Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Streep rumored to be joining Joaquin Phoenix in new Ari Aster film

News broke earlier today that Meryl has signed on to star in an upcoming Ari Aster film, entitled Disappointment Blvd. Described as a surrealist horror film, the picture is set to begin filming in late June in Montreal. Joaquin Phoenix is attached as well. Aster is well-known for his first two feature films, Hereditary and Midsommar. 

OK, first off, let me just say that y'all know I love new project news. Both Aster and Phoenix are extremely talented, and it'll be fun to see the final product if this comes to fruition with Meryl's involvement. But a few questions immediately pop into my mind in regard to scheduling and the tone this film is going to take. Considering the film is supposed to begin filming on June 28, I wonder what that means for Meryl's chances of starring in Damien Chazelle's Babylon. The later is rumored to start filming already this spring. However, if Meryl's role in the Aster film is a supporting one (which it sounds like it is), maybe she'd be able to do both. It wouldn't be the first time she's filmed projects in short succession, especially for parts that wouldn't require her to be on set every day. From what I've read in the Babylon script, the role of Elinor Glyn could reasonably be shot in a couple of weeks. 

Then of course there is the lead role Meryl has coming up in Places, Please. That's supposed to be filming in "summer" as well, but that could be a late August start for all we know. Personally, I would of course love if Streep somehow found a way to participate in all three. 

Perhaps the most perplexing piece of all this is what the Aster film is going to be about. The article I cite lists it as a surrealist horror film. But when I view Joaquin Phoenix's upcoming filmography on IMDb, it lists two separate Ari Aster projects: Beau is Afraid and Disappointment Blvd. The link I provided basically states that the two films are the same, with the name Beau is Afraid being ditched for Disappointment Blvd. When one reads the descriptions of each film, however, the taglines are very different. Beau is Afraid is listed as a "four-hour 'nightmare comedy,'" while Disappointment Blvd. reads as "a decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time." While I'd love to see Meryl in her first horror flick, my hunch is that she's more likely to be participating in the decades-spanning story, which I've also seen described as a melodrama. 

Either way, it's great when Meryl is attached to high-profile features with lauded directors. The next couple of months are going to be fun. 



6 comments:

  1. Isn't Meryl the producer of Places, Please? If so, I guess she can easily move the filming schedule as she needs.

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    1. Yes, she is. But is it that easy? Like, if you have a cast and crew set to start in six weeks and then you say, "Hold up, I have another role so everyone just cool it for another two months." Does that happen?

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  2. Much like Babylon, I am gonna need trade confirmation before I get my hopes up. Would be interesting to see Meryl in horror (adjacent). What the director had Toni Collette and Florence Pugh do, woof! Meryl would be next level.

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    1. Yeah, I agree time will tell. Although I think 'if' Meryl is in the Aster film, it's the one that's not a horror film, rather a drama.

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  3. Hereditary and Midsommar are AMAZING and mind-bending. My jaw dropped when I read your post Jeff. I think she could do something really spectacular in an Ari Aster film. Thanks for the fun news, hope we get to see this one sooner rather than later.

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