I had to make sure that this was a legit article, but the URL is Netlix.com, so I feel confident it is. Author of The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen,was interviewed and discussed a bit about his involvement in the adaptation of the novel to the screen, which has been picked up by Netflix. The biggest takeaway I had from this is that things seem to be moving forward. And the fact that Franzen is quoted, in reference to Meryl's involvement that, "She was not at the top of the list, she was the only person on the list."
I'm excited by that fact that Franzen seems to be zeroed in on this story being sort of focused on the motivation of Enid specifically (Meryl's character). It sounds like he's been interested in revisiting this story and set of characters, particularly remarking about Enid, "I wanted to establish sympathy for Enid early and give her more dimensions, more nuance.”
This makes me excited for the character and of course Meryl's performance. Hopefully we'll get some casting news sooner than later.
It's a great article. Read it if you have the time, and read the book if you have even more time.
Sources are reporting that Streep has joined an A-list cast of actors lending their voices to the upcoming live action/stop-motion animation film of Lincoln in the Bardo. Meryl will voice four characters in the film. Colman Domingo, Bill Hader, and Tom Waits have also joined the cast. Tom Hanks will play former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln in the live action portion of the film. From The Hollywood Reporter:
The film employs a unique blend of stop-motion animation and live action to explore one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased eleven-year-old son. Blending history and imagination, the story unfolds through an unforgettable ensemble of characters — living and dead, historical and invented — to explore themes of love, empathy, and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief.
The film will be directed by Duke Johnson. George Saunders adapts his best-selling book into the screenplay, examining the death of Lincoln's eleven year-old son, Willie. There was no mention in Hollywood Reporter article on filming dates or any scheduled release.
Sources are reporting that the newest season of Only Murders in the Building will premiere on Hulu on December 8. The story moves across the pond to London this year, with our trio of amateur sleuthers will no doubt encounter fresh treachery to to solve. From Deadline:
...our trio Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) embark on their hardest case yet when the next victim — Cinda Canning — arrives at their doorstep, summoning them to London to catch her killer. Our beloved trio of true crime-solving podcasters must now navigate their way through the home of the cozy murder mystery, replete with a whole new collection of suspicious and particularly English-eccentric characters. But can they follow in the footsteps of the woman whose podcast started it all for them … without having their story end the same as hers?
I've been open about my ambivalence about Meryl's participation in this show at this point. It's felt rather dull for me the last two seasons. But I'm actually kind of interested to see how it looks and plays out in the new U.K. environment, picturing more of a cozy murder mystery, Agatha Christie-style.
Wow. This is a bit of a milestone year for Word on the Streep. It's been fifteen years since I wrote my inaugural post back in 2011. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) suggested it, helped me set it up, and the rest is history. There was so much buzz about Meryl in The Iron Lady that my interest simply couldn't be contained through talk alone.
It's been a wonderful experience to be able to unleash my often goofy thoughts on Meryl projects (past, current, future and potential). This is made even better by the interaction of any and all readers. I extend my continued gratitude to you all, and I look forward to continuing the journey. While things are often uncertain in regard to Meryl starring in projects, I'm hopeful that we'll get some casting news soon on The Corrections, that the Joni Mitchell biopic gets off the ground, and that maybe Useful Idiots is indeed only paused, and not dead. Those three options alone should come close to sating my insatiable appetite for seeing her in new things onscreen.
Multiple sources are reporting that The Devil Wears Prada 2 has accumulated 15.2 million views in its first five days on Hulu and Disney+. This is apparently the biggest live-action premiere since Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024.
I haven't watched it for a second time yet, but Joe hasn't seen it yet so we're going to watch it together on my birthday next week.
I'm getting pretty antsy for some casting news for The Corrections.
I've written a second novel! This is not purely a shameless plug for people to check it out. Like my first book, The Cypress Club, there is a character in Lodi that was sort of inspired by the possibility of seeing Meryl playing it onscreen. It's a supporting character in Lodi, and if you read it, you'll have little difficulty identifying who it is. I've included the cover blurb below the photo.
After his brother's brush with death, Luke Hanlor is pulled back to the Minnesota farm he fled thirty years ago. Every acre reopens old wounds: a neighbor's mysterious death, estrangement from his daughter, and the disappearance of his youngest brother-a wound that has shaped every choice Luke has made, and a guilt he has never found a way to outrun.
As a predatory megafarm closes in, Luke allies with a grassroots movement fighting to save family farms, only to discover its local leader is a trusted family friend who may know more about Luke's past than she's ever let on, and whose knowledge threatens to unravel everything Luke believes he's escaped.
