Welcome to simplystreep.com, an information source on the American actress Meryl Streep, best known from her Oscar-winning performances in "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Sophie's Choice". Her work on screen, stage and television, a career that includes some of the most acclaimed films of the last 30 years, has achieved critical acclaim and earned her the business' most prestigious awards. This unofficial website provides a base for fans which is regularly updated with all essential news on Meryl's work, an active message board plus extensive archives, media and more. Enjoy your stay! The news site has all the latest announcements on Meryl's upcoming work, public appearances, talkshow & event schedules and more. As Simply Streep collects news since 1998, you can also launch our comprehensive archive! If you'd like to contribute news items, please contact me NEWS ARCHIVE 2008 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998  SEPTEMBER 2008 Meryl Streep wins National Movie Award Posted: 2008-09-09 According to ITV, Mamma Mia! has been named best musical with leading lady Meryl Streep winning best actress at the second National Movie Awards in London. Accepting her award for her role in Abba-centric film, Streep told the Royal Festival Hall audience: "I loved the movie, I'm so glad you did." Mamma Mia! beat competition from fellow nominees Enchanted and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Streep triumphed over Amy Adams for Enchanted, Helena Bonham-Carter for Sweeney Todd and Ellen Page for US comedy Juno. Meryl set to present at National Movie Awards Posted: 2008-09-05 According to ITV, Meryl is set as a presenter for the National Movie Awards this coming Tuesday: The National Movie Awards 2008 will see a fantastic array of stars attend both as nominees and award presenters including Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Samuel L Jackson and Emma Watson. The awards, which are the only film awards to be voted for by the public and include categories for Best Musical, Best Male Performance and Best Film with great acting talent such as Christian Bale, Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Pierce Brosnan and Will Smith all being nominated. Banderas and Streep awarded with 2008 Donostia Prize Posted: 2008-09-05 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.  AUGUST 2008 Kushner, Streep and more will celebrate Sendak at the 92nd Street Y Posted: 2008-08-22 "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." Alec Baldwin in talks to join Meryl's untitled comedy Posted: 2008-08-17 While there's still no official word on wheter Meryl will star in Nancy Meyer's upcoming untitled comedy or not, another cast member has been added to the project. Alec Baldwin is in talks to join Meryl Streep in Nancy Meyers's romantic comedy. Baldwin will play one of two men vying for the affections of Streep's character. The Universal movie, which Meyers has written and will direct, is to begin production next February. Meryl mentioned to star in new Nancy Meyer comedy Posted: 2008-08-08 According to Variety, Meryl Streep is in advanced negotiations to play the female lead in the untitled romantic comedy that Nancy Meyers will direct for Universal. Meyers is producing with Scott Rudin. Production begins in February. Streep will play the female in a romantic triangle with two men. The director, who made "Something's Gotta Give" and "The Holiday" for Columbia Pictures, made the deal to bring her next picture to Universal earlier this year. Streep is currently voicing a lead role in "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," the stop-motion animation adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel at 20th Century Fox. "Mamma Mia" leads National Movie Awards nominations Posted: 2008-08-03 Mamma Mia!, The Golden Compass and St Trinian's lead the field for the National Movie Awards, picking up four nominations each. Mamma Mia! cohorts Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth are up for Best Male for their roles in the Abba musical film. Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker are also in the running for the award. The winners, voted for by the public, will be unveiled in London on September 08 at London's Royal Festival Hall and in a live ceremony screened on ITV1. You can vote for Meryl by submitting your vote here. Meryl to participate in Cancer Telethon Broadcast Posted: 2008-08-01 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.  JULY 2008 "Mamma Mia" opens strong with $27.6 million at box office Posted: 2008-07-21 In spite of stiff competition from the newest Batman film, the film version of Mamma Mia! enjoyed a strong opening weekend at the box office, taking in a solid $27.6 million. Although that total didn't approach The Dark Knight's record-breaking $155.4 million, it narrowly beat the opening total of last year's feature film transfer of Hairspray. Universal Studios' decision to release Mamma Mia! as a counter-programming move to the dark sequel to Batman Begins paid off. Together, the two films created the biggest opening weekend ever in terms of total grosses, according to Variety. Overseas, where Mamma Mia! opened a week ahead of its U.S. premiere, the movie grossed $26.8 million in its second week for an impressive total of $72.6 million. ABBA reunited to welcome movie stars in Stockholm Posted: 2008-07-05 Article courtesy this source: Abba welcomed a bevy of Hollywood stars to Stockholm on Friday for the première of Mamma Mia! -The movie. Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad Reuss made a rare public appearance together with their former Abba partners, Björn Ulveaus and Benny Andersson, on the night of the première of "Mamma Mia!" - a musical based on the disco sound of the Swedish group, Abba. The film's star Meryl Streep was the big attraction of the afternoon and she was in a party mood, dancing a jig with Agnetha and Annefrid on the red carpet. She had told the press earlier in the day that singing and dancing in a musical was a childhood dream. "When I was in school I was in several musicals where I sang and danced. It was like coming home to something I love." Meryl to attend "Mamma Mia" premiere in Melbourne Posted: 2008-07-01 According to this source, Meryl Streep, who stars as Donna in the Abba musical Mamma Mia, will attend the Australian premiere in Melbourne next week. Mamma Mia also features Colin Firth as Harry Bright. Firth will also be at the premiere. The Mamma Mia movie is based on the musical with songs by Abba. On soundtrack, 17 Abba songs have been re-recorded for the movie, with Meryl Streep herself singing 'Mamma Mia' and 'The Winner Takes It All' as well as 'S.O.S.' and 'When All Is Said And Done' as a duet with Pierce Brosnan, who stars in the movie as Sam Carmichael.  JUNE 2008 Stars to attend UK "Mamma Mia" Premiere Posted: 2008-06-27 Universal Pictures said Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth are to appear at the upcoming London premiere of their movie musical "Mamma Mia!". Based on the hit stage musical and featuring hits from the ABBA song catalog, the film version of "Mamma Mia!" is to open in the United States July 18. The world premiere of the wedding-themed movie is scheduled June 30 at London's Odeon Leicester Square theater. Also slated to attend the event are supporting players Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried and Christine Baranski, the movie studio said.  MAY 2008 Public Theater to honor Rockwell at Summer Gala Posted: 2008-05-21 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.  MARCH 2008 Meryl to participate in Poetry & the Creative Mind Benefit Posted: 2008-03-19 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." New documentary "War at Theater" to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival Posted: 2008-03-12 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 of Mamma Mia appear in new series of "The South Bank Show" Posted: 2008-03-11 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.  JANUARY 2008 "Dark Matter" to be released this April Posted: 2008-01-15 According to the Hollywood Reporter, First Independent Pictures will handle North American theatrical distribution for Chen Shi-Zheng's dramatic thriller "Dark Matter," starring Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn and Meryl Streep. Based on a true story, the film follows a Chinese science student (Liu Ye) invited by a professor (Quinn) to travel to the U.S. to study for his Ph.D., but the pressures of his new environment cause him to slowly unravel. Streep plays his mentor. The film will be released in April, followed by a DVD release via a home video deal that is now being finalized. "Dark Matter" won the Alfred P. Sloan award when it premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival.