According to Deadline, Netflix has committed to finance and release The Laundromat, the Steven Soderbergh-directed drama about the Panama Papers scandal. David Schwimmer has just joined a killer cast that is led by Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep and Antonio Banderas. Other cast circling include Will Forte and Riley Keough. The film has a script by Scott Z. Burns, based on the Jake Bernstein book Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite. Schwimmer will play Matthew Quirk, an attorney who speaks on behalf of one of the insurance companies after twenty elderly passengers die on a boating excursion. The boating company learned its insurance isn’t the large company it thought it was, but merely just a P.O. box in Nevis. Quirk would eventually kill himself after seeing no way out of the liability situation, but the incident triggers lawyers, government officials, and more to track down these shell companies. Those investigations lead to the laundering geniuses at the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, who created hundreds of thousands of ‘companies’ to help the wealthy avoid paying taxes. The scandal drew in several world leaders, including former UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Iceland Prime Minister Sigmunder Gunnlaugsson, the latter of whom resigned on April 5, 2016, after it was revealed he and his wife set up an offshore shell company in 2007 in the British Virgin Islands; he then sold his half of the company to his wife for $1 on the last day of 2009 to shield them from a new law that would have required him to declare his ownership as a conflict of interest. Among the swarms of famous people named in the leaked documents was current President of the United States Donald Trump — already embattled over charges his empire was built by avoiding taxes — and director Pedro Almodovar, Jackie Chan and Emma Watson. Bernstein was part of a team of journalists who formed the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to break the Panama Papers story. The leak of data — 11 million records revealed — was the largest in corporate and government history.

Bustle has an in-depth article on “Mary Poppins Returns”, Rob Marshall’s work behind the scenes and news on which songs will be performed – brace yourself for a musical number with Meryl Streep: Mary Poppins Returns is Blunt’s “third film with Meryl Streep,” the actor says, referencing The Devil Wears Prada and Into the Woods. “What a stalker she is.” In the film, Streep plays a character named Topsy, adapted from P.L. Travers’ books, who is an Eastern European distant cousin of Mary’s and lives in a fixit shop that turns upside down every Monday. Sounds a bit like Uncle Albert and his penchant for levitation, doesn’t it? The movie’s production designer teased some fun instrumental moments in Streep’s big “Turning Turtle” musical moment, because Topsy is more apt to turn a broken instrument into something else rather than fix it. When Meryl was here,” Platt recalls of the actor’s time on set, “she turned to me and said ‘it feels like we’re giving a gift to the word.'” That’s the joy that everyone involved with the movie seems to be taking in telling this new story and singing these songs. You can read the full article at Bustle with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up!

London’s most magical nanny is back, over half a century since she first arrived on our screens, and by the looks of it, she hasn’t aged a day since. Emily Blunt takes over Julie Andrews’ iconic titular role in the first full trailer for Mary Poppins Returns, a delightful and welcome throwback to the 1964 original. The trailer promises that the style of Mary Poppins Returns will be a strong throwback to the original, bringing back elements like musical numbers and 2-D animation that have fallen out of favor since the 1960s. Mary Poppins Returns is directed by Chicago’s Rob Marshall, from a screenplay by David Magee, and screen story by Magee & Marshall and John DeLuca, and is based upon The Mary Poppins Stories by PL Travers. Hamilton founding father Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his best shot at an English accent playing Poppins’ friend Jack in the trailer, an optimistic street lamplighter helping bring light and life into the streets of London. (Rest assured, he also gets the chance to do a little dancing, and Blunt the chance to sing a few bars, as this, like the original, is a musical.) Also starring are Angela Lansbury, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, a redheaded Meryl Streep and a returning Dick van Dyke. Mary Poppins Returns arrives in theaters Dec. 19. Screencaptures from the trailer have been added to the photo gallery, alongside the new poster for the film.

There’s no denying that the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have had a significant impact on Hollywood. But does that mean that the industry is in for a long overdue sea change? Not without taking the right action, and not without raising the right awareness. In “This Changes Everything”, director Tom Donahue and actress Geena Davis — who also founded the Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media — reveal just how gender-biased the film industry really is, by laying bare the raw statistics and providing essentially irrefutable, numerical evidence as to how female filmmakers, actors and even behind-the-scenes crew members have been systematically discriminated against going back decades. The result is eye-opening, to say the least, but as the film makes abundantly clear, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Also featuring interviews with some of Hollywood’s biggest names — including Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain and Natalie Portman – “This Changes Everything” isn’t just a telling exposé of the dark side of the industry. It’s also an affirming look at how people are willing to come together to change the situation for the better. “This Changes Everything” makes its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Its runtime is 1 hr. 37 min. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

While there’s still no official confirmation of Meryl Streep or any of the other stars being on board of Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women”, the film team is currently looking for extras in the Boston area for a October-December shoot of the film. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet and Laura Dern are in talks to star alongside Streep in the role of Aunt March. While many anticipated that Streep would play Marmie, the March sisters’ mother, she will in fact assume what may be a meatier role. “Meryl Streep gets to play any part she wants to play,” said Robin Swicord, who wrote the 1994 film version of Little Women starring Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst. Though Aunt March hasn’t enjoyed nearly as much screen time as Marmie in most previous film and television adaptations of Little Women, Gerwig’s screenplay will focus more on the sisters’ young-adult lives after they leave the family home, which likely means more focus on Aunt March and her very contentious selection of which sister to bring to Europe. The complete article about the Boston casting call can be read over here.