Lodi is a novel about returning home-to land, to family, and to the truths we spend our lives avoiding. With quiet humor and emotional precision, Jeff Wiemiller captures the beauty, burden, and stubborn grace of small-town America.
When I completed my original recasting project in 2021, and then the supporting series a year later, both of the final entries were roles that won the original actress an Oscar. Perhaps it's fitting that I conclude this updated series with Weapons. The great Amy Madigan of course secured the supporting win for her thrilling performance as Aunt Gladys.
With the exception of my recasting addendum to include The Silence of the Lambs, I don't think I've selected a horror film for this series. Or really anything that's sort of supernatural in theme. But I just couldn't pass up this role. The premise of the movie is that all but one kid from an entire class disappears at the same time in the middle of the night, running from their homes with their arms spread wide. It turns out that Aunt Gladys, who is a witch, had been invited to the home of Alex (the lone child who did not run away) by his parents, only to bewitch them and to force Alex to collect items from his classmates for Aunt Gladys to then bewitch the kids, effectively feeding off their energy. There are a handful of side stories that all play out from different characters' points of view (Julia Garner as the class's teacher, Josh Brolin as the determined father of one of the missing children), with the story culminating in Aunt Glady's ritual being used against her and the kids all ripping her to pieces.
One of the creepiest things is when someone you know or suspect is sinister acts almost excessively nicely. It's a manipulative and disarming tactic that so often works because other people have such a hard time being anything close to unkind to them, even if they're suspicious of said person's intentions. Madigan showcases this brilliantly in her interaction with the principal (Benedict Wong). One thing I'll mention is that we know Meryl isn't historically thrilled with portraying witches. Although she played the Witch in Into the Woods, she has stated that since it's a Sondheim musical it's a "complicated" witch, and therefore okay to play, versus the "oh I'm over 40 now, women are old and ugly after that age so these are the parts I'm going to get offered" kind of witch. Aunt Gladys is a little bit of the latter, but I'd argue that her character, particularly in the context of this story, has more layers to her beyond simply wanting to hurt people. I'm reminded of a Vanity Fair interview from writer/director Zach Cregger, where he stated that he gave Madigan the option of choosing between two options for Gladys's origin:
...one where she was a regular person using witchcraft to prevent her dying from an incurable condition, and one where she was instead an immortal creature performing an approximate simulacrum of a human being, but that he did not ask her which one she chose.
I think Meryl could empathize with the former example; a human being trying to extend her life by whatever means she knows, even if it happens to hurt others. That could be an interesting complication to try to work out in a character. I of course don't know which version Madigan chose (I don't know if she's ever commented on it), but if I were to guess, I imagine it was the human example.
Weapons did extremely well with critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 on Metacritic). The box office receipts were rather staggering as well, grossing $270 million worldwide against a $38 million budget. Horror sort of feels like it's having an auteur resurgence in recent years, which makes the prospect of the news from about a year ago at this time about director JT Mollner having penned a horror script for Meryl. Given the right character, I would be thrilled to see Meryl cast in a true, smart horror film.
Below you can see the full updated lists of both lead and supporting recasting selections, including the number of roles originated by specific actresses. Hopefully I'll update again in another five years!
