“Willy Wonka” Screening at Director's Guild

June 3, 1971

by: Dorothy Manners

Jason and Barbra at WONKA screeningWould you believe the camera boys lined up outside the powder room waiting for Barbra Streisand to come out when she brought son Jason to the screening of the kids' delight, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the Directors Guild (for Paramount).

Neither Barbra's ex-husband Elliott Gould nor her new leading man, Ryan O'Neal, was around to chase off the photogs as they have (violently) in the past, so Barbra decided to adjust to it. Even posed with Jason on her lap, a surprise. She has always been so dead set against having him photographed; the kidnap scare, you know.

Jason had a smashing time, cameramen or no cameramen ...

[Photo, below: Marilyn Bergman, Jason Gould, and Barbra Streisand at the WILLY WONKA screening.]

Marilyn Bergman, Jason Gould, Barbra Streisand

Excerpt from interview with photographer Santiago Rodriguez (by Karen Moline) from Streisand Through the Lens (© 1982, Delilah Communications):

Were you at the infamous screening of WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY when she came out with Jason?

Oh yes. It was on a Sunday afternoon, a nice day, and we thought, well there'll be a small turnout, we'll spend an hour and get out of there. But it was a zoo. Big turnout, lots of celebrities. Ali McGraw, Annette Funicello, et cetera. We were all standing around shooting, and out of the blue, in she walks , didn't even run—walks—with Jason. And we just freaked out. Naturally when she sat inside, she didn't sit at the edge; she sat in the middle, making it very difficult to get any decent pictures. People were screaming and carrying on. We had to wait till she came out. She came up once to go to the restroom with Jason—he was small at the time so she went to the ladies' room with him—and then this strange woman, out of the blue, came out. She starting yelling at us, “Why don't you people leave her alone!”

Streisand and paparazzi at screening

Excerpt from interview with photographer Tony Rizzo (by Karen Moline) from Streisand Through the Lens (© 1982, Delilah Communications):

... She went to a screening of WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and she brought her son Jason along. When she was leaving she came out the back way and all the photographers got at the foot of the staircase where she had to go down. But I went onto a service porch, which was off to her side. I got pictures of her from the back with all the other photographers as a backdrop. And at one point she turned around and said to her son Jason, “Stick out your tongue at the awful man.” He turned around and stuck out his tongue at me.

Jason sticks tongue out at photographers

END.