Barbra Streisand returns to the big screen

The 61-year-old performer is heading back to movie screens for the first time in eight years to play Ben Stiller's mom in a sequel to the hit comedy 'Meet the Parents.' A spokesman for Universal Pictures said Streisand is in final negotiations for the role.

The sequel, 'Meet the Fockers,' is set to go into production on April 5, with Jay Roach back as director. The film is slated for release on Dec. 22, the studio spokesman said.

All the principal cast members from 'Meet the Parents' -- Stiller, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo -- are returning for the sequel, along with Dustin Hoffman, who has been cast as Stiller's father.

The veteran entertainer won an Academy Award as best actress for her 1968 film debut as Fanny Brice in the musical 'Funny Girl,' tying the Oscar vote that year with Katharine Hepburn for 'The Lion in Winter.” Streisand was nominated again for her role opposite Robert Redford in the bittersweet 1973 romantic drama "The Way We Were.'

Streisand bid farewell in September 2000 to her sell-out career as a public performer, though she emerged two years later to sing at a Hollywood fund-raiser for the Democratic Party. She released her 60th album, "The Movie Album," last October.

Source:Reuters