Director of "The Main Event"

February 24, 2009
Howard Zieff was the man who directed Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neill to commercial success in their second romantic comedy, "The Main Event."  The on-screen reunion of these two highly charismatic performers resulted in one of the most successful films of 1979, and much of that success must be attributed to Zieff.

At the time, there were questions about how involved Barbra Streisand was in "unofficially" directing the film and whether Zieff was merely the director in name only. However, there is no denying Zieff's ability to master a comedy. He brought impressive credentials to the set following his monumentally successful 1978 film "House Calls" (with Glenda Jackson and Walter Matthau). Under Zieff, "The Main Event" became a blockbuster. And the following year, another Zieff film would achieve similar success. "Private Benjamin" (with Goldie Hawn) became one of the top grossing films of 1980. So with all due respect, we believe that Zieff did not take a back seat to Barbra on the set. Rather, he was able to successfully direct the picture by taking full advantage of Barbra's enthusiasm in making his film even better. The result speaks for itself.

When Zieff spoke about Barbra in the 1979 companion documentary, "Getting in Shape for The Main Event," he said, "She is not one of those stars who says, 'I've had enough.' She has never had enough. She wants to work as hard as you want her to work. There's only one Barbra."