Pre-Christmas weekend topic potpourri

Several things to discuss in this post.  Most notable is that Into the Woods is getting the review treatment since Disney's embargo was lifted two days ago.  As I type this, it sits at a very respectable 71% on Rotten Tomatoes with 28 reviews counted, and 69% on Metacritic, with just nine reviews reported. If this film ends up above 70%, I can't imagine the filmmakers being displeased with that.  Nothing to suggest these opinions will deter viewers from showing up on Christmas Day.

Yesterday a new still was revealed from the filming of Ricki and the Flash. 

 
Rockin' it out with costar Rick Springfield.  I'm pretty sure they've wrapped production, and the film is set to be released June 26th next year.

Finally, it's no secret I'm typically obsessed with the prospect of Meryl's upcoming/rumored projects.  I speculated after the untimely death of director Mike Nichols last month on whether or not the HBO project Master Class, which he and Meryl were planning on doing together, was going to move forward.  As shooting was set to begin in January, I have to imagine that several aspects of the project were already in place.  I still think it's very possible that the entire thing is scrapped, or at least postponed and not to include Meryl.

But I've also noted in a previous post that there is a precedent in this situation, as director Sydney Pollack dropped out right before beginning Recount in 2007 due to illness.  If someone does ultimately step in for Nichols, it would likely be seen as more tactful to not announce his replacement until after the new year.  Part of me thinks that it may still be happening, mostly because, and some people may think this is nuts, but Meryl seems to have lost an appreciable amount of weight in the last two months.  Take a look at this pic of a super svelte Streep with director Rob Marshall earlier this week at an Into the Woods holiday event:

Meryl never appears overweight, but I've also never seen her quite this slight except for when preparing for a role, most recently when she filmed The Devil Wears Prada nine years ago.  I don't think she got this thin for Ricki and the Flash, so is she maybe readying herself to portray the famously trim Maria Callas?

If so, I'm onto you, Meryl.