Last night, Meryl was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. She gave a brief but lovely taped acceptance speech. Cher also provided a touching tribute. The section on Meryl starts at 06:42.
The previous night, Liam Neeson presented Streep with the Spirit of Ireland at the 2024 Irish Arts Center Gala in New York City. The pair starred as husband and wife in 1996's Before and After, and two years later of course, Meryl starred in Dancing at Lughnasa, which was shot and takes place in County Donegal. I hadn't realized that Meryl's great-great grandparents on her mother's side were from there!
That's a wrap on season 4 of Only Murders in the Building. Meryl had screen time for the third time during the season, as she (Loretta) and Oliver got hitched. But not before she's heading off to New Zealand for continuation of her TV show's filming. The show has already been renewed for season 5.
There was an article yesterday from show runner and co-creator John Hoffman, in which he was asked whether having Loretta head off to New Zealand was a deliberate way to buy themselves times to accommodate Meryl's schedule for season 5. His reply:
It’s partly pragmatic in that way, sure. But really it’s about what the trio has built together, and what Oliver and Loretta have built together. That is a little wink to Hollywood at the moment when she’s saying how, suddenly, the budget [on her show] is requiring [they shoot in] New Zealand. That was one part of it. But then it feels to me like a beautifully adult decision that she comes to, saying, “We don’t have to do this in any way traditionally… we never have… we shouldn’t.” There was a slightly longer speech there talking about “we can long for other, and pine for each other, and then when we’re together, it’s that much more magical. That’s all I want is to keep that.” So, we’ll see how it goes. Nothing would make me happier than more Meryl Streep in the show.
What this means to me, is that they want the option to have Meryl in the next season, and if she's willing, it'll likely be brief and sporadic (kind of like this past season). Especially with Meryl (hopefully) having a couple projects due for filming next year (The Devil Wears Prada 2 in the first half of the year and possibly The Corrections in the second half of the year). I don't imagine there's any plan to have Meryl be some major character moving forward. I'd personally be fine if the show wrapped up after the next season. Five seems solid. I'm happy to have seen Meryl do something in the past two years, but it seems more likely that she's moving on to some projects that will require a greater amount of her professional time. Doesn't mean she can't swing by and spend a few days on the Only Murders set if they have scenes they feel they want or need Loretta in.
Well, Production List is now reporting that the Devil Wears Prada sequel is set for filming in February, 2025. A three-month shoot is expected, with an aim for a late 2026 release.
I have to say that this timeline makes more sense. The November 30 date that I have previously posted might actually be a date they plan to start shooting some B roll, wide shots or exterior shots that don't necessarily involve the main cast. Or, it could just be that this most recent post is the more accurate one and filming was set to begin in February all along. Also makes sense that they'd want to release in 2026 so as to have the nice little bow of a "20th anniversary" sequel.
If this indeed wraps in May, and if The Corrections ends up actually happening, I expect that the latter will film next fall with another 2026 release. That would be potentially very big year for Meryl!
Unrelated, I came across a video yesterday where renown Indian actress Kareena Kapoor Khan stated in response to a question about possibly going more global that she's "a huge fan of Meryl Streep. I would just love to stand in the frame with her." I was not aware of this actress at all, but I couldn't help but see that she's the right age to portray the lead character in State of Wonder. If the woman can do an American accent, she may have just tossed something special out into the universe.
Meryl was back in action last night in episode seven of the fourth season of Only Murders in the Building. Her character, Loretta, has been absent since episode one. She shows up in New York after Oliver (Martin Short) had broken up with her via text, only for them both to realize that Loretta's sort of brushing off of Oliver's marriage proposal was all a misunderstanding.
The more interesting part of the episode comes of course when Loretta gets into a physical altercation with Melissa McCarthy's character. McCarthy plays Charles's (Steve Martin) younger sister. She fancies Oliver and starts to get territorial with Loretta in her house.
From what I understand, the two did the whole thing without any stunt doubles. Not too shabby, particularly for Meryl, as she was or was just about to turn 75 at the time of filming this scene. I've said it before and I'll say it again, with how good her posture and mobility is, she's capable of believably portraying people much younger than her chronological age, which bodes well for hopefully many more years of great performances in quality projects.
