Today, the AMPAS made an announcement that Meryl Streep, Jean Dujardin, Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer will return to present on this year’s telecast. “We are honored to have Meryl, Octavia, Christopher and Jean, last year’s Oscar winners in each of the acting categories, return to the Oscar stage,” said Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Streep, who is the most nominated actor with 17 nominations, has won three Academy Awards, including last year’s lead actress award for her performance in The Iron Lady. Plummer, who has twice been nominated, won the award for his supporting role in Beginners and Spencer took home the award for her supporting role in Best Picture nominee The Help. Dujardin, who received his first nomination last year, won the Oscar for his lead performance in the Best Picture winner The Artist. Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Additional pictures from 2008 public appearances have been added to the image library. The year was dominated by the US releases of both “Mamma Mia” – which was also promoted in London, Germany, Italy, Stockholm, Sydney, Melbourne – and “Doubt”, which world-premiered at the 2008 AFI Fest. Further, Meryl was honored by the Lincoln Center, the British National Movie Awards and at the San Sebastian Film Festival. For a complete overview of all last added pictures, click any of the previews below.

The gallery updates continue with additional pictures from 2009 events. Over 1.000 images have been added from this very busy year – Meryl not only promoted “Doubt” during its award season and “Mamma Mia” oversears in Tokyo, the year also boasted the theatrical releases of “Julie & Julia”, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “It’s Complicated”. Pictures include the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, BAFTA and Academy Awards, the above premieres and press conferences and her festival appearances in Deauville and Rome. Check all last added pictures by clicking the previews below.

Back in October, there were news about a film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” with Meryl in talks to play the Witch. Now, according to Broadway World, the casting seems to be announced. In a new interview with the Litchfield County Times with arranger David Krane confirms, telling the paper that: “I am coming into an exciting time,” said Mr. Krane in a telephone interview from New York City. “My show, “The Road to Qatar,’ is being presented in London next month and then I am doing a revival of an old show, ‘Good News’ at the Goodspeed Opera House. And then the biggest news-they are doing a movie of the musical ‘Into the Woods.’ Disney is going to make the movie and I will do the arrangements. Meryl Streep will be the witch and it will be the first time I have worked with her since 1977 when we did ‘Happy End.’ For one, a new project would make sense since “August: Osage County” is wrapped, but as always I’d consider a project official once the film studio makes an announcement or Meryl mentions it in an interview. The same can be said about recent news of Tommy Lee Jones’ next film “The Horseman”, which has been announced some time back as a vehicle for Meryl – so far, there hasn’t been an official confirmation. Let’s see what happens…

Many additional pictures from 2010 public appearances have been added. Updates include the awards season (Critics Choice, Golden Globe, SAG Awards and the Oscars) as well as the many special functions which Meryl has attended this year – the Women in the World Summit, The White House Project’s Epic Awards, Diane von Furstenberg’s DVF Awards honoring Ingrid Betancourt and the commencement speeches at Harvard University and Barnard University. All latest added pictures can be launched through below’s previews. Also, since the Screen Actors Guild Awards take place tonight (I don’t expect Meryl to attend), a new flipbook with Meryl’s past SAG appearances has been added.

Here comes the next batch of public appearances pictures – covering 2011. That year featured the begin of press tour for “The Iron Lady”, including the poster unveiling in London, premieres in New York, Washington DC and various press conferences and photocalls. Meryl also visited China to talk about the arts and was featured in a variety of panels. She further attended the “A Magical Evening Gala” and of course the Kennedy Center Honors. To launch all last added pictures, click one of the previews below.

Airing on January 31 at 9pm, Meryl Streep will be narrating “The ‘70s: Bold and Fearless”, the second of PBS’s four-part Pioneers of Thirteen documentary series that goes decade by decade to celebrate the station’s 50 years of programming. Ms. Streep was an up-and-coming actress when she played Leila in PBS’s 1977 production of Wendy Wasserstein’s Uncommon Women and Others. Clips of this performance will be included in the documentary, in addition to clips from several other productions whose all-star casts include Tony Award winners Blythe Danner (Nice Work If You Can Get It), James Earl Jones (Driving Miss Daisy), and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), to name a few. The complete article on PBS’ anniversary can be read here.

Throughout the next weeks, the image libraries will be updated with pictures of Meryl’s more recent public appearances. There are many pictures waiting to be uploaded, so let’s start with 2012. Over 600 additional pictures have been added, including all of the awards shows that Meryl has attended this year – the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, BAFTA and, of course, the Academy Awards. There are also more pictures from various premieres, the Berlin Film Festival and benefits like “A Magical Evening”. To launch all last added pictures, simply click the previews below. 2011 will be covered in the next update.

One of the rare finds in Meryl’s career is the 1981 documentary “Kiss Me, Petruchio”, a behind-the-scenes look at the Shakespeare in the Park production of “The Taming of the Shrew” in 1978, starring Raul Julia and Meryl Streep. As I’m sure many are interested in seeing more from this programme, a lenghty excerpt has been added to the video archive. New screencaptures in better quality (although quality is quite a word for an old 1980s tape) have been added to the image library as well.

Watching the documentary on “The Taming of the Shrew” reminds you of two things – first, what a great institution the Public Theater and its annual Shakespeare in the Park is. It opens its doors for the public to watch classic theater for free, boasting performances and plays that are still being mentioned for their brilliance decaded later. And secondly it shows why Meryl has been hailed for her stage work early on. Here, at 29 years old (the play was performed in 1978) she is energetic and intelligent in her interview – and a force of nature on the stage.

The career sections for Meryl’s voice work and documentaries have been updated. Her voice work provides a very interesting base to learn more about the causes close to her heart, from women’s rights to organic food and nature. New audio clips from various voice work productions have been added, including The Colors of Hope (1985), Arctic Refuge: A Vanishing Wilderness (1991), Beyond Organic: The Visions of Fairview Gardens (2000), Ginevra’s Story (2001) and The Cutting Tradition (2009). Addtionally, background information, images and shopping links for many other productions have been updated. Many thanks to Alvaro, who has contributed many of these rare finds.