There isn’t much we know about “The Post” as of now – sure, we know it’s eagerly anticipated and a serious contender for the 2018 awards season, simply because Spielberg, Hanks and Streep are involved. But we don’t really know anything about its storyline, except that it will follow Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and executive editor Ben Bradlee and their 1971 decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, the leaked government documents about secret escalations during the Vietnam War. From what I’ve read since the project’s announcement, and from the Spielberg films I’ve seen, I was expecting Hanks to lead the picture and Streep playing second fiddle, an important one, but not a central one. But as screenwriter Liz Hannah has told Vulture in an interview, her script puts the focus onKatharine Graham. After reading her autobiography Personal History, “I absolutely fell in love with her,” Hannah says. Given that Graham had enough drama in her life to make “10,000 movies,” the problem was how to write something more than a broad biopic. By using the Pentagon Papers as a turning point, Hannah could zoom in on Graham’s struggle to find her voice – at age 54 – “and to become the person she was really going to be for the rest of her life.” The article also notes that Hannah was partnered with Josh Singer, a veteran screenwriter who won an Oscar for Spotlight, after Spielberg came on board. This sounds really exciting, as does the rest of the article, which can be read here.

On October 02, 1977, Meryl Streep’s very first film appearance released US theaters, Fred Zinneman’s “Julia”. The drama about the friendship between Julia (Vanessa Redgrave) and Lilian Hellman (Jane Fonda) would go on to receive 11 Academy Award nominations and win 3 – for Best Screenplay, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jason Robards and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Vanessa Redgrave. If you’ve never seen Redgrave’s infamous acceptance speech, this is you chance to do it. Much can be said about the film and very little about Meryl, because almost all of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. You can read the whole backstory on Meryl’s casting and the role of Ann-Marie Travers on Julia’s career page. All pictures in the photo gallery have been updated in better resolution and a new fantastic production still has been added as well. So, from today on, one can say that Meryl Streep is entertaining us with movies for 40 years!

In honor of the centennial of women being granted the right to vote in New York, the New-York Historical Society will screen the Meryl Streep-narrated documentary We Rise. The short film, which also features Alicia Keys’ original song “We Are Here,” tells the story of the women who fought for change in the U.S. during the early 20th century. The doc will profile many women of the era, including suffragist and black women’s organizations leader Addie Hunton, Henry Street Settlement founder Lillian Ward and birth control activist Margaret Sanger, to name a few.

“We are proud to celebrate the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York this year with a powerful new film and exhibition, each one showing how a determined group of people struggling for rights and equality can succeed in creating change,” NYHS CEO and president Dr. Louise Mirrer said Wednesday in a statement. “We Rise recounts a period of history that tends to be overlooked in textbooks, but the impact of those first decades of the 20th century leading up to women’s suffrage in New York is still felt today.” The film will premiere Nov. 3, the same day as the opening of the society’s latest exhibit, Hotbed. The exhibit will feature the bohemian vibe of Greenwich Village in the early 20th century and will explain the pivotal role female artists and activists played in earning the right to vote. We Rise will play on rotation with the film New York Story in the historical society’s ground-floor theater. Many thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

As it tunes up for a July release, Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has added Andy Garcia to the cast. The sequel to 2008’s toe-tapping $610M worldwide grosser will return audiences to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an original musical based on the songs of Swedish pop sensations, ABBA. Garcia is stepping into a new role that is being kept under wraps. He joins the previous film’s Meryl Streep as Donna, Julie Walters as Rosie and Christine Baranski as Tanya. Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper reunite as Sophie and Sky, while Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth return to play Sophie’s three possible dads: Sam, Bill and Harry. The story goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present, Lily James, Alexa Davies, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Jeremy Irvine, Josh Dylan and Hugh Skinner are the young versions of the original leads. Ol Parker writes and is directing Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again from a story by Catherine Johnson, Richard Curtis and Parker. It’s produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman. Abba’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are providing music and lyrics and serve as executive producers. Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Phyllida Lloyd, Richard Curtis and Nicky Kentish Barnes also serve as executive producers. Universal’s Senior Vice President of production Kristen Lowe and Creative Executive Lexi Barta will oversee production for the studio. Many thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

Without any advance publicity or notice, The Weinstein Company quietly slipped the Chinese animated feature The Guardian Brothers onto Netflix last Friday. It was originally released on January 1, 2016, in China as Little Door Gods, marking the debut production of Beijing’s Light Chaser Animation. The ambitious production aimed to lift the quality of Chinese cg animation and push it closer to Western standards. Weinstein’s English version added a cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Edward Norton, Mel Brooks, Dan Fogler, Mike Birbiglia, Bella Thorne, and Randall Park. Rooted in the traditions of Chinese folklore, Guardian Brothers follows two guardian spirits – Yu Lei (Norton) and Shen Tu (Fogler) – who venture out of spirit-world retirement to help a mother and daughter whose restaurant is being sabotaged by a competitor. The Weinstein Company released Guardian Brothers through its new kids’ label Mizchief. It also has another animated film, Leap!, currently in U.S. theaters through the label. Netflix has made the film available in a total of 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, U.K., New Zealand, India, Philippines, and Russia. The above trailer also features interviews Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Edward Norton. Many thanks to Alvaro for the heads-up.

