‘The Way We Were’: The movie Robert Redford didn’t want to make
There have been many films with misleading chemistry between the lead characters, such as the romance between Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio that was revealed to be entirely fictitious after an alleged prank war between the actors and the famously rocky relationship between Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. While we love to believe that the emotion between these actors is partly organic and there was a whirlwind romance behind the scenes that inspired the on-screen tension, this is not always the case, and it certainly wasn’t during the production of one of the most notorious love stories between Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand.
The Way We Were is one of those timeless romances that continues to inspire cold-hearted viewers and cynical cinema lovers, with a bittersweet fate for the two star-crossed lovers who cannot settle the political differences that eventually drive them apart. After the success of Funny Girl and What’s Up Doc, Streisand seemed like the perfect choice for the wickedly smart and ferocious Katie Morosky, a character who is strong in her moral convictions and always stands up for what she believes in, which is perfectly contrasted by the presence of Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardner, a privileged and sheltered character who is the living contradiction of everything Katie believes in.
While the film became a huge success, the production was nearly as troubled as the central relationship, with Redford being hugely reluctant to sign onto the project and unconvinced by Hubbell’s substance. Hubbell is a beautiful but somewhat vacuous character who ultimately clashes with Katie over his lack of interest and care in the political issues she dedicates her life to, with Redford disliking this aspect of the script and seeing Hubbell as “a weak, spineless sex object”.
Robert Hofler wrote a book about the creative friction during the creation of the project, saying, “Robert Redford really didn’t want to make this film. He turned it down repeatedly for eight straight months. He felt it was a Barbra Streisand vehicle, and his character was just a ‘Ken Doll’, a pretty face with no substance.”
The actor allegedly thought the script was “a piece of junk” and only agreed to sign on to the project when the producers increased his salary to $1.2million, which was more than Streisand’s salary of $1m. But even after signing on, the issues persevered, with Redford and Streisand clashing on set.
In addition to the feud between the stars, there were countless issues with the script, with 11 screenwriters being hired to try to fix the story after the studio expressed concern over the political conflict in the film. There were also reports that Streisand was particularly demanding, and her input became difficult after the costume designer Dorothy Jeakins quit the project entirely after creating over 56 costumes for Streisand, with the actor suggesting countless revisions that became too much to handle.
While the scenes and stories slightly ruin the magic of the romance, they show that real-life chemistry is not always needed to create a convincing romance, and sometimes, a bit of conflict is beneficial to the project.
