“Bob would have loved it,” Jane Fonda said of Barbra Streisand’s Oscar tribute film, “The Way We Were.”
Jane Fonda compares Trump to Nero and warns of artists’ silence
Jane Fonda stood outside the Kennedy Center, calling it “the beloved citadel of art” and warning against the silence of artists.
- Jane Fonda has clarified that her previous comments about her Oscar tribute to Robert Redford were a joke.
- Fonda said Barbra Streisand’s tribute performance was great and that Redford would have loved it.
- The actress recalled that she fell in love with Redford while filming movies together, especially “Barefoot in the Park.”
LOS ANGELES — Jane Fonda wants to make it clear that she loved “The Way We Were” star Barbra Streisand’s Oscar praise song for Robert Redford.
At the Academy Awards in March, Streisand emotionally sang the 1973 drama’s title song, “The Way We Were,” during a segment in honor of Redford, who died on September 16 at the age of 89. In a red carpet interview after the ceremony, Fonda said she should have been on the Oscar stage because she and Redford have starred in four movies, while Streisand has only done one.
But Fonda was just joking, the actress and activist said at the beginning of the opening night of the TCM Classic Film Festival on April 30.
“By the way, Barbra came to the Oscars to honor Bob. I was in the press line and I thought it was weird,” Fonda said minutes after taking her seat on the TCM stage. “I said, ‘Why did they ask[Streisand]? I’ve made four movies with him.’ But I actually thought it was great that Barbra was in it, because it’s such an iconic movie and the song was incredibly beautiful.”
“Bob would have loved it,” Fonda added to applause.
Over five decades, Fonda co-starred with Redford in four films: the 1966 action drama The Chase (starring Marlon Brando), the 1967 romantic comedy Barefoot in the Park, the 1979 drama The Electric Horseman, and the 2017 drama Our Souls at Midnight.
Opening night at the TCM Festival praised Barefoot in the Park, the silver screen version of Neil Simon’s hit Broadway play that launched Redford’s career. Fonda played Cory Bratter, a free-spirited newlywed who is adjusting to married life in a small New York apartment, and Redford played her husband Paul, a conservative lawyer.
Fonda, who is married, was impressed with Redford and asked him about his affair.
Fonda said she first met Redford on The Chase when she was married to French director Roger Vadim. Redford was married to his first wife, Laura Van Wagenen, at the time.
“We were both married, and I asked him, ‘Have you ever cheated?'” Fonda said from the stage. “His answer was strange. He said, ‘If I was going to have an affair, it would be with someone like a prostitute.’
During production of the film, Fonda said that playing a newlywed couple trapped in New York City’s Plaza Hotel for six days only added to the appeal.
“I was supposed to be really calm in bed, so I had an excuse to snuggle into him,” Fonda said. “He was supposed to be asleep, so I pretended to be asleep. But I admired him so much.”
The actress was clearly not the only one who praised her leading man. Even before Redford broke out with Barefoot, the up-and-coming actor was stirring up controversy while strolling the grounds of the famed Paramount Studios.
“I remember walking down the hallway and noticing all the secretaries opening their doors and sneaking out to check on them,” Fonda said. “I knew he was going to be a big star. He was going to be in the movie. He was a great movie star and also the most gorgeous human being I’ve ever spent any time with.”
Fonda and Redford were so close that their families celebrated Christmas at Redford’s home in Sundance, Utah.
“One year he broke his arm trying to climb a chimney. No kidding,” Fonda said, adding that Redford was an adventurer who liked to climb the famous spire in Westwood, California. “And he was driving really fast. When we were making ‘The Electric Horseman,’ he was driving really fast on these mountain roads. It was scary, but I didn’t let him know.”
Fonda jokes that she “hated watching” Glenn Close kissing Redford in ‘The Natural’
Fonda said her favorite Redford movies without her are actually “The Way We Were,” starring Streisand, and 1984’s “The Natural,” starring Glenn Close as Redford’s love interest.
“I didn’t like watching him kiss Glenn Close,” Fonda said. And yes, she was joking.
Fonda praised the spirit of Oscar winner Redford and co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival for his support of independent films and filmmakers.
“His presence was important,” Fonda said, adding that Redford would oppose the pending merger between Paramount Skydance Studios and Warner Bros. “Look at what’s happening in this town. If that (merger) goes through, we’re going to lose everything Bob was trying to do, everything he stood for. We have to fight in the spirit of Robert Redford.”
