Friday, June 29, 2018

Streep attached to Gerwig's "Little Women"

Hot off the presses, Variety broke the news earlier today that director Greta Gerwig is assembling an-all star cast for her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women. Meryl's name is included in the crop of actors circling the roles, with Saoirse Ronan, Emma Stone and Timothée Chalamet in talks as well. 

We know that as early as last fall, Gerwig had said in an interview that she was essentially coaxing Meryl for a role in her newest project. I was first alerted to the possibility of that role being in Little Women by a reader of this blog. It definitely made sense at the time, and with the other actors attached, I'm hoping that Meryl would play the mom, Marmee.

There is currently a ton of speculation out there (I've done a lot of snooping) about who is going to play which role. My guess is that the actors in Gerwig's adaptation are going to be a good 10 years older than the actual ages of their characters from the original novel.  Which is fine by me if it means Meryl will have a more meaty role.  Current tracking has Ronan for the lead role of "Jo," with Stone as "Meg."  Chalamet is rumored to be portraying "Laurie," who marries the youngest sister, "Amy."

Another big speculation is whether Gerwig will be placing the film in its original setting of Civil War-era Massachusetts.  Some "insiders" on Twitter have suggested that she is putting a more modern spin on it (which to me would be particularly refreshing), but that of course remains to be seen.

Other sites have indicated that the film is set to shoot near Boston in September and October. It makes me wonder how this would potentially conflict with Meryl participating in Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromate, which is reportedly scheduled to film this fall as well. If that's the case, and Meryl is involved with both films, it make me think that her role in Laundromat will indeed be a fairly minor one, even if her character is supposed to be the "emotional throughline" of the picture (I recently finished reading Secrecy World, and if her character is who I think it may be, she's barely mentioned in the book). Were both these roles supporting, she should have no problem filming each. It could be like the shooting schedule for a single lead role.

AS ALWAYS, time will tell on all these questions. Of course it's extremely exciting to have Meryl involved in another enticing project. Add in Big Little Lies and 2019 might end up being one of the biggest years she's ever had.

Streep, Stone, Ronan, Chalamet and Gerwig

4 comments:

  1. My only dilemma is she can’t possibly be nominated twice in Supporting Actress and I’d think both roles are potential contenders... :(

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    1. I can understand the dilemma. What I would love is if somehow The Laundromat were a lead role, but having read the book it's supposed to be based on, I just don't see how Meryl has anything more than a supporting role (maybe even a cameo). If her role in that film were very small, any awards attention she may get from Little Women may be the focus. Having seen the 1994 film version, Susan Sarandon didn't really have a lot to do in the role. I've not read the book, but it's also possible that Meryl was attracted to the part because Gerwig beefed up the role she's playing.

      This is my favorite part of Meryling!

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  2. On The Laundromat: according to Bastian Obermayer on his Twitter, replying to someone who jokingly asked if Meryl would play him: he responded (translated to English) that the film would not involve journalists and that she would be playing a woman who lost due to the shady behaviour of offshore companies. Also as for scheduling, expect Soderbergh to shoot quickly (that's his thing). Then she will slide into Little Women, in the most exciting role! I expect that to wrap by Christmas - in time for a little Mary Poppins promotion (not a lot - her role is small so I suspect her presence on the promo rounds will be also)
    Watch for: Amazon's presentation to TV journalists at the end of the month, possible we get confirmation on the status of The Nix. I suspect that production on that nine-episode series could commence after the Big Little Lies season 2 promotion ends (late February, early March) wrapping sometime in the summer for a spring 2020 release. Meryl is coming for triple Golden Globe noms in 2019 - like only she can!

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    1. Thanks for this info! Stupid blogger is for whatever reason not able to fix their issue with comment notifications not getting sent by email, so this is the first time I'm reading this. So curious to know more about Meryl's role in the Laundromat! And I hope you're right about The Nix!

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