Yesterday, Meryl Streep has won her third career Emmy Award, which means she now has three Emmys to go along with her trio of Oscars. Streep prevailed at the 2017 Creative Arts Emmys as Best Narrator for the Netflix documentary “Five Came Back,” though she was not in attendance to accept. Previously, she won Best Movie/Mini Actress for both “Angels in America” (2003) and “Holocaust” (1978). “Five Came Back” is Netflix’s acclaimed three-part series that streamed on March 31. Based on Mark Harris‘ book, the documentary profiles a quintet of Oscar-winning directors who put their Hollywood careers on hold in order to serve their country during World War II. Current directors honor each of the five men: Steven Spielberg for William Wyler, Guillermo del Toro for Frank Capra, Paul Greengrass for John Ford, Francis Ford Coppola for John Huston and Lawrence Kasdan for George Stevens. While Streep provides the narration for all three parts, the finale “The Price of Victory” was her official Emmy submission. That’s the entry that showcases the five directors returning home from war and how it forever affected their personal and professional lives. Streep did not attend the Creative Emmys, so no pictures to add. The full article can be read over at Goldderby. Many thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

According to Deadline, Steven Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers movie finally has a title. Fox said today that the pic about the Washington Post’s role in exposing the Pentagon Papers in 1971 will be called The Post. It officially was known as Untitled Steven Spielberg after earlier being titled The Papers. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star as Post editor Ben Bradlee and publisher Kay Graham alongside Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Pat Healy, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford, Zach Woods and others. Liz Hannah and Josh Singer wrote the script. The film is keeping its Oscar-friendly December 22 limited-release date and is set to go wide January 12.

Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography has begun on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Ten years after Mamma Mia! The Movie grossed more than $600 million around the world, you are invited to return to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an all-new original musical based on the songs of ABBA. With the film’s original cast returning and new additions including Lily James, the musical comedy will open on July 20, 2018. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, producers of the original film. Craymer is also the creator and producer of the worldwide smash-hit stage musical. Ol Parker, writer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, writes and directs the sequel from a story by Catherine Johnson, Richard Curtis and Parker. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus return to provide music and lyrics and serve as executive producers. Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Phyllida Lloyd, Richard Curtis and Nicky Kentish Barnes also serve as executive producers. Reprising their roles from Mamma Mia! The Movie are Meryl Streep as Donna, Julie Walters as Rosie and Christine Baranski as Tanya. Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper reunite as Sophie and Sky, while Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth return to play Sophie’s three possible dads: Sam, Bill and Harry. As the film goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present, James will play the role of Young Donna. Filling the roles of Young Rosie and Young Tanya are Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn. Young Sam will be played by Jeremy Irvine, while Young Bill is Josh Dylan and Young Harry is Hugh Skinner.

Variety has posted an article on the December releases of films by Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott and and Clint Eastwood in time for Academy Awards consideration: It wouldn’t be awards season without a little bit of drama around last-minute contenders sprinting to the finish line. This year, there are three major prestige projects based on true events from powerhouse directors that could really shake up the race. Steven Spielberg’s “The Papers” — about the Washington Post, the Pentagon Papers, and a watershed moment in the history of press freedom — wasn’t even a go until a week after “Moonlight” won the best picture Oscar earlier this year. The Fox production shot throughout the summer and wrapped in July, aiming for a Dec. 22 limited release. It’s packed with an all-star cast, including Meryl Streep (as Post publisher Katharine Graham), Tom Hanks (as editor Ben Bradlee, a role that won Jason Robards an Oscar in 1977 for “All the President’s Men”), and Carrie Coon (as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Meg Greenfield), among many others. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World” — about the 1973 kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III — was still casting a week after Spielberg signed on to direct his film. It wasn’t on the 2017 radar at all until last month when Sony planted a flag for a Dec. 8, hoping to finally net Scott his first Oscar. The project just wrapped production and is, along with “The Papers,” in the editing room now. The complete article can be read here.

According to Variety, Lily James has joined the cast of Universal’s “Mamma Mia” sequel, titled “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again.” Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, and Amanda Seyfried are returning with Ol Parker writing and directing. James will play “Young Donna.” The film goes back and forth in time to show how relationships forged in the past resonate in the present. Littlestar’s Judy Craymer and Playtone’s Gary Goetzman, who produced the original, will re-team for the sequel. Craymer is also the creator and producer of the stage musical. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are aboard again to provide music and lyrics and serve as executive producers. Universal’s Senior VP of production Kristen Lowe and Creative Executive Lexi Barta will oversee production for the studio. James had been weighing a handful of big studio tentpoles over the past couple weeks following the success of crime caper “Baby Driver.” The rising talent broke on to the scene in the acclaimed series “Downton Abbey,” and followed that up with her role as the lead in Disney’s “Cinderella.” She is also in the Winston Churchill biopic “Darkest Hour,” scheduled for release this fall. “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” will open on July 20, 2018. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.