GLENN CLOSE - LLOYD WEBBER: 'CLOSE AND STREISAND ARE DESPERATE FOR SUNSET ROLE'

LATEST: Veteran actresses GLENN CLOSE and BARBRA STREISAND are battling it out to land the lead role in the SUNSET BOULEVARD remake, according to composer SIR ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER. The theatre impresario - who wrote the music for his stage adaptation of the 1950 movie classic - has unveiled Close and Streisand as the front-runners to portray diva Norma Desmond, insisting they're both desperate to win the part. However, Lloyd Webber admits he'll have little influence over the outcome of the contest. He tells WENN, "The remake of Sunset Boulevard is not really under my control. It's really controlled by Paramount, because they own the original movie. I am just waiting to hear what Paramount in the end want to do about it. "It is absolutely true that both Glenn Close and Barbra Streisand very much want to play the part. But I'm slightly with my hands tied behind my back about it." Previous reports suggested Meryl Streep and Dame Elizabeth Taylor were also in the race to play Nora Desmond.