Streep to play Maria Callas in Mike Nichols's "Master Class" for HBO

The Wrap revealed late last night that Meryl is set to star as Maria Callas in Master Class, an HBO adaptation of Terrence McNally's play of the same name. Mike Nichols is in place to direct.  Ahhh!  As a fan of La Divina and an even bigger fan of opera in general, the prospect of this project moving forward if very exciting.  This was evidently a passion project for Faye Dunaway, and as recently as last year it was reported that she was already filming.  I'm not sure where this leaves her work, but with this news, one can guess that it's unlikely to see the light of day, which is a shame. I'm sure more details on both projects will surface as filming nears.

Master Class takes place in the early 70's, where Callas is holding a master class at the Julliard School.  At the time, she would've only been in her late 40's.  Perhaps a bit of a stretch for Meryl, but let's remember it's on camera so a 15-year age difference for shouldn't be an issue, especially for Streep.  We'll get to hear some form of Greek accent as well, as Callas is from a Greek family, and although born in New York City, spent many of her formative years in Athens.

With so many new and enticing projects in the pipeline, I've certainly had to mentally modify what I hope Streep does over the next few years.  With Ricki and the Flash likely filming late summer/early fall of this year and Master Class to begin production in January of next year, I'm not sure Meryl is going to be able to squeeze in much else before next spring.  Where does this leave The Good House?  Well, I hope it's still in the mix.  I imagine the script should be nearing completion by now, so hopefully within a year they'll be close to having things together for filming, which would suggest a 2016 release.  What do people think about this "wish list" of a projected timeline?:

2015 Ricki and the Flash (filmed  Aug-Oct ‘14, released June ‘15)

Master Class--TV (filmed Jan-Mar '15, released December '15)

2016 Susan B. Anthony biopic (filmed Aug-Oct ‘15, released August ‘16)

The Good House  (filmed Mar-May ‘16, released Dec ‘16)

2017 The Senator’s Wife  (filmed Sep-Nov ‘16, released October ‘17)

Indira Gandhi biopic (filmed Feb-Apr ‘17, released December ‘17)

I have to stop getting attached to what I "hope" gets made, and just let things happen. Regardless, the future is looking bright for Streep's career.