Lead:
1976: Hester Street (Gitl)
1977: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Jillian Guiler)
1978: Julia (Julia)
1979: The Rose (Mary Rose Foster)
1980: American Gigolo (Michelle Stratton)
1981: Reds (Louise Bryant)
1982: Frances (Frances Farmer)
1983: Romancing the Stone (Joan Wilder)
1984: A Passage to India (Adela Quested)
1985: Agnes of God (Dr. Martha Livingston)
1986: Crimes of the Heart (Rebecca Magrath/Babe Botrell)
1987: Anna (Anna)
1988: Gorillas in the Mist (Dian Fossey)
1989: Dangerous Liaisons (Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil)
1990: The Grifters (Lilly Dillon)
1991: Fried Green Tomatoes (Evelyn Couch)
1992: Blue Sky (Carly Marshall)
1993. The Piano (Ada McGrath)
1994: Dolores Claiborne (Dolores Claiborne)
1995: Copycat (Helen Hudson)
1996: Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen Prejean)
1997: As Good as It Gets (Carol Connelly)
1998: Primary Colors (Susan Stanton)
1999: American Beauty (Carolyn Burnham)
2000: Requiem for a Dream (Sara Goldfarb)
2001: The Contender (Laine Billings Hanson)
2002: In the Bedroom (Ruth Fowler)
2003: Panic Room (Meg Altman)
2004: Vera Drake (Vera Drake)
2005: Elizabeth I (Queen Elizabeth I)
2006: Notes on a Scandal (Barbara Covett)
2007: Frozen River (Ray Eddy)
2008: Grey Gardens (Edith Bouvier Beale)
2009: The Last Station (Sophia Tolstaya)
2010: The Kids Are All Right (Nicole Allgood)
2011: The Debt (Rachel Singer)
2012: Saving Mr. Banks (P.L. Travers)
2013: The Hundred-Foot Journey (Madame Mallory)
2014: Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge)
2015: Hello, My Name is Doris (Doris Miller)
2016: Julieta (Julieta)
2017: Feud (Joan Crawford)
2018: The Wife (Joan Castleman)
2019: Catherine the Great (Catherine the Great)
2020: Nomadland (Fern)
2021: Mass (Linda)
2022: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Ada Harris)
2023: Nyad (Diana Nyad)
2024: The Room Next Door (Martha)
2025: The Summer Book (Grandmother)
Roles by originating actress:
Helen Mirren (5)
Jessica Lange (4)
Kathy Bates (2)
Anette Bening (3)
Glenn Close (3)
Frances McDormand (2)
Sissy Spacek (2)
Emma Thompson (2)
Sigourney Weaver (2)
Joan Allen (1)
Ellen Burstyn (1)
Judy Davis (1)
Judi Dench (1)
Ann Dowd (1)
Melinda Dillon (1)
Sally Field (1)
Jane Fonda (1)
Jodie Foster (1)
Helen Hunt (1)
Holly Hunter (1)
Anjelica Huston (1)
Lauren Hutton (1)
Carole Kane (1)
Diane Keaton (1)
Sally Kirkland (1)
Melissa Leo (1)
Lesley Manville (1)
Bette Midler (1)
Vanessa Redgrave (1)
Susan Sarandon (1)
Imelda Staunton (1)
Emma Suárez (1)
Tilda Swinton (1)
Kathleen Turner (1)
Supporting:
1976: Marathon Man (Elsa Opel)
1977: Jesus of Nazareth (Mary the mother of Jesus)
1978: Coming Home (Vi Munson)
1979: All that Jazz (Angelique, The Angel of Death)
1980: Ragtime (Mother)
1981: On Golden Pond (Chelsea Thayer Wayne)
1982: Annie (Grace Farrell)
1983: The Big Chill (Meg Jones)
1984: Witness (Rachel Lapp)
1985: Clue (Miss Scarlet)
1986: The Clan of the Cave Bear (Iza)
1987: Empire of the Sun (Mrs. Victor)
1988: Working Girl (Katharine Parker)
1989: Parenthood (Helen Buckman)
1990: Goodfellas (Karen Hill)
1991: The Prince of Tides (Lila Wingo Newbury)
1992: Damage (Ingrid Thompson-Fleming)
1993: In the Name of the Father (Gareth Peirce)
1994: Bullets Over Broadway (Helen Sinclair)
1995: Rob Roy (Mary MacGregor)
1996: The Birdcage (Louise Keeley)
1997: The Ice Storm (Janey Carver)
1998: Pleasantville (Betty Parker)
1999: Tea with Mussolini (Elsa Morganthal Strauss-Armistan)
2000: Almost Famous (Elaine Miller)
2001: The Royal Tenenbaums (Etheline Tenenbaum)
2002: White Oleander (Ingrid Magnussen)
2003: The Station Agent (Olivia Harris)
2004: Sideways (Maya)
2005: Alexander (Queen Olympias)
2006: Children of Men (Miriam)
2007: Hairspray (Velma Von Tussle)
2008: Rachel Getting Married (Abby Buchman)
2009: Animal Kingdom (Janine "Smurf" Cody)
2010: The Fighter (Alice Ecklund-Ward)
2011: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Harriet Vanger)
2012: Mildred Pierce (Lucy Gessler)
2013: Top of the Lake (GJ)
2014: Snowpiercer (Minister Mason)
2015: Trumbo (Hedda Hopper)
2016: The Wizard of Lies (Ruth Madoff)
2017: I, Tonya (LaVona Golden)
2018: Sharp Objects (Adora Crellin)
2019: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Marilyn Miglin)
2020: Succession (Nan Pierce)
2021: Mare of Eastown (Helen Fahey)
2022: Everything Everywhere All at Once (Deirdre Beaubeirdre)
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