Universal Pictures is prepping “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” fora 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray release in the United States on October 23, 2018. International releases should be likewise around the same time since the film opened in most European cities a few days after the US release. The discs will be action packed with special features, have a look at the full list below. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon.com.

– Deleted/Extended Songs and Scenes with Commentary by Director/Screenplay Writer Ol Parker

– Sophie’s Story – Of all the characters, Amanda Seyfried’s Sophie has developed the most since the first movie. Here we will chart how Sophie has gone from a vulnerable young girl to a confident young woman following life-changing events.

– Choreographing MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN – Choreographer Anthony Van Laast and his team will reveal some of the secrets behind the highly original dance routines.

– Dancing Queen: Anatomy of a Scene – The most famous piano roll in musical history opens one of ABBA’S biggest hits, “Dancing Queen.” The number is the biggest and most complex sequence. Ol Parker will discuss where and how he wanted to use the song in the story.

Big Little Lies may not be returning for Season 2 until 2019, but there is some consolation — the first official footage of Meryl Streep in Big Little Lies is here, and it’s already proving worth the wait. The iconic actor appeared for just a second or two in a new HBO promo video that was released Sunday, but even just that one glimpse is an embarrassment of riches. The promo was, unfortunately, not a Big Little Lies teaser, but rather one for all of HBO original shows, crowded with teasers from True Detective, Veep, and even Game of Thrones. But somehow Streep stood out anyway, holding her own even against the sneak peek of Daenery Targaryen and her dragons from the final season of Game of Thrones. It’s a hard field to stand out in, but it should be no surprise that Streep is managing it, even with only a brief blip of screen time. It was previously announced that the 69-year-old would be brought onto Big Little Lies Season 2 to playing Mary Louise Wright, mother to Alexander Skarsgård’s character Perry, and thus mother-in-law to Nicole Kidman’s character Celeste. And while exact plot details aren’t yet known, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Mary Louise is in town to check in on her grandchildren and get some answers about what happened to her son. It’s a reasonable motivation that should make total sense to anyone who remembers the events of BLL’s Season 1 finale. More bits by Bustle with thanks to everybody for the heads-up!

According to Variety, Emma Watson is set to join Greta Gerwig’s star-studded remake of “Little Women.” Sources say Watson is playing the part originally intended for Emma Stone, who was unable to join the project because of promotional obligations for the Fox Searchlight film and award season contender “The Favourite.” With production expected to start next month, Sony moved quickly to approach Watson. Roles are still being worked out and it is unknown which sister Watson would be playing. Gerwig is writing and directing, with Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, and Florence Pugh in negotiations to star in Sony’s retelling of the American classic. The project had been set up at Columbia Pictures for some time, with Amy Pascal set to produce with Denise Di Novi and Robin Swicord. Andrea Giannetti will oversee the production for Sony. The novel by Louisa May Alcott, which follows the March sisters in Civil War-era America, has been adapted multiple times for film and television, including the 1994 Winona Ryder version. The BBC’s “Little Women” miniseries aired late last year. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Filming for season two of Big Little Lies wrapped earlier this week and the star-studded cast took to Instagram to celebrate. In honour of the momentous occasion, Nicole Kidman wrote: “That’s a wrap on #BigLittleLies Season 2 filming! What a beautiful journey this has been with my Monterey 5 sisters and our passionate dedicated crew. Thank you HBO for the amazing opportunity and thank you Andrea Arnold for being our fearless leader, and of course the one and only Meryl Streep for believing in us. I love you all. xx” Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon – who plays the role of Madeline Mackenzie – teased fans of the HBO series with a series of behind-the-scenes snaps. Below the throwback collage, Witherspoon paid tribute to her fellow cast members in a touching caption which read: “Feeling so grateful to my #BigLittleLies family on our last day of shooting Season 2! You have all inspired me, supported me, made me laugh & cry. Making the second season even more exciting than the last (I can’t wait for y’all to see it!!) Thank you @HBO and our amazing Director Andrea Arnold! Big love to my sisters.” Arnold took the artistic helm after Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée – who directed season one – was tied up with other work commitments. It has yet to be confirmed when season two of the Golden Globe-winning series will grace our screens but it is estimated to land in 2019. However, HBO’s president of programming, Casey Bloys, told Vulture that “it wouldn’t be impossible to get on in 2018.”

The sequel to the hit 2008 musical has successfully surpassed a $100 million gross at the US box office, Screen Daily reports. Another $5.8 million was added to its cumulative total this weekend, bringing it to a lively $103.8 million in the US alone. Its global haul is now thought to be north of $280 million. The first movie made around $144.1 million in the US upon its release in 2008 – and while it seems unlikely now that this follow-up will match it, it’s still done very impressively indeed. It’s also still doing well in the UK, after reigning at No1 for three consecutive weekends – beating even Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Ant-Man and the Wasp for a hat-trick of Friday-to-Sunday victories. Whether or not it managed a fourth weekend at the top won’t be announced until tomorrow. Mamma Mia’s success is continuing on the UK album chart too: on Friday it was confirmed that it is at the top of the charts for a third straight week in the UK. The album contains the cast recordings of all the tracks heard in the movie, plus Lily James singing I Wonder (Departure) and Meryl Streep’s take on The Day Before You Came. The soundtrack to the first Mamma Mia movie is also still in the Top 10, as is the country’s second best-selling album of all time: ABBA’s Gold greatest hits collection. Whether or not the film will be followed by a Mamma Mia 3 remains to be seen, but Amanda Seyfried has said she doubts it could happen without seeming like an obvious money-grab. Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.