The People’s Choice Awards have launched their selections for the 2013 nominees, and Meryl, as well as “Hope Springs”, are featured in a variety of categories. The first is Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress. Together with Tommy Lee Jones, she shares a spot at Favorite On-Screen Chemistry. “Hope Springs” can be nominated as Favorite Comedic Movie. Then, there’s a new category entitled Movie Icon, which she shares with Blythe Danner, Emma Thompson, Frances McDormand, Holly Hunter, Jessica Lange, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Sally Field, Sigourney Weaver and Susan Sarandon. You can cast your vote at the People’s Choice Award’s website. Let’s see if Meryl makes it among the final nominees.

Yesterday, Meryl Streep applauded Viola Davis as she handed her a top prize at the 2012 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards. The Help star was honored with the Crystal Award for Excellence In Film at the Los Angeles ceremony. She called Davis “a lion-hearted woman;” a gifted and determined actress who studied at Juilliard, won Tony Awards and captivated Hollywood with her eight-minute performance in “Doubt.” “She was a newcomer at 45,” Streep joked. Davis returned the love as she accepted the award. “I have a confession,” she said, sharing how touched she was when Streep sent her a card after the film wrapped. Davis also kept a photo of the two of them together on set. “OK Meryl, I framed the card,” Davis said. “So you can never come over to the house.” Pictures from the event can be found in the image library. Edit: Some 100 more pictures have been added. Click the second row of previews to launch all last added images.

Yesterday, Meryl has been in California to attend the AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Shirley MacLaine. Streep presented the award to MacLaine, saying the actress cut a path for other women in Hollywood by doing much of her best work in middle age, when good female roles typically dry up. “Some performers are just indelible. We fall early and we fall hard for them, and we follow them for the rest of our lives,” Streep said. “That’s our Shirl. That’s you, babe.” Accepting the award from Streep, also a past winner of the AFI prize, MacLaine paid respect to the Jacks in her life, including Nicholson, Black and “The Apartment” co-star Jack Lemmon. MacLaine thanked the women who shared her dinner table for the evening, among them Streep and “Steel Magnolias” co-star Field, saying they had been her “other half of the sky, my sustaining belief that women who speak the truth will make the world a better place.” Videos from the event will be published when the ceremony has aired on television, June 24. For now, hundreds of pictures from the ceremony have been added to the image library.

On June 12, 2012, Meryl Streep will be honoring Viola Davis with the Crystal Award for Excellence in Film at the Women in Film Crystal & Lucy Awards in Los Angeles. The Crystal Awards “honor outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.” To learn more about Women in Film, please visit their official website. In 1998, Meryl Streep has been an honoree herself.

Mr. De Niro and Ms. Streep, who appeared together in the 1984 movie “Falling in Love,” kidded each other in their remarks, primarily about acting honors. “I’m proud I have the same number of these as Meryl,” Mr. De Niro said in accepting his award, adding, with a deft pause, “For now.” “By this time next year, she’ll have seven,” he added. “Last October, she beat me out for Italian-American Man of the Year.” At least, Mr. De Niro said, “I got mine first.” Ms. Streep, who received her award after Mr. De Niro, gave as good as she got. “I can’t believe you gave this to Bob De Niro before me,” she said, then paused to note that “Supporting Actor always precedes” the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Meryl Streep, Edward Sorel and MC Lars will share the spotlight at Carnegie Hall with the nation’s future in creativity – the talented and ambitious teens who have achieved national honors in the 89th annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. More than 800 teens and their families and teachers, representing 46 states, are expected to attend the celebration, including 15 graduating seniors who will receive Portfolio Gold Medals and $10,000 scholarships. Presented by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the country’s longest-running, most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative teenagers. The celebration will kick-off on the night of May 31 when the Empire State Building will be lit in gold to honor student winners. At the June 1 ceremony at Carnegie Hall, Ms. Streep will congratulate the students and provide wisdom for them to take on their creative paths, Mr. Sorel will be presented with the 2012 Alumni Achievement Award, and MC Lars will perform. More on the event can be read here. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up!

AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Meryl Streep will present Shirley MacLaine with the American Film Institute’s 40th Life Achievement Award – America’s highest honor for a career in film. The private black tie gala will be held at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City on June 7 and will air on TV Land on Sunday, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. “The world loves Shirley MacLaine,” said Bob Gazzale, President and CEO of AFI. “AFI’s challenge will be how to fit it all into one evening because hers is a life that spans from movies to television to Broadway, books and beyond. Perhaps more than any other recipient, with Shirley I would underline the word life in Life Achievement Award,” he said. “Hers is a story more than just movies. It’s an epic journey, and she has invited all of us to come along for the ride.” “It is sure to be a magical evening celebrating Shirley’s career, especially with Meryl Streep and many other stars who will be on hand,” remarked Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land. “Shirley’s storied film and television career is so rich and colorful, it will be an unforgettable tribute.” Thanks to Glenn and Frederique for the heads-up.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine L. Oliver will host the seventh annual “Made in NY” Awards on June 4th at Gracie Mansion. The awards are given each year to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to various fields in the City’s entertainment and digital media industries. The 2012 “Made in NY” honorees include: Academy Award-winning actor, director, producer Robert De Niro; Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep; Academy Award, Emmy, Tony and Grammy winner Whoopi Goldberg; actress and television host Kelly Ripa; award-winning transmedia company @radical.media, which develops, produces and distributes innovative content across all forms of media; and the locally based Kickstarter, a funding platform for creative projects. This year’s “Made in NY” Mayor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented to actors and legendary husband-and-wife comedy team Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

The Charlie Foundation will honor Meryl Streep this September at the Third International Symposium: Dietary Therapy for Epilepsy & Other Neurological Disorders at the Chicago Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. The Charlie Foundation was founded in 1994 after twenty month old Charlie Abrahams, having endured multiple daily seizures, and failed every available anti-convulsant drug and one brain surgery, was cured of his epilepsy by the ketogenic diet at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The diet was undertaken despite resistance from the five pediatric neurologists he had seen. When Charlie’s parents realized that Charlie was but one of hundreds of thousands of children whose families were either not being informed, or being misinformed about dietary therapy, they started The Charlie Foundation. Meryl Streep, a friend of the Abrahams family, hosted a public serive announcement for the foundation in 1994, which can be watched in the video archive. In 1997, Abrahams and Meryl Streep produced the ABC television movie “First do no Harm”, fictionalising a particular case of a young boy with the disease. The film draws many parallels to the Abrahams family’s experiences. Several minor characters in the film are played by people who have been on the ketogenic diet and had their epilepsy “cured” as a result. The gala celebration honoring Meryl will take place on September 21, 2012.

Over 400 additional pictures have been added to the Academy Awards’ albums. Simply click the previews below to launch all latest uploads.

Then, I’ve received lots of emails regarding Meryl’s eco-friendly dress, so here’s some more information: Meryl channelled the Oscars in more ways than one, sporting a gold Lanvin dress that resembled the statuette she ended up taking home. Streep took inspiration from Colin Firth’s wife Livia by wearing Lanvin’s first-ever eco-friendly gown for the 84th Academy Awards. It was created from Eco Certified Fabric, which was sourced with the help of the Green Carpet Challenge (GCC) – an initiative set up by Livia. More information on the eco-friendly dresses can be found at Miss Firth’s blog and at Eco Age. And finally, no Oscar update would be complete without a transcript of Meryl’s speech:

Oh my God. Oh come on. All right. Thank you so much, thank you thank you! When they called my name I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, “oh, no! Oh, come on why – her! Again!” But, whatever (laughter). First, I’m gonna thank Don, because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives you’ve given me (applause). And, now, secondly, my other partner. Thirty-seven years ago, my first play in New York City, I met the great hairstylist and makeup artist Roy Helland. And we worked together pretty continuously since the day we clapped eyes on each other. His first film with me was “Sophie’s Choice” and all the way up to tonight when he won for his beautiful work in “The Iron Lady” thirty years later (applause). Every single movie in between. I just wanna thank Roy but also I wanna thank – because I really understand I’ll never be up here again (laughter) – I really wanna thank all my colleagues. All my friends. And I look out here, and I see my life before my eyes. My old friends, my new friends. And really, this is such a great honor, but the thing that counts the most with me is the friendships and the love and the sheer joy we have shared making movies together. My friends, thank you, all of you – departed and here – for this inexplicably wonderful career. Thank you so much. Thank you.