Friday, June 27, 2014

New poster for "The Giver"

I'm a day or two late on this one, but a new movie poster for The Giver was recently released:


Fun bangs, Meryl.  Pretty good that she's getting second billing for a role that in the book would amount to about five minutes of screen time.  We know however that her part was considerably expanded for the film.  Hopefully it helps draw people to the theater.  Only a month and half away!

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Happy 65th, Meryl

Just a quick post to wish our girl a happy 65th birthday.  Despite now being eligible for Medicare coverage, Meryl continues to buck the perception of women over 40 being "old."  She seems more bright and lively than we've ever seen her, showing no signs of slowing down, at least when it comes to her career.  Looking forward to her projects in the coming year.

It just happens to be Senator Elizabeth Warren's 65th today as well, and as a big fan of hers, I'd like to give one of Massachusetts's best a shout out too!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Release date for "The Homesman" moved to November 7

Variety is reporting that Roadside Attractions is pairing with Saban Films to manage the theatrical release of The Homesman.  The most recent estimates suggested an October release date, but today's press release revealed a November 7 premiere in cinemas.  Evidently they're planning an aggressive awards campaign for the film as well, mostly likely chances for recognition being Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones.

It'll be a busy several months on Word on the Streep, with The Giver opening in August, filming for Ricki and the Flash starting around that time, The Homesman opening in November and Into the Woods and likely Suffragette set for December releases.  Then Meryl is reportedly scheduled to film Master Class starting in January!  Feel the burn, girl.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

First poster for "Into the Woods"

Broadway World got the exclusive on the first teaser poster for Into the Woods:


Very basic, but again, it's just a teaser.  Up next: trailer.

Recently Stephen Sondheim revealed a few of the changes Disney made to the original play.  So many people are up in arms that "they're destroying the musical."  I've read the leaked script, and although the final cut may not be the same, I don't think the changes are that monumental.  Let's have some perspective.  Hollywood has been trying to adapt this into a film since the early 90's.  When a company finally decides to fork over the money to produce it, they're going to have their own interests.  It's fucking Disney and a holiday release for Christ's sake.  They're not going to have two married characters hook up with people who aren't their spouses, and they're not going to want to kill off Rapunzel, a beloved character from one of their recent mega-hits (Tangled).

I'd love for it to be kept completely faithful to the original, to maintain the crux of the story's moral, and for the most part, it probably is.  The changes may not be ideal but I'm practical about it, as without them, we'd likely have no film version at all.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

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.











Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Kevin Kline and Mamie Gummer in talks for "Ricki and the Flash"

The Wrap is reporting that Kevin Kline and Meryl's daughter Mamie Gummer are in talks to join Streep in the upcoming film Ricki and the Flash.   Kline would play Meryl's husband, while Gummer, not surprisingly, would play her daughter.  This would the second time Meryl and Mamie shared screen time together.  The second was in 1986's Heartburn, when Gummer was just a toddler.  The two played different ages of the same character in 2007's Evening.  Kline would be reuniting with Streep on film for the first time since 1982's Sophie's Choice, which was his screen debut.

The physical resemblance between Streep and her daughter is astounding, so it would be a very believable pairing.  If Gummer ends up with the role, it will be fascinating to see how the two interact as "film" mother and daughter.  This will be the second straight year Meryl will team with one of her children, as Grace Gummer stars alongside her mom in The Homesman, which is set for release this fall.

Ricki and the Flash was written by Diablo Cody and is to be directed by Jonathan Demme.  It's set for release on June 26, 2015.  


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Radio interview with Streep at Indiana University

When Meryl was honored with an honorary doctorate at Indiana University in April, its president Michael McRobbie interviewed her for a public media program known as "Profiles."  It was just made available a couple days ago and can be heard here.

Of course the interview includes some lovely pearls of wisdom from Streep.  When I found that this interview had been published, I got a bit excited because at first I was thinking it was the full video from her UMass Lowell interview last month, where she apparently mentioned that she's received two of the best scripts she's ever read in the last year.  I wanted to hear her exact words.  There are more sections of that interview now on Youtube, but unfortunately not that part.   The Indiana interview is nice too, though.  Enjoy.


Saturday, June 7, 2014

Streep salutes Jane Fonda during AFI tribute

Meryl was present Thursday night to honor Jane Fonda as the 42nd recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.  Streep, herself the honoree in 2004, had her film debut alongside Fonda in 1977's Julia.



Cute delivery, Meryl.  The night's full program will be broadcast on TNT June 14.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

New trailer for "The Giver"

I guess this is officially trailer #2 (although there was sort of a revised version of trailer #1). You'll see that there is a lot of Meryl in this one.



If you've read the book, it's obvious that Meryl's character of the Chief Elder has been considerably expanded for the film version.  Fine with me.  Meryl is effectively creepy in these scenes and again, Brenton Thwaites...dreamy.  I also enjoy the music from Requiem for a Dream.  The Giver hits theaters August 15.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

First still from "Suffragette"

Yesterday the first movie still from Suffragette was released showing Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter in protest:


No word on a U.S. distributor yet, but with a January 2014 release planned in the U.K., I can't imagine it not being ready for this awards season.

In other news, producer Nikki Silver tweeted this today:

Stay tuned for my thoughts on the new trailer. Take a lesson, Disney.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Emily Blunt on "Into the Woods"

Emily Blunt was recently interviewed by Scott Fienberg for her upcoming film Edge of Tomorrow, and during it she made a few comments about what to expect from Into the Woods:

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Excited to see the cinematography!  And I'm sure she's being modest about her singing. Regardless, she makes a good point about Sondheim, in that this musical in particular lends itself to showcasing the "singing actor," rather than the "acting singer."  Now give us a trailer, Disney!