Streep described as the film's "Godmother" in upcoming Ledbetter biopic

Considering this info is coming from Page Six, a bit of salt might need to be taken with it. But there was an article the other day with a few quotes from Fair Pay activist Lilly Ledbetter about Meryl's involvement in her upcoming biopic, Lilly. I'll paraphrase the parts that would likely be of interest to Streepers. 

The first item is that Meryl reportedly passed on starring in the role because she felt she was "too old." That's reasonable, considering the actor who was eventually cast, Patricia Clarkson, is ten years younger than Meryl. I've mentioned many times how Meryl can convincingly play characters ten to fifteen years younger than she is, so it's interesting that she'd say this about this particular role. Perhaps there are scenes with flashbacks where Ledbetter is meant to be depicted as someone in her forties, for example. She was hired by Goodyear around the age of forty, and noticed her pay discrepancy around the age of sixty, from what I understand. Fifty to sixty for brief portions is very passable for Meryl. Forty might be pushing it at 72. 

The other thing I took note of was when Ledbetter mentioned that Streep was "also booked up for two years." Who knows when this 'two year' time period started. But considering that the film is set to begin filming this month in Georgia (under the direction of Rachel Feldman, who also wrote the script), and that the filmmakers would've been "willing to wait" for Streep had she accepted the role, I wonder if Meryl already has projects in the pipeline with which she expects to be occupied over the next two to three years. I certainly hope that's the case. And if we're being real, it's probably always been the case. We devotees are just often left in the dark unfortunately about what's really churning behind the scenes. These quotes from Ledbetter make me optimistic that we'll see some concrete info about future filming plans (I'm looking at you, Places, Please). 

Perhaps the nicest bit in the article is Ledbetter describing Streep as the "godmother" of the film. We know that Feldman had sent Streep a letter attached with the script, and that while Meryl passed on the role, she offered to help out in any way she could, apparently opening the necessary doors for the film to find the light of day. I'll be curious to see if there are future mentions of Meryl's involvement when press junkets take place around the time of the film's release, likely toward the end of next year. Until then, hoping the best for Lilly's production and finish.