Monday, May 22, 2023

Poll #16: "Which role do you most wish you could have seen Meryl do?"

Next week, I'm going to wrap up my supporting recasting project with my final role selection. With all the thinking I've been doing in the last few years between this project and my (mostly) lead recasting series, I thought it would be interesting to just put out a poll to see people's ideas on which roles they would've most liked to see Meryl do. I did a smaller version of this question six years ago, but that one only consisted of movies for which Meryl was originally attached and didn't end up doing. I have chosen twenty titles that span projects Meryl was attached to but someone else did, projects that she was never in consideration for (that I know of), and those for which she was announced to star, but that never got made at all. I think all the them have been included in my lead recasting project or my "Should Coulda Wouldas" tab. For ease, I have only included lead roles. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Please take the opportunity to check the last option of "other" and include your own write-in, and feel free to then expand on your selection in the comments. I'm excited to see everyone's choices!

16 comments:

  1. I would love any of those choices Jeff! I chose "Sweet Dreams" because Meryl wanted it so much and I would have loved to hear her sing like Patsy Cline.

    I would also love "The Remains Of The Day", "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Thelma & Louise" to have Meryl star in them. Great movies, scrips, cast and direction.

    I would also add "In The Bedroom" to this fantastic list, it would have been a magnificent role and movie right when Meryl was resetting her career in the early 2000s.

    And I'm STILL sore about Masterclass, not only because it would have been amazing but probably because we came so close..

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  2. I agree...MasterClass might have been one of her crowning glories...I don't understand - why can't another director take over from Mike Nichols (God bless his soul)?

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    1. I just remember Meryl saying at the time her heart wasn't in it anymore. A great pity. I had hoped it might come together after a few months had passed but it wasn't meant to be.

      On another note it seems like Places, Please is getting ready to film but no word yet on who the star is!

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    2. Some of the updates on IMDb include a makeup artist to Jessica Lange. Might be her with Kathy Bates.

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    3. Happy for Jessica if that's the case but I also feel bad hoping the movie isn't all that now that Meryl isn't onboard!

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    4. Jessica is now listed on the IMDB page for Places, Please. I wonder if they weren’t able to negotiate on salary to sign Meryl.

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    5. Or she didn't care for the final script? I remember her saying she had to be talked into "August: Osage County" as at this time in her life she'd rather not play characters with such bad qualities or who are unpleasant (I might not be total accurate on what she said). Maybe the character was someone she didn't want to play?

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  3. In the 90s, Meryl was attached to star in a film about Kathy Burke who was NYPD’s most decorated female detective. That would have been an amazing role for her.

    She also co-wrote a screenplay with Carrie Fisher, a comedy titled “The Other Woman”. I believe it was about an actress who suspects her actor-husband to be having an affair. This was not long after Postcards. Not sure why that never saw the light of day!

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    1. Would've loved and would still love to see Meryl in something she was involved in writing and/or producing! For me the big miss in recent years is The Nix!

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  4. How about something in an Agatha Christie adaptation? Maybe Meryl could have played the murderer? Something in Poirot or Miss Marple. Hardly leading, but fun nonetheless.

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    1. I love Marple & Poirot but these new Branagh are awful. I don't see them doing a big screen Marple any time soon but I guess you never know. Meryl would have been a great Mrs Boynton in a good adaptation of "Appointment With Death". This character is a fascinating study in sadism towards her family but she's never been played as written.

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    2. Yeah, you're right. Those Branagh adaptations are terrible.

      I was thinking in Letitia Blacklock in A Murder is Announced, or Marina Greg (a famous movie star, yes!) in The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side. No spoilers for those who haven't read these or watched any adaptations, but they are a significant part of the story.

      Still, one can always go back and rewatch David Suchet or Joan Hickson.

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    3. We are sort of getting a role in a Christie-esque project with Only Murders in the Building!

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  5. Pedro Almodovar wanted her for a film a few years ago, but didn’t feel comfortable at the time directing English speaking actors. But there’s still hope? World Of Reel posted that he has just cast a British actress and an American actress for his next film.

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    1. The buzz is that it's Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.

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  6. I can't stand Almodovar for ditching first Meryl, then Cate, in his first English feature. Shame on him!

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