In a few hours, the Golden Globe Awards will be presented, and if you believe the oddsmakers and blogosphere, Meryl is having best chances to win Best Actress for “The Iron Lady”. She has made records already for nominations (twenty-six) and wins (seven), being honored quite early in her career – for “Kramer vs. Kramer”, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” and “Sophie’s Choice” – and quite recent again – for “Adaptation”, “Angels in America”, “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Julie & Julia”. Part of the reason why Meryl has won more Globes than Oscars is because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association splits acting categories into Drama and Comedy – this way she scored two comedy prizes while the Academy Awards went with the Drama winners (Helen Mirren and Sandra Bullock). You’ll often read that the HFPA loves Meryl Streep and will nominate her for anything she’s doing, and while there might be a grain of truth to that, she has been overlooked just as often. Meryl was nominated almost every year throughout the 1990s, receiving 8 nominations in 10 years, without winning any.

Meryl has accepted four of her seven Golden Globes in person, and each of her acceptance speeches have been highlights. Have a look at her speeches by clicking the previews above.

Her stiffest competition this year is Viola Davis, having received praise from the press and critics awards. An actress who’s been working for fifteen years on film and television, Davis had her breakthrough four years ago, ironically opposite Meryl Streep in “Doubt”, for which she received her first Oscar nomination. If you recall the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Meryl shouted in her acceptance speech, that “someone please give her a movie!”. It happened, and my feeling tells me that, tonight, Viola will win the Golden Globe. What speaks for her is that “The Help” has been a critical and commercial success while “The Iron Lady” has won raves for Meryl’s performance but has received mixed reviews for the film (I personally think it’s about the individual performances, the films have their own categories). Whenever I read somewhere that Meryl is campaigning herself harder for an Oscar this year than any time before (instead of acknowledging that she’s promoting a film whose release falls into Oscar season), I feel reminded that she has taken every opportunity to praise Viola Davis and her performance. She’s certainly proud of her work, and, I assume, would be thrilled for her colleague to be recognized. That being said, I, and I’m sure the majority of you, would be just as thrilled to see Meryl taking the stage tonight. Rooting for actors at award ceremonies is the most nonsense and fun of it all. So let’s keep our fingers crossed for tonight.

Do you think Meryl is a lock for winning tonight? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Since “The Iron Lady” has had its wide release in US theaters and some visitors have already posted their reviews in previous updates, I’ve created this post to collect all your reviews and thoughts on the film and Meryl’s performance. So, if you have seen “The Iron Lady” so far, have your say :-)

Yesterday, Meryl has attended the BAFTA Los Angeles’ 18th Annual Awards Season Tea Party. It’s not the regular champagne-fuelled showbiz bash though; it’s a daytime tea party where an array of Golden Globe nominees sip Earl Grey and nibble on finger sandwiches and scones with jam and cream. Meryl was spotted with colleagues Leonardo DiCaprio and Viola Davis, and chatting to Andy Serkis and Jane Seymour. Find all pictures in the image library.

Yesterday’s second talkshow appearance, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, has been added to the archives as well. This 15 minutes interview is very funny as went beyond the usual questions – Meryl spoke about her experience in Beijing a couple of months ago at the US China Forum on the Arts and Culture and that she heard a ghost in her home in the early 1990s. Very worthwile interview, the full segment can be found in the video archive, HD captures are in the image library. Enjoy!

Coverage for this year’s Critics Choice Movie Awards will be, unfortunately, short. The Best Actress award went to Viola Davis for “The Help” – and there are only a couple of pictures of Meryl from inside the ceremony, no red carpet as always ;-) Nevertheless, I’ve added the Best Actress segment to the video archive as well as pictures and captures to the image library.

As most of you probably know, Meryl has attended the Ellen DeGeneres Show today to promote “The Iron Lady” – the first of two talkshow appearances today, as she’ll be on Jimmy Kimmel Live as well, not to mention today’s Critics Choice Movie Awards. A longer excerpt from the appearance has been added, in which she talks about the National Women’s History Museum. The full segment will follow. Also, HD captures have been added to the image library.

Meryl’s interview on the French talkshow Le Grand Journal has been added to the video archive. Her segment is short but funny, especially the card trick. Additionally, find captures from the interview in the image library.

Lots of television programmes and news outlets have aired their interviews with Meryl Streep about “The Iron Lady” today. All interviews were conducted at the UK or US press junkets for the film. There’s also a funny segment from French television on the Paris premiere of the film. A list of the latest additions can be found below the previews.

Video Archive – News Segments – 2012 – Entertainment Tonight (January 11, 2012)
Video Archive – News Segments – 2012 – Moviefone (January 11, 2012)
Video Archive – News Segments – 2012 – ABC News (Australia, January 11, 2012)
Video Archive – News Segments – 2012 – Sky Movies Special: The Iron Lady (January 09, 2012)
Video Archive – News Segments – 2012 – Nieuwsuur (Netherlands, January 09, 2012)
Video Archive – News Segments – 2012 – 50 Minutes Inside (France, January 07, 2012)

The Weinstein Co. has created a series of unusual campaign-style posters to promote the film online and possibly in print as well. The intentionally defaced ads play off the idea that not everyone was in love with Thatcher in her home country, embracing the controversy she stirred in England, not shying away from it. It might seem odd to promote a film with an ad campaign that seems to disparage the movie’s subject, but it’s very much a play on Thatcher’s thorny relationship with many in her country during the time she served as prime minister (article courtesy Politico). Another new poster, probably for its wide release in the USA, has been added as well.

Also, with thanks to Frank for the heads-up, Meryl has been awarded Best Actress for “The Iron Lady” by the Denver Film Critics Society and has received a nomination as Best International Actress for the Irish Film and Television Award. Congratulations!

Here are some fantastic on-set and promotional pictures from some of Meryl’s previous films – Doubt, Adaptation, Plenty and Sophie’s Choice – all shot by the marvelous Brigitte Lacombe. Seriously, how many of these pictures is she holding back? :-) Here’s hoping that one day she will publish a book with all the images she’s taken of Meryl’s films throughout the years. On a sidenote, I’m not entirely sure if the black & white picture of Meryl in her dressing room is really from the set of “Adaptation” – what would be your guess?