Streep to narrate documentary "Escape from Extinction: Rewilding"

Multiple sources are reporting that Meryl will narrate the upcoming documentary feature, Escape from Extinction: Rewilding. The film is the follow up to the 2020 doc Escape from Extinction (incidentally narrated by Helen Mirren). 

Per Variety:

Directed and produced by Matthew Brady through MRB Productions, the film will explore how “rewilding” — a conservation approach that aims to restore natural processes and increase biodiversity by reducing human influence on ecosystems — will ensure that conservation efforts are effective and sustainable.

Meryl seems to be picking up a little steam with bits of work announced (and rumored) over the past two weeks. Good to see. Here's hoping the Joni Mitchell project comes to fruition. 

Rewilding will be in select theaters on September 27. 

Streep earns Emmy nomination and is rumored for Joni Mitchell biopic?

This morning, Meryl was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her supporting work in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. Many awards pundits have predicted her name for months, so while the nomination is of course delightful to hear, it was far from unexpected. This is Meryls sixth Emmy nomination (fifth for acting), and her first for a comedy. Were she to win, it would be her fourth trophy. Streep's fellow nominees in the Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy:

Carol Burnett (Palm Royale)  

Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear) 

Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) 

Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) 

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)

It's kind of exciting to see Meryl nominated alongside Carol Burnett, who recently commented on her interested in some day collaborating with Meryl on something. My money is on Einbinder to win this. 

Only Murders sort of cleaned up at the nominations. Along with Streep's nomination, there were six other acting nominations for the series:

Steven Martin and Martin Short (Lead Actor)

Selena Gomez (Lead Actress)

Paul Rudd (Supporting Actor)

Matthew Broderick (Guest Actor)

Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Guest Actress)

In other, perhaps more interesting news, there is a rumor that Meryl is "being eyed" to portray Joni Mitchell in an upcoming biopic, directed by Cameron Crowe. I believe Jeff Sneider was the first to report last year on Crowe's involvement in developing a script for the film. The news of Meryl's possible participation came out last night and was reposted by World of Reel this morning. World of Reel was the site that suggested Meryl was possibly going to star in The Thursday Murders Club alongside Viola Davis and directed by Steven Spielberg. That quickly revealed itself to not be the case. It's not impossible that if Spielberg had indeed directed it that Streep and Davis were circling that project, but it makes me take this Mitchell news with a major grain of salt. I was just thinking a couple day ago how nice it would be if we had news of Meryl doing something this fall to be released next year, considering the Devil Wears Prada sequel doesn't seem likely to film until next year at the earliest. The rumored Mitchell biopic is apparently slated for filming later this summer and fall. Stay tuned on this one. 

Regardless of whether or not this turns out to be true, it's fun to imagine Streep being involved in a pic about her friend Joni. Crowe's an accomplished director to boot (Almost Famous), despite having a fairly quiet career in recent years. 

"The Devil Wears Prada" sequel in the works at Disney

Multiple sources are reporting today that Disney is in early development of a Devil Wears Prada sequel, with Streep reprising her role as Miranda Priestly. Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna has once again been tapped to write the script, with original David Frankel rumored to be in talks to helm this as well. The news of the film's production came with the following logline for the film's plot:

Miranda’s (Streep) career goes into decline, which forces her to go face to face with Emily (Blunt), now a major exec at a luxury group, whose advertising dollars Miranda desperately needs.

So, we know that Emily Blunt will be reprising her role. No word on Anne Hathway, but it doesn't seem likely that there'd be a role for her. The story of the sequel also does not sound like Laura Weisberger's 2013 follow-up novel, Revenge Wears Prada. Seems like this might be a completely original script. 

When I first saw the news for this, I had mixed feelings. I, like many other Streepers, have been impatiently waiting for news of a new lead project for Meryl (or just anything juicy). I'm just not a huge fan of the idea of sequels for Meryl. This likely stems from my desire to see her inhabit new roles, which is of course what makes me a huge fan of hers in the first place--she's always doing new and fresh things. 

But thinking a bit on it, I wonder if this might end up being a very shrewd career move for Meryl. While it's certainly possible that the film will turn out to be pure crap, it's hard to imagine it not making a decent amount of money. And if it makes a shit ton of money like the original did, the result (like it was after the original's release), could be an inundation with film offers for Meryl in the aftermath. The options for roles are likely far fewer these days, but if this turns out to be a money-maker, it's a recipe for green-lighting things that otherwise may never have seen the light of day. Maybe Meryl would even contend for some awards. 

Considering that the sequel will take place about twenty years after the original, and Miranda is sort of in dire straits, the character may be far enough removed from the more mysterious 2006 version we all know and love. That's a bit closer to a new character than say a sequel that happens one to three years later. Twenty years is a long time, and people can go through plenty of things that markedly alter their beliefs, motivations, and behaviors. It will be exciting to see how Meryl makes this fresh. That's one key spot of opportunity for her to shine. 

With the script apparently not even complete, it seems unlikely that filming will get underway anytime sooner than 2025. Which then means we're likely looking at a 2026 release (twenty years exactly after the original). I like tidy timelines like that. It would make it more of an event, and possibly be helpful with the marketing. I'd be surprised if this were not released in the summer. And I really hope they come up with a title more interesting than The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Regardless of what I or anyone else thinks about this news, it's wonderful to have something to look forward to for Meryl's career again! Now what if we also get news that she's going to film something else new this fall?!

Streep turns 75

Happy birthday, Meryl! Quite a milestone, as today she turns 75. I'm not going to do some major retrospective on her career, but suffice it to say that if she never worked another day in her life, hers would still go down as the most illustrious career a screen actor can achieve. I measure that by the quality and breadth of her performances. The spectrum of characters she has inhabited over the past fifty or so years is truly staggering, and the performances will live on regardless of any new project she chooses to pursue. 

To this last point, I'm not alone among Streepers in having bemoaned the paucity of new projects in the past two to three years. She's in the longest Oscar nomination drought of her career (last was for 2017's The Post), and we have no new film roles announced. Nothing at all announced, in fact. It's interesting to consider, however, that in that time, she had early buzz for supporting roles in both 2019's The Laundromat and 2021's Don't Look Up, both of which I consider great performances worthy of, if not more worthy than some of her other performances, of nomination consideration. It just didn't come together in those respective years and for those respective movies. But imagine if she had gotten in for either of those, our perspective of her sort this recent "quiet" period would likely be much different, with potentially only five or three years since her last nomination. Food for thought. 

I continue to remind myself that Meryl historically takes breaks. There are fewer options out there for roles (although not none), and she likely has a very filled and fulfilling private life. We're less than a year out from the news that she's been essentially single for the past six years. All that said, the time seems ripe for something exciting to be announced soon. Maybe a bit meaty film role with an auteur director. Maybe a lead role in a limited series (my personal favorite possibility). Let's also not forget that we get to see her in the new season of Only Murders in the Building in August. It sounds like she'll be featured less than in last season, but we also get to look forward to the fact that it's overwhelmingly likely that Meryl will be nominated for an Emmy next month for her supporting work in season 3. She's going to challenge for the win as well. 

There seems to be plenty of good will out there for her, evidenced by her recent honorary recognition at last month's Cannes Film Festival. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I really think Meryl wants (maybe even needs?) to continue acting or performing to feel like herself, to feel most alive, to feel vital. She's a young 75, at least by appearance. I say that from the perspective of a physical therapist. In my profession, one can't help but get a very clear and close up sense of what decades of life can do to the human body. Gravity takes its toll, and yet Meryl, at 75, maintains excellent posture, seemingly great spine mobility, good balance, a fluid cadence in her speech (which suggests to me a fleeting and nimble mind), and a vibrancy that suggests she'll continue to involve herself in new things. The physical presentation that I've observed makes her more easily cast in roles that might be up to ten to fifteen years younger than her chronological age. So there's a bounty of opportunity. If she wants it. 

I'll end this with a fun anecdote from the great Carol Burnett, who, at 91, was quoted this week as saying that she's interested in continuing to work as long as it's "fun." When then asked if she had specific actors with whom she'd like to collaborate, she shared, "Oh, there's quite a few. I would say Meryl Streep because she's funny and boy, can she sing."

How lovely it would be to see that happen. 

Streep to narrate Rufus Wainwright's musical creation "Dream Requiem"

Coming off her honorary award at the Cannes Film Festival last month, Meryl will be back in France next week to narrate a poem during Rufus Wainwright's musical creation "Dream Requiem." The live performance will take place at the Radio France Auditorium in Paris, which will be broadcast on France Musique and Arte Concert. 

Not staggeringly excited news, but I enjoy Rufus Wainwright, and it's good to see Meryl continuing to work, even if it's not always on screen.

Meryl to produce and star in new book-to-screen adaptation?

Meryl is of course in Cannes, and a video of an interview she did was released today. I skipped through a couple of parts because I've heard her talk about several of the things that she was asked. But one little snippet really made me perk up. Listen from 31:35 to 32:16. 

She talks about how she waits for scripts to come to her (we've heard her mention this many times), and that she "doesn't produce things," she doesn't "buy books" to develop into movies. But then she stops herself and says "Although...I think I just did recently. Something that's in development." 

Wow. To be fair, we don't know for sure if she's even talking about something that she would expect to star in herself, but I get the sense that it would be. And saying something is "in development" could mean that we never hear about it and it never sees the light of day. But I'm excited at the thought of 1) Meryl starring in something new and 2) that it might be something that she read and thought "I need to snatch this story up!"  

Had I been the interviewer I of course would have asked whether or not she could share the name of the book. I imagine it would've landed the book a bunch of quick sales. Looking forward to see if we ever get to find out what it is!

Streep in serious talks for "Mamma Mia!" 3

This was not the immediate news I was hoping to get out of Cannes. Baz Bamigboye at Deadline interviewed Meryl and got the most specific information about the rumors of her signing on for a third round of Mamma Mia! that we heard thus far. Meryl was quoted as saying that "of course I want to do it. I don’t know how they’re going to do it. They have an idea. I haven’t heard it yet but it’s in [my diary] and I’m going to hear about it pretty soon." Her agent Kevin Huvane then added that they were "optimistic" about it. 

Fine. I'm getting pretty desperate to see Meryl in something new and interesting. This is definitely not it. But as always, I'm in favor of Meryl doing something, and if there are talks for this movie, maybe there are talks for others. At the very least, it's pretty obvious that Meryl has no immediate plans for retiring from the screen altogether. Would a Mamma Mia! trilogy be so bad as part of her film legacy? I guess not. Hell, maybe the third time will be the charm. The second installment was technically a better film, but Meryl was in it so little. Hopefully, if this moves forward, Meryl will have a big part, and it will be both high quality and entertaining.