbell was another matter. Redford was reluctant to play what he perceived as the “Ken doll” to Streisand’s lead, resulting in ten writers—among them Francis Ford Coppola—being called in to rework the script.
The first preview was disastrous. Several scenes were cut, angering Streisand and Laurents, yet the new version was a resounding success, and its appeal endures, earning it a regular spot in the AFI’s annual Top 10 movie romances.
The Way They Were also explores the deep, surprising love story that inspired the screenplay—the relationship between Laurents, a Jewish Brooklyn-born college leftist, and his longtime partner, Tom Hatcher. Drawing on Laurents’s unpublished writings, as well as interviews with Streisand, Redford, and other key players, this is the definitive account of a film that changed the rules of moviemaking and has defined romance ever since.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Theater critic Hofler (Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne) delivers a spellbinding behind-the-scenes look at the seminal 1973 film The Way We Were. When playwright Arthur Laurents pitched the idea for the movie to producer Ray Stark, the politically minded script was partly a way for Laurents to earn "sweet revenge" for the time he was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Hofler details Robert Redford's initial reluctance to join the cast ("It sounds to me like another Ray Stark ego trip" he jokes), a hesitation that diminished when he discovered he'd be paid more than costar Barbra Streisand. Hofler recounts the clash of wills between Laurents and director Sydney Pollack that often threatened production—"Laurents thought he knew how to handle Pollack: he would listen politely to the director's suggestions and promptly ignore them"—and holds nothing back as he describes tumultuous rewrites, delays, and the various players' lofty demands (such as Streisand's perfectionism and "questioning of every detail"). The ever-changing screenplay and forceful presence of two major stars created a difficult atmosphere, but despite "the day-to-day horrors of shepherding The Way We Were to the screen," the film skyrocketed to fame. Hofler's prose sparkles, and he successfully blends histrionics with on-screen magic. The captivating result makes clear that the drama happening behind the camera can be just as gripping as what's in front of it.
