News by the Boston Globe. Meryl Streep plans to establish two scholarship funds for students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, UMass Lowell said Wednesday. The scholarships will be endowed with all net proceeds from her Streep’s scheduled appearance Feb. 5 at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. Streep is expected to discuss her acting career during the event. The new Meryl Streep Endowed Scholarship Fund will assist outstanding UMass Lowell English majors with the cost of their education, the university said. The Joan Hertzberg Endowed Scholarship, also to be established by Streep, will support students who excel in math as Hertzberg did. Hertzberg was a former classmate of Streep’s at Vassar College. Hertzberg transferred to Williams College, where she was the valedictorian of the college’s first graduating class that included women. She had a successful career as a therapist, author and teacher in the San Francisco area before her death in 2013, the university’s press release said. A Feb. 5 event at the university is set to feature Streep and Andre Dubus III, a UMass Lowell faculty member and author. The event is titled “A Conversation with Meryl Streep.” At the event, Steep is expected to discuss her acting career. Tickets can may be purchased through the Tsongas Center box office, whose website is www.tsongascenter.com. Streep’s appearance is expected to raise in more than $100,000 for her two scholarship funds, the university said.

The 25th Palm Springs International Film Festival is honoring three-time Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep with its Icon Award. The actress, who won her Academy Awards for 1989’s “Kramer Vs. Kramer,” 1982’s “Sophie’s Choice” and 2011’s “The Iron Lady,” will receive the festival’s honor at its awards gala Jan. 4 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Streep has already received lead actress nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for her performance as matriarch of a dysfunctional family in “August: Osage County,” which opens Dec. 27. “We’re overjoyed to recognize Meryl Streep for yet another Oscar-worthy performance in ‘August: Osage County,” festival chairman Harold Matzner said in a statement. Streep joins previously announced Palm Springs honorees Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Steve McQueen, Thomas Newman, Lupita Nyong’o, Julia Roberts and the cast of “American Hustle.” Additionally, Meryl has been named Best Actress by the Nevada Film Critics Society for “August: Osage County”. Many thanks to Frank and Snafu for the heads-up.

The Giffoni Film Fest will honor award-winning actress Meryl Streep at its 44th festival, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The festival will be held July 18-27, 2014. Based in the village of Giffoni Valle Piana, it is Europe’s oldest and largest event focused on young movie and music lovers. The festival’s lineup is typically unveiled in June, but artistic director Claudio Gubitosi released a few of the anticipated highlights in advance. Streep, who previously attended the festival in 2001, will be honored with the Giffoni Fellowship Award. The 2014 festival, which will use the theme “Be Different” and will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 125th anniversary of the birth of Charlie Chaplin; it will also feature a marathon of Marvel-related productions, including a special night of superheroes.

And here are a couple more nominations from various critics awards. First and most recent, she has received a Best Actress nomination by the Critics Choice Awards – alongside Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine, Sandra Bullock for Gravity, Judi Dench for Philomena, Brie Larson for Short Term 12 and Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks. Then, Meryl has been nominated by the Chicago Film Critics Association, alongside Blanchett, Bullock, Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue is the Warmest Color and Larson. They will announce the winner tonight. The Houston Film Critics have nominated her alongside Bullock, Dench, Larson and Thompson – this has been won already by Bullock. And the San Fransisco Film Critics have nominated Meryl alonside Blanchett, Bullock, Dench, Exarchopoulos and Larson. Their awards will be announced later.

Meryl Streep has received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for “August: Osage County”. The competition differs to the SAG Awards (since they don’t split categories into Drama or Comedy). Nominated alongside Meryl are Amy Adams (American Hustle), Julie Delpy (Before Midnight), Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said). Julia Roberts has received a nomination as Best Supporting Actress. This is Meryl Streep’s 28th nomination for a Golden Globe and the ninth in the comedy category. The 71st Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will be held on Sunday, Jan. 12 in Beverly Hills.

Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving 2 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations – once as Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and alongside the “August: Osage County” cast as Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Meryl shares the Best Actress category with Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Judi Dench (Philomena) and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks). Congratulations also to Julia Roberts for scoring a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Results will be tallied and sealed until the envelopes are opened by the presenters at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony on Jan. 18, 2014.

The 2014 awards season is in full swing with the critics circles starting to announce their winners (or nominations first). The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association has nominated Meryl as Best Actress for “August: Osage County”, alongside Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Judi Dench (Philomena) and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks). “August” has also received a nomination for Best Acting Ensemble. They will announce their winners on December 09. Then, the Satellite Awards have nominated Meryl as well. Thanks to Frank and Alvaro for the heads-up.

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.