Sunday, March 19, 2023

Streep replaced in "Places, Please"?

There are rumblings on Awards Worthy today that suggest Places, Please is back on track and in pre-production. I looked on IMDb and while the film's status was indeed changed to "pre-production" on March 13, and Atlanta has been listed as a filming site, Meryl's name is no longer listed as attached. 

There is also this link to screenwriter Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's bio page on the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. In the second paragraph there is a line that reads: "Seldes Annacone has also written a number of screenplays. Her most recent, Places, Please, is slated to begin filming in January 2023 with Glenn Close and Kathy Bates." That's some pretty specific info that seems unlikely to be incorrect (except for maybe the part that filming started in January). 

I'm surprised I'm as bummed about this news (if it's true) as I am. I'd pretty much given up on the possibility of this movie happening, as nothing has been mentioned about it since its announcement just over two years ago now. But Meryl hasn't had a lead role onscreen for what seems like forever at this point, and there's no definitive news about anything else coming along. The Tarantino film seems tenuous at best (still holding out hope), and Extrapolations was a bit part. Even Murders in the Building, while sure to be fun and entertaining, is highly likely going to max out as a guest/supporting role in a single season for her. 

Imagine if we were getting news that Meryl was actually filming Places, Please this spring and then The Movie Critic (or whatever it'll be called). The first could be complete for release this year, the other next year. And OMG if she got to star alongside Kathy Bates?! How wonderful that'd be! I'm assuming Close will portray Lillian Hall. Good for her, regardless. If the role is as strong as I was hoping, maybe it'll put Glenn in the running for her much overdue Oscar. Still, I wish wholeheartedly that it were still Meryl in the part. 

20 comments:

  1. Crushing if this bears out true! Especially as she was also producing and seemed to be good friends with the director.

    Glenn says in a recent Instagram video that she's been busy shooting things that do not sound at all like this but we shall see. I fear/hope it's another Good House - terribly missed opportunity and then ultimately a blessing in disguise. I'm holding out faith she'll be back on the big screen soon.

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    1. I thought the exact same thing regarding The Good House, Darcy.

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    2. Thanks God, she didn't film The Good house ,it was a terrible flop. I am afraid of Places please ,because of the old fashion director.Two movie flops ? No, I love Meryl so much and I don t want to see her in new bad movies. She has to continue the great movies after Florence , The Post and the greatest Let them all talk .

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    3. I haven’t seen “The Good House” yet but it might have been a success with Meryl and a really great director.

      Meryl was also rumored for the Jean Smart role in “Babylon” (which was a tremendous bomb) and the Patti LuPone role in “Beau Is Afraid” (which is already projected to lose money).

      (It doesn’t personally matter to me how much money her films make, but her critics love to point out whenever she stars in something that is not a box office hit, which is really unnecessary and annoying.)

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  2. Maybe not replaced at all? Maybe all acting together?🤞- Jamie

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  3. Let's hope it was a question of the quality of the script rather than a logistic issue

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    1. The script question seems unlikely to me, considering Meryl was quoted in the original announcement that not only was "her" role great, but that all the roles in the script were great. Unless they made changes.

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    2. Sorry I didn't realise (or remember) Meryl had made any comments on the movie, it's been so long!

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  4. I have no idea what she is up to. Maybe waiting for her ON GOLDEN POND and taking a long break- maybe 10+ years since last nomination.

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  5. It’s weird and frankly unprofessional for that writer to even say anything like that about it publicly so I would just wait and see right now. Also the announcement article mentioned Meryl partly funded it herself so would she really give it up that easily?

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    1. I'm not sure why it would be unprofessional for the writer to say something publicy. Maybe it's not a secret and it's just that we hadn't heard about it yet. And who's to say that Meryl "gave it up easily." Maybe it was a tough decision but that she knew she couldn't do it or no longer wanted to do it for whatever reason and decided hand it off to willing hands.

      All that said, I'm dying for Meryl to lead a feature film with a quality role, so would love if this were it for her. But it seems--to me--that it no longer is.

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