I'm guessing that we'll see Loretta in one or two of the remaining three episodes of the season. Since the show was renewed for a fifth, and Loretta and Oliver are now engaged, I wouldn't be surprised to see Meryl at least have a cameo in the next season. But gladly, she'll also be busy with other things soon as well. Is there a possibility for guest Emmy nominations for this season?
Production List is reporting that the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada is scheduled to begin filming on November 30. This was an unexpected piece of news. With news of the project being in development only having coming out in early July, I figured the earliest we'd see it in production would be sometime next year. I guess the script was more fine-tuned than many of us probably thought it was.
Assuming this is all true, we'll most certainly see this released sometime in the second half of next year. I had thought it would be kind of cool to have the two sequels released exactly twenty years apart, but if released next year, it'll be only nineteen. I suppose the timeline makes a little more sense coming off the recent news of Meryl starring in the TV adaptation of The Corrections. That might take up a fair amount of her time, and the filming of Prada this year would make for a more open schedule in '25. I do hope that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is only a working title.
One thing that I'm a little curious about is the possibility of Meryl's involvement in the Joni Mitchell biopic. It was "rumored" in July also, with no confirmation from reputable sources. However, I recently checked and the official Joni Mitchell website included the post! I don't know if that actually means anything. Whoever is running that site might not actually be all that discerning about what's going on with a potential feature film about the singer's life. Regardless, that fact that it was on the site made me furrow my brow a bit in suspicion. In the original article, the rumored filming schedule was supposed to start sometime late summer or early fall. That would have to start essentially now for that to be true. I suppose it could still happen, but even if it does, Meryl would only be playing the older version of Joni, so it wouldn't be like she would have months of shooting to contend with.
It's wild how all of a sudden with the Prada sequel, The Corrections, and possible involvement in Mamma Mia! 3 and a Joni Mitchell biopic (although I'm dubious about this last one), Meryl seems super busy with projects. The landscape seemed pretty barren only a few weeks ago.
Holy shit. I first saw this news early this morning from from Puck (run by Matt Belloni, former editor of The Hollywood Reporter and likely totally legit), and I was a little leery that no other news outlets were announcing it. Variety has now picked up on it and is also reporting that Streep is attached to star in a limited series adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's 2001 National Book Award-winning novel, The Corrections for CBS studios. Franzen is apparently penning the script for the series.
I had posted twelve years ago after a pilot for the novel adaptation with Dianne Wiest and Chris Cooper was not picked up by HBO for series that I though Meryl should star in a film version. I loved the novel and it is a brilliant story of a complicated American family. The book is long and totally makes the most sense to adapt it over the course of four to six hours versus a feature film. Meryl would paly Enid, the mother of three grown children who wants their Midwestern family to get together for one last Christmas.
Evidently the project is going to be shopped to distributors/streaming services soon. I imagine it won't start filming until sometime next year, with a likely release of 2026? If the Devil Wears Prada sequel happens I would expect that to also be for 2026. Maybe they're closer to production for The Corrections than we realize, and an early 2025 shooting schedule could result in a late 2025 release. Regardless, if this turns out to be legit and eventually happens, it's exactly the time of limited series I would love to see Meryl do! An adaptation with original characters in a beloved American tale.
So excited to see where this leads!
Meryl Streep to reportedly star in series adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s ‘THE CORRECTIONS.’
It revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-20th century to one last Christmas together.
Will Meryl be entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Casting director Sarah Halley Finn was asked at the Agatha All Around premiere earlier this week whom she'd like to cast in a Marvel movie. She pretty emphatically announced Meryl.
This isn't the first time Meryl has been rumored to have been approached or to be in talks for a role in a Marvel movie. But this sounds a little more specific and intentional, in that I'm guessing Meryl (through her people or whatever) has been contacted to see if she'd be interested in a Marvel project. And I'm guessing Meryl may have responded with something like "if the right role were to come along."
For real though, I'm sure it'll come as no secret that I'd be totally fine with Meryl setting her sights elsewhere. The only possible projects that we know about currently are both Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia! sequels. To think that something as painfully mainstream as a superhero movie would be taking up her time is maddening to me. Yes, yes, it's possible there could be a fascinating role in store, and if it opened her to a new legion of fans, fine. But I'm thirsty for something more Meryl-y.
I'm not holding my breath that this will happen anytime soon.
