The Actors Hall of Fame Foundation today announced that 15 international award winning actors will be inducted into The Actors Hall of Fame on Sunday, February 9, 2014 at 2pm in Culver City. The 2014 Inductees are: Julie Andrews, Robert DeNiro, Judi Dench, Robert Duvall, Kirk Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Olivia de Havilland, Hal Holbrook, James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, William H. Macy, Maggie Smith and Meryl Streep. A special performance by The Hobart Shakespeareans, a class of 5th graders from Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles, under the guidance of their National Medal of Arts winning teacher, Ralph Esquith will be one the highlights of the Induction celebration. For more information and tickets, please visit their official website.

According to Variety, Meryl Streep has been tapped to receive the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s annual Monte Cristo award, given each year to a legit creative singled out for distinguished contributions to the theater. Streep, who started out in theater before launching into film, has long stayed connected to the theater industry over the years, appearing in Shakespeare in the Park outings “Mother and Courage and her Children” (in 2006) and “The Seagull” (in 2001) and signing on as a presenting producer for the Broadway run of “Bridge and Tunnel” (in 2006). Last year she played Juliet opposite Kevin Kline’s Romeo in the Public Theater’s one-night-only reading of “Romeo and Juliet.” Streep will receive the Monte Cristo award — to be presented to her by actor Joe Grifasi, another O’Neill alum who was also her classmate at the Yale School of Drama — at an April 21 ceremony in Gotham. Many thanks to Glenn, Frank, Juha and Alvaro for the heads-up!

Some rather odd news by The Mirror, let’s see how this turns out. According to them, Paul McCartney is currently shooting a music video for his new single Queenie Eye in London’s Abbey Road Studios, which will boast celebrity cameos. While the article focuses mostly on Johnny Depp and Kate Moss appearing in the video, it also has the following quote: I’m told: “There were a whole host of celebrities taking part. It was a really mixed bunch. Meryl Streep and Gary Barlow were in the studio, and there was an audience on set. But the big talking point was Kate and Johnny.” It wouldn’t be surprising though, since both Meryl and Johnny were in London shooting “Into the Woods” – and Meryl has revealed her love for the Beatles when she presented Paul McCartney with his Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1990. Many thanks to Glenn for the news.

The cast of August: Osage County will receive the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award at the 17th annual Hollywood Film Awards, the first awards show of the 2013 season, on Oct. 21 at the Beverly Hilton, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. John Wells’ big-screen adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony- and Puliter Prize-winning play features a star-studded cast, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham. August’s producers include George Clooney and Grant Heslov, who also produced last year’s best picture Oscar winner, Argo. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Well, not the first names you imagine as favorite upcoming co-stars, but it gives “The Giver” a new dimension of attention. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift have closed a deal to join Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges in The Giver, a drama from The Weinstein Co. and Walden Media that’s being directed by Phillip Noyce. Brenton Thwaites is the young star of the sci-fi project, which tells of a society in which there is no conflict, racism or sickness. Thwaites plays a young boy who is selected for his life service as the Receiver of Memories and works with The Giver (Bridges), an old man who teaches the boy to use his unique gifts of the senses. Streep is the society’s Chief Elder, an authoritative and antagonistic woman who assigns the young their tasks. Holmes will play Thwaites’ mother, a strict obeyer of the laws that govern what is described as an antiseptic society. The movie, which is eyeing a budget of around $25 million, is being produced by Nikki Silver of Tonik Productions along with Neil Koenigsberg and Bridges. A shoot in South Africa is being planned, although it is likely that Steep will shoot her scenes in England, where she is filming Disney’s Into the Woods. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

A theatrical release date for “The Giver” has been set by the Weinstein Company, according to this source: Way back in 2008, David Yates was set to direct an adaptation of Lois Lowry’s children’s novel and Newbery Medal winner, “The Giver” after helming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but he instead decided to tackle the two-part finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, setting the project back several years. Now the film is in the hands of The Weinstein Co. and director Philip Noyce, and the studio has just set an August 15, 2014 release for the feature. The Giver will star Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and soon-to-be-star Brenton Thwaites whose 2014 not only includes this film, but a lead role in Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction and Maleficent opposite Angelina Jolie. The story centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young boy aged 12, from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver (Bridges), who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life. Streep plays the story’s chief elder, the authoritarian charged with keeping order in the society, order which is disrupted when Jonas is chosen to receive details of the past, before society conformed to a level of “sameness”. Thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

UMass Lowell announced Thursday that Meryl Streep will be the latest guest for the Chancellor’s Speaker Series. The Academy Award-winning actress will appear at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The event will benefit student scholarships and will be co-sponsored by the UML English Department’s Theatre Arts Program and the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Streep follows in the footsteps of author Steven King, who drew a crowd of 3,000 to the Tsongas Center at the inaugural Speaker Series event last December. Ticket and program information have not been released yet. For more information, visit their official website.

Meryl Streep will be heading to Cape Town in October to shoot her new movie, The Giver. Set in a distant future, the book tells of a society in which the entire range of human emotion has been eradicated by removing any trace of history. Only one individual in the society – called “the Giver” – is tasked with remembering the past in case it becomes necessary to make use of it. By this time, shooting for “Into the Woods” has probably wrapped and Meryl gets some time off to attend the Toronto Film Festival in September. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

According to BroadwayWorld, rehearsals for the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s beloved fairy tale-themed musical “Into the Woods” are now underway at Shepperton Studios (part of Pinewood Studios) in the UK under the direction of Rob Marshall and the astounding assortment of actors involved with the project have already taken to Twitter, Facebook and other social media to share insights, photos and updates on all of the onset action. The last two additions to the now complete cast have been Sophia Grace Brownlee as Little Red Riding Hood and Daniel Huttlestone as Jack. This week, the stars themselves have taken to social media to share first set pics and much more, with Huttlestone posting numerous messages to Facebook as well as uploading a photo of himself with co-star James Corden; Anna Kendrick Tweeting about Cinderella preparations; and, James Corden posting his dressing room door marker – complete with a look at the preliminary logo for the forthcoming feature film. On Monday, Huttlestone wrote, “Rehearsing at the moment. Going really cool !! Singing with James Corden, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp !! So exciting!!” before posting a photo of himself with Corden, among other messages. The complete article with a couple of pictures can be read here. Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Just as Meryl Streep’s name has been mentioned for an upcoming screen adaptation of Lois Lowry’s “The Giver”, more names are pouring in. According to The Wrap, Alexander Skarsgard (“True Blood”) and Cameron Monaghan (“Shameless”) are in advanced negotiations to join Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep. The Giver” is a fantasy tale set in a dystopian society that fears freedom. All memory of human history has been erased, emotion does not exist and citizens’ professions are chosen for them. Brenton Thwaites stars as Jonas, the community’s Receiver of Memories who spends his days being mentored by the Giver (Bridges), who teaches him to confront and understand the lies that inform society. As Jonas comes to grips with living an unsheltered existence, he begins to acquire a taste for freedom and honesty, becoming an outcast in the process. Skarsgard is in talks to play Jonas’ father, while Monaghan will play Jonas’ best friend Asher. Streep is nearing a deal to play the community’s Chief Elder, who maintains order in the seemingly utopian society. Noyce is directing the adaptation of Lowry’s celebrated 1993 children’s book. The movie has been a passion project for Bridges, who is producing with Nikki Silver of Tonik Productions. Dylan Sellers and Julie Rappaport will oversee the project for TWC. Production will start this fall in South Africa.