The Daily Mail has the latest scoop on the upcoming Thatcher biopic “The Iron Lady”, and according to its author, Baz Bamigboye, Meryl has confirmed to her that she’s indeed going to play Miss Thatcher – he just doesn’t quote when and where she confirmed this: Oscar-winning Meryl Streep has confirmed she will play Margaret Thatcher in a major movie, although a British actress has been ­chosen to portray the former Prime Minister’s early years. Alexandra Roach, a recent ­graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, will play Mrs Thatcher in her 20s in The Iron Lady, which begins shooting in the middle of January – although Meryl will dominate much of the footage.

The two actresses will not only have to study Mrs Thatcher’s voice pattern, but also each other’s. They will do their own research, examining film footage and listening to radio broadcasts and tapes. It hasn’t been decided yet whether or not a dialect coach will be hired to teach the actresses how to capture Mrs Thatcher’s distinctive vocal signature, bearing in mind Meryl’s legendary skill with accents. However, even she may need an expert to help her navigate the period when Mrs Thatcher, on her rise to power, was ordered by her savvy PR master Gordon Reece to lower and soften her often strident voice. The film, based on a screenplay by Abi Morgan, will be directed by Phyllida Lloyd. It’s being produced by Damian Jones with Pathé and Film 4. Morgan’s screenplay reflects on Mrs Thatcher’s life in and out of power, criss-crossing time-zones, looking back on her glory years and her challenges.

Jim Broadbent will play her husband Denis, and he told me that he understood Denis would be a ghost – although that aspect of the screenplay may have changed by January. ‘His purpose would be to visit Margaret Thatcher now and go back over her life. I don’t know how they plan to make me ghostly, or whether some other dramatic device will be used,’ Broadbent, like Streep an Academy Award-winner, told me at a supper for Mike Leigh’s great new movie Another Year, in which he stars with Lesley ­Manville and Ruth Sheen. Reports that The Iron Lady focuses solely on Mrs Thatcher and the Falklands War are wide of the mark. Ms Roach has appeared in The IT Crowd, a forthcoming BBC show called Candy Cabs and she plays one of the leads in ITV’s adaptation of Kate Summerscale’s best-selling novel The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher. Olivia Colman, famous for her roles in Peep Show, Beautiful People and the recent Tom ­Hollander hit Rev, has been cast to play Carol Thatcher.

Scans from 12 magazines have been added to the Image Library, with many thanks to the great Alvaro! They range from a very early article in 1977’s After Dark magazine through the 1980s to the most recent. A list of all new uploads can be found below the previews. Happy reading!

Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1977 > After Dark Magagazine (USA, May 1977)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1980 > Photoplay (Spain, March 1980)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1980 > Sight and Sound (UK, December 1980)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1982 > Dunia Magazine (Spain, May 1982)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1983 > Correio de Domingo (Portugal, April 1983)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1984 > Veronica (Netherlands, November 1984)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1990 > Imagenes de Actualidad (Spain, March 1990)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1991 > Dunia Magazine (Spain, February 1991)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1993 > Video World (UK, August 1993)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 2009 > Vanity Fair (Italy, October 2009)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 2009 > Gioia Magazine (Italy, October 2009)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 2010 > Gioia Magazine (Italy, February 2010)

Four new video clips have been added to the video archive – all collected by my friend and video expert Tina :-) They include a real treasure – Meryl’s first ever public voice work in the 1976 “Everybody Rides the Carousel” (very 1970s!), an interview Meryl gave PBS’ “To the Contrary” after speaking at the National Women’s Museum Dinner – and a making of for the 2007 mini-musical “Music of Regret”. Enjoy the new clips!

A couple of new production stills from various 1980s productions have been added to the Image Library, including some rare behind-the-scenes shots and promotional images. Have a look at the latest additions for all new pictures.

According to Deadline, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep are in talks to star for The Weinstein Company in the bigscreen adaptation of the Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer and Tony-winning play August: Osage County. I hear Roberts and Streep have agreed to the project and they are now working out deals and locking a production start. John Wells will direct the film from a script written by the playwright. Production will start by next summer. Streep will play Violet, the drug-addicted matriarch of the working class Weston clan. Roberts will play Barbara Fordham, the oldest daughter in the family. While mom’s problems and her penchant for revealing family secrets is a big issue, Barbara is melting because her husband is cheating with a college student. They are brought together when Violet’s husband goes missing and all three of their daughters come home to rally around mom. In the process, a lot of family secrets get revealed. The film has been developed for several years by Harvey Weinstein, who was involved in the original stage production with Jean Doumanian. As nothing is official as of now, it’s yet another project to the long list of upcoming rumored projects for Meryl.

Here are some new additions to the archives, some recent documentary appearances as well as blasts from the past. High qualuty captures of Meryl in the 2010 documentary “America: The Story of Us” (with thanks to Tina), captures and video of the remarkable documentary “Faces of America”, tracing the roots of Meryl’s ancestors. Behind the scenes captures of Meryl voicing Mrs. Fox in “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”, captures and video of a special called “Arts & Children: A Success Story” that Meryl hosted in 1996 (again, thanks Tina ;-) and captures of Meryl’s public service announcement for Amnesty International in 1986. The previews below will guide you to each gallery. Enjoy!

The National Women’s History Museum has posted Meryl’s entire speech, which can be now watched in the video archive. Additionally, three pictures from the event have been added to the Image Library.

There are news on Mike Nichols’ planned “Great Hope Springs”. After Jeff Bridges’ department from the project, sources are now reporting on James Gandolfini joining Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the drama. Streep and Gandolfini would play a married couple who undergo intense couples therapy to see if they want to continue their 30-year-marriage. Hoffman would play the therapist. According to Vulture, no deals have been signed, but all parties are highly interested, and recently even did a table read.

Actress Meryl Streep is visiting Washington to call for the creation of a National Women’s History Museum on the National Mall. Streep will join Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney on Tuesday night to support the purchase of federal property at 12th Street and Independence Avenue in southwest Washington to build the museum. The House passed legislation last year that would authorize the museum. A vote is pending in the Senate. Streep is an honorary board member for the group working to build the museum and serves as its national spokeswoman.

Edit: Many thanks to Tina M. for letting me know about this report on yesterday’s event and Meryl’s appearance. You can watch it below.

Three documentaries with Meryl – including one about Meryl – will be released on DVD in the USA these coming days, so here’s an overview on what can be watched soon on disc. First is the Biography Channel’s documentary on Meryl Streep. It originally aired in December 2008 and features a couple of interviews with Meryl from various shows and remarks by film experts. The DVD will be released on September 28, 2010. Thanks to Andrea and Judy for the heads-up on this. Then, the outstanding documentary “Theater of War“, following the cast and crew of the 2006 Public Theater production of “Mother Courage and her Children” (see preview), makes it R1 debut on October 19, 2010. And on November 09, 2010, another remarkable documentary will make it to DVD – “I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale” chronicles the exceptional professional and unfortunately short life of actor John Cazale (see preview), and included interview with the heavyweights he’s worked with as well as the many admirers he’s found among actors.