Meryl Streep and Antonio Banderas will receive Donostia lifetime achievement awards at the 56th San Sebastian International Film Festival, organizers announced Friday as they revealed the remaining details of this year’s event. Spanish homeboy Banderas will pick up his award on Sept. 19, one night after presenting the European premiere of Richard Eyre’s “The Other Man” at the opening night ceremony. The festival will honor Streep Sept. 26. for her prolific and talented career as “the best modern actress,” saying “it is almost impossible to speak of her without resorting to superlatives.” San Sebastian runs Sept. 18-27 in Spain’s northern Basque region.

“A Celebration of Maurice Sendak” will be presented Sept. 15 at the 92nd Street Y as part of the East Side venue’s Reading Series. Among those scheduled to be part of Sendak’s 80th birthday celebration are Tony Kushner, Meryl Streep, James Gandolfini, Dave Eggers, Spike Jonze, Linda Emond, Catherine Keener, Anika Noni Rose and Stephen Greenblatt. Show time is 8 PM. Maurice Sendak is the author and/or illustrator of more than 90 books, including “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Higglety Pigglety Pop!” and “In the Night Kitchen.” He has also collaborated on several operas and ballets; in fact, he and Tony winner Kushner joined forces in 2006 for a one-act operatic adaptation of Sendak’s “Brundibar.”

Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson and Charlize Theron are among the A-listers who signed on for the Stand Up To Cancer telethon in September. American Idol David Cook, Christina Applegate, Meryl Streep and Sally Field also will appear on the Sept. 5 broadcast, which will be simultaneously aired on ABC, CBS and NBC to raise money for cancer research and treatment. Dozens of other celebrities and sports figures will also be appearing on the program, according to Stand Up To Cancer.

Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Glenn Close are among the actors who will help the Public Theater honor Tony-nominated scenic designer David Rockwell at the 2008 Summer Gala on June 17. A host of artists will attend the evening in Rockwell’s honor, including Streep, Baldwin and Close as well as Cynthia Nixon, Sam Rockwell, Kathleen Turner, Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Krakowski, Julianna Margulies, Nora Ephron and S. Epatha Merkerson. Additional names will be added in the coming weeks. The 2008 Summer Gala commences at 5:30 PM with a buffet dinner in Central Park, followed by the 8 PM opening-night performance of the Shakespeare in the Park Hamlet – starring Michael Stuhlbarg and Sam Waterston – and will conclude with a cast party at Belvedere Castle overlooking Turtle Pond and the Delacorte. More details can be found here.

Led by Meryl Streep, a host of celebrities and public figures will read their favorite poems by some of America’s best-loved poets on April 1. The 6th annual Poetry & The Creative Mind will feature Candace Bushnell, Robert Caro, Graydon Carter, Katie Couric, Philippe de Montebello, Jonathan Demme, John Guare, Dianne Reeves and Liz Smith. The evening is titled “Poetry & The Creative Mind” and proceeds benefit the Academy of American Poets, one of the premiere literary nonprofit organizations in the country. “Poetry & The Creative Mind has become one of the most anticipated literary events in New York City,” said Tree Swenson, the Academy’s Executive Director. Swenson added, “The event also resonates with lovers of film, theatre, art, music, and dance.”

A documentary on the making of 2006’s production of The Public Theater’s “Mother Courage”, starring Meryl Streep, will be premiering at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. In “Theater of War”, a documentary on the making of a play, we see the most celebrated actress in the world, Meryl Streep, prepare for one of the most challenging performances of her career. She collaborates with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels In America), and Academy Award nominated actor Kevin Kline on the adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s landmark anti-war play Mother Courage. Through her process and the staging of the play, we understand the influence Brecht’s craft as elaborated on by these enormous talents. Directed by John Walter (How To Draw A Bunny, My Kid Could Paint That). No screening dates have been announced yet.

Stars from the stage and screen versions of Mamma Mia! are to be featured in an edition of The South Bank Show. Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Meryl Streep – who star in the film version due for release in July – are among some of the names lined up to appear in the programme. It will also contain interviews with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from ABBA and behind the scenes footage of a new opening of the production in Europe. There will also be contributions from the creative team behind the show. An exact airdate is not yet given.

Actors Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci make William Steig’s characters come alive in the six stories they read on “The One and Only Shrek!” It’s captivating listening. Tucci’s gruffy voice is perfect for the wickedly ugly Shrek, the character who inspired the current movie. And Streep’s sweet voice brings out the lovable side of Pearl in magical story “The Amazing Bone.” Among the four other Steig stories they read is the clever mouse dentist, “Doctor De Soto.” This first-rate audiobook launches Audio Renaissance’s children’s program. For more information, please visit Audiorenaissance.com and williamsteig.com.

According to this source, Meryl Streep will lend her good name, and her physical presence, to Belfast’s Metropolitan Arts Center in an effort to help the establishment make up a £1.2 million funding shortfall. Meryl will be in London filming, and she’s due to arrive in Belfast on August 18, according to media reports. “The importance of the arts to the identity of a society is incalculable. The OMAC has been a clinic for the imaginative good that heals the soul with the healing power of art,” she said in a statement. “This is why OMAC is a cause for celebration and a template for hope.” Streep will be the guest of honor at a gala fundraiser.

Matt Dillon, Joe Pantaoliano, Lois Smith, Meryl Streep, and Lili Taylor will be among the stars who will perform at Soho Rep’s Spring Gala, to be held at 7pm on Monday, May 14 at 101 Riverviews. The gala will be hosted by Tim Blake Nelson. The actors will perform excerpts from new plays by Will Eno, Nick Flynn, Jenny Schwartz, and Mac Wellman. The evening will also feature the announcement of the first Soho Rep Dorothy Strelsin Playwriting Fellowships. Among the evening’s attendees will be Edward Albee, Olympia Dukakis, Eileen Fulton, and Buck Henry. The gala includes a pre-performance cocktail reception and a post-performance party.