"Into the Woods" trailer expected by week's end?

Earlier today someone posted on the Into the Woods Imdb page that he/she works at a theater and the updated "trailer hardrive" just arrived which included the trailer for Into the Woods!  Deluxe trailers lists it has being ready for August 1st, and to be played with the films Guardians of the Galaxy, Get on Up and Cavalry. 

If this is true I'm wondering if we'll maybe even see it released before Friday.  Evidently the running time is 1:45.  Fingers crossed we see it within the next couple of days!

Rick Springfield to join "Ricki and the Flash"?

Evidently, Rick Springfield had to cancel an upcoming concert in order to fly to New York for a script reading of Ricki and the Flash.  Director Jonathan Demme had recently revealed that there's a role in the film of a man who plays Meryl's love interest, himself also a rocker.  Seems reasonable that this may in fact be the role Springfield is set to portray.  I've never seen him act, but it's widely known that he had/has a recurring role on the soap opera General Hospital, so it's not like he's a total novice.  Interested to see if this pans out for him and the film.

Jonathan Demme on "Ricki and the Flash"

The Daily Beast recently interviewed director Jonathan Demme and he had this to say about his upcoming film with Meryl:

 Now, I’m in heightened pre-production on a feature film, Ricki and the Flash, which we’re going to start shooting on Oct. 1. It’s a great script by Diablo Cody, and Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Mamie Gummer are in the cast. It’s a rock ’n’ roll driven family drama/comedy.

So Meryl plays a rocker? Who did you model her character on.  

Meryl plays Ricki and she’s the rocker. Kevin is the ex—the abandoned husband who lost Ricki to rock ’n’ roll. In our story, they come back together again under grave family circumstances. There’s another part we’re looking to cast of the guitarist who really wants to be Meryl’s boyfriend. Meryl, who is as we know a terrific singer, is a rock ’n’ roller. She loves rock ’n’ roll, and is taking a very personally-crafted approach to Ricki. Ricki’s of a generation of people like Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde, but I think this is going to be a very unique act.

Well, I guess we can consider that concrete verification that Mamie Gummer is in fact going to play Meryl's daughter.  We also get a little more specific info about the kind of persona Meryl may try to convey based on Demme's Joan Jett reference.  Very intrigued to see what our girl delivers.  Ricki and the Flash is set for a June 26th release next year. 

Top 10 Streep performances according to "Watch Mojo"

Recently, Watch Mojo posted a video of their choices for Meryl's top ten screen performances:



Of course all ten are of Oscar-nominated performances, and for the most part, I agree.  It's next to impossible to get a consensus on Meryl's best work, but since they did it, I'll do my best to list mine as well. If you ask me again in a year, my list may be different.  But today, it's this:

1. Sophie's Choice (duh)
2. A Cry in the Dark
3. The Devil Wears Prada
4. Adaptation
5. The Bridges of Madison County
6. Kramer vs Kramer
7. The Iron Lady
8. Julie & Julia
9. Silkwood
10. Doubt

Strong cases could be made for Out of Africa, Postcards from the Edge, August: Osage County, Ironweed, Angels in America (Ethel), One True Thing, The Hours, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Manchurian Candidate and The Deer Hunter.  I actually happen to love her in Plenty, The River Wild, Prime and Music of the Heart as well.   As I said...next to impossible.   What do you guys think?

New featurette for "The Giver"

Hey folks.  Just got back from a few days of family time with Joe in Madison.  Noticed there was a new featurette for The Giver released on Thursday which includes a fair amount of screen time for Meryl.  Just about four weeks until it hits theaters!

B roll from "The Giver"

Three videos, including scenes with Meryl, were released with B roll footage from The Giver over the past week:

The Giver opens one month from today!

Reshoots for "Into the Woods"?

Well, this may help explain why we haven't seen a trailer yet.  Broadway World has posted an article quoting a production runner for Into the Woods, who states that the film will undergo a month's worth of reshoots.   To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what to make of this.  We have no word on which scenes are being shot. These may be completely new scenes and not actually "rehsoots" of already completed footage. Regardless, it paints an ominous picture in my mind.  

I'm sure many people will hypothesize that these reshoots are in response to the outcry from purists of the original musical after spoilers were revealed by Stepehen Sondheim suggesting unfavorable changes to the story.  I have a hunch that's not the case.  What's probably more likely is that they weren't happy during the editing process and need to modify a couple of small sections.  Even if this ultimately provides for an improved film, it still makes me nervous.  Stay tuned.