Monday, November 25, 2019

Jo Ellen Pellman lands lead in "The Prom"

Multiple sources are reporting that newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman has landed the role of Emma in Ryan Murphy's adaptation of The Prom for Netflix. Pellman was selected from a nation-wide search.  She's know for HBO's The Deuce, but I have to admit I'd never heard of her. A few other supporting roles were announced, rounding out the cast that is set to begin shooting in December.


I saw a Tweet or something last week that showed Nicole Kidman already in the studio recording songs. No word yet when Meryl is set to lay down her tracks. From what I've gathered, some of the vocals are going to be very challenging. 

The Prom is aiming for a release late summer 2020. 

Thursday, November 21, 2019

New speculation for Streep to play Susan Boyle in biopic

Six years ago, I posted that Meryl had been approached to portray singer Susan Boyle in a biopic. This morning, at least two Scottish sources have indicated that Boyle's 2010 autobiography, "The Woman I was Born to Be" has been optioned by a "new" film company, which will be shopped to the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Boyle of course shot to fame after finishing second in 2009's season of Britain's Got Talent.

In the linked article, it's stated that Meryl is an "early contender" for the role. In 2013, Boyle was quoted as saying Streep had been approached, but there was little else mentioned on the possibility at the time. I'm not even sure based on the new info whether or not there is an actual screenplay already completed, but I tend to think there is, considering Boyle said it's going to come out "very soon." I can't imagine they're still waiting on a script if that's the case. She also stated that the actress set to portray her is a "bit of surprise," and that she had some say in who got the role and that it was a "collaboration."

No word on director, and certainly no word from U.S. sources on Meryl's potential involvement. If the script is good, I could see Meryl doing this: rags to riches, Scottish accent, interesting family history, possible mental illness/diagnosed with Asperger's, singing, physical transformation. If she somehow stars in this, I'll have to pick up a copy of the book.

I guess we'll wait and see what else comes of it! 

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Accents Mastered updated

It's been a month since The Laundromat was released on Netflix, and I'm updating Meryl's accent list to include her role of Elena in the film. I'm not interested in just brushing the film or the controversial subject of alleged "brownface" under the rug, so I'm adding it to the list. One caveat, however, is that the Latin(?) accent Streep dons for her second role has never been ascribed to a specific region or dialect. One would suspect that if Meryl did her typical due diligence, it would be something like Panamanian Spanish (as to my understanding, that's a specific sound).

I haven't heard Meryl say that she purposely didn't regionalize the character's sound (which if that's the case, only gives fodder to those who decry the generalization of her characterization). Nor have I heard her say that she intended to sound from a certain place. With that in mind, it's probably not accurate to say it's an "accent mastered," versus just sounding different from herself, which I like to catalog. Therefore, the updated list:


The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)--Tennessean
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)--British (specifically Received Pronunciation)
Sophie's Choice (1982)--Polish (in English and German)
Silkwood (1983)--Texan
Plenty (1985)--British (I think it's also RP)
Out of Africa (1985)--Danish
Ironweed (1987)--Irish-American
A Cry in the Dark (1988)--New Zealand (with strong layers of Australian)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)--Italian (Meryl calls it Iowatalian)
Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)--Northern Irish
Angels in America (2003)--Yiddish and Bronx (in separate roles)
Prime (2005)--Manhattan (specifically Upper West Side)
A Prairie Home Companion (2006)--Upper Midwestern
Doubt (2008)--Bronx
Julie & Julia (2009)--Boston Brahmin
The Iron Lady (2011)--British (again RP)
August: Osage County (2013)--Oklahoman
The Homesman (2014)--Central Plains Midwestern
Suffragette (2015)--British (Received Pronunciation)
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)--Mid-Atlantic
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)--vaguely Russian
The Laundromat (2019)--nondescript Latin (possibly Panamanian Spanish)

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Streep-inspired scene from "Little Women"

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Greta Gerwig described how Meryl inspired a specific scene in Little Women. That scene was released yesterday:



Granted, the scene doesn't even include Meryl, only the great Florence Pugh (Amy March) and Timothée Chalamet (Laurie). But it's a poignant scene and lesson for what it was like for women in the nineteenth century.

Incidentally, following multiple screenings, Pugh is garnering quite a bit of buzz these days for awards recognition. Kind of fun that her likely Oscar clip was essentially written by Meryl.

Little Women opens Christmas Day. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

New TV spot for "Little Women"

A new TV spot for Little Women was revealed yesterday on Twitter:


There are a couple brief new clips of Meryl in this, with a playful tone throughout. Reactions to screenings continue to be overwhelmingly positive. Can't wait for Christmas!

Friday, November 1, 2019

Ariana DeBose joins "The Prom"

They've traded out one Ariana for another: Grande for DeBose. Playbill is reporting that Ariana DeBose has been cast to play "Alyssa" in the The Prom, the role for which Ariana Grande had originally been slated. Her character plays the girlfriend of the lead character, "Emma," which is yet to be cast.

I hadn't heard of DeBose prior to his news, but she got her break in 2009 on the television show So You Think You Can Dance, and was recently nominated for a Tony for her role in the the Donna Summer musical, Summer. She'll next be seen in the role of Anita in Steven Spielberg's upcoming adaptation of West Side Story. 

Filming for The Prom is set to begin next month.