It’s my great pleasure to announce a new section to Simply Streep – the Fan Sightings. Over the years, many fans and visitors of Simply Streep were fortunate to meet Meryl Streep at events, such as film festivals and premieres. So I have created a new section to collect those stories. You can already read two stories online – one by Simona, who met Meryl at the 2009 Rome International Film Festival, and one by Miri, who met Meryl last November in Beijing at the US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture. If you have met Meryl and would like to share your story, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll feature your story as well. You’re welcome to include pictures or memorabilia to share with the visitors. If there are more questions, feel free to ask :-) And now, enjoy the stories.

Since Meryl was recently interviewed on Fresh Air from WHYY to promote “The Iron Lady” (thanks to everybody for the heads-up), I got hold of the fact that the audio archive somehow disappeared when the new layout was launched :-( It has been brought back to the site and features many new files of radio interviews, special conversation panels and readings. You can launch the audio archive here, a perament link can be found in the video archive. If you have any other audio files that are not featured in the archive yet, please let me know. Enjoy!

It’s that time of the year again when I think, “haven’t I just written a year in review?” Where has the year gone? Looking back there was plenty to report on Meryl’s career, although it hasn’t been a particularly busy year. Most of the new things happened in November and December – for the rest of 2011, Meryl was busy shooting films and being a spokesperson for the National Women’s History Museum. Much of the year felt like waiting for December, when not only “The Iron Lady” would release – her first film in two years – but also when Meryl would receive the highest honor for artists in America – the Kennedy Center Honors. So, let’s have a look at what 2011 brought us, Meryl-wise.

As Meryl Streep will be honored tonight at the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, let’s take a look back at her previous appearances. Meryl has attended the annual awards ceremony three times as a speaker. In 1981, actors Donald Sutherland, Richard Chamberlain and Meryl Streep joined on the stage to honor actress Helen Hayes, the First Lady of the American Theatre. They read quotes of famous filmmakers about acting while the last quote, as read by Meryl, was from Miss Hayes herself.

One actress expressed best what all actors feel – Helen Hayes. “I think in acting as in everything else one has to find one’s own center of gravity. But more and more I have come to believe that there are only two styles of acting: Good and bad. A little talent doesn’t hurt, but talent is no good without the discipline. And nothing is any good without endurance. What is talent for an actress? Perhaps it is an instinct for understanding the human heart”. Miss Hayes, for the understanding you have given us, and for the inspiration you offer, we thank you.

In 2003, when Mike Nichols was honored, Meryl and actress Candice Bergen paid tribute to the director of “Silkwood”, “Heartburn”, “Postcards from the Edge” and “Angels in America”, with a poem by Willa Cather – and Mr Nichols’ own “five rules for filmmaking”:

One: The careful application of terror is an important form of communication. Two: Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for. Three: There’s absolutely no substitute for genuine lack of preparation. Four: If you think there’s good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody. Five: Friends may come and go, but enemies will certainly become studio heads.

In 2009, Meryl’s co-star Robert De Niro, with whom she worked together on “The Deer Hunter”, “Falling in Love” and “Marvin’s Room”, was honored. Meryl talked about his acting craft and recalled a moment of watching his process to find the right detail for his character while working on “Falling in Love”.

Actors love Bob’s work because it’s unfailingly honest and it’s uncluttered. He’s relentless in his desire to find just the right detail, the little thing that’s gonna tell you everything about a man. After “The Deer Hunter”, he and I made “Falling in Love”, and I had the privilege of watching his process – in a wardrobe test. For three hours, he tried on 37 identical little boxy jackets. Windbreakers. To me, they looked identical. But, he’s checking the cuff, the color, the zip – up, no, down, down, yeah, no, yeah, down. Until he found the right one. And the right one was the right one because it’s signified, it told you everything about this guy’s socioeconomic status. It showed you his modesty and his precision. It was just tan, it was ignorable. But that’s different from unimportant. Details are important, and Bob knows that.

So, let’s see who will speak on Meryl’s tribute tonight! The awards ceremony will be broadcast on CBS December 27, so in the meantime – check out the video clips of her past appearances.

It’s finally here, welcome to the new version of Simply Streep! I was aiming for something different, yet classic and easy to navigate. All the previous content is still here and each page has been revised and updated – especially the career section with additional information on each film, play and television appearance as well as the specials section with a new feature on the many panel conversations that Meryl has done throughout the years. The video archive will be converted to the new layout as we speak. That being said – browse around, enjoy the new look and features – and tell me what you think! :-) And in case you’ll find a bug or error pages, let me know as well!

On December 01, 2011, Simply Streep will launch with a new look, just in time to celebrate the theatrical release of “The Iron Lady” and Meryl’s (most possible) involvement in the 2012 awards season. Besides a classic new layout, all pages have been updated and worked on to provide information revised and up-to-date. And lots of additional features are planned. Speaking of which, I’m very interested in what you, the visitors of Simply Streep, would like to see here. Anything you’ve wished to see featured, anything’s missing. What should be added or changed. Please have a thought and share it with me, either in the comments section, or you can write me an email. Ideas, suggestions, criticism and thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

I wanted to do a year in review ever since I started Simply Streep – but somehow it took me eleven years to actually write one. So with great joy, here’s 2010 in review with lots of pictures, links – and memories – to let the year, Meryl-wise, live up once again.

I haven’t posted magazine scans in a while, haven’t I? Here’s a new batch of articles, ranging from 1986 to 2010, all contributed by the wonderful Alvaro. A preview and complete list is below. Enjoy reading!

Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1986 > US (USA, January 1986)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1986 > US (USA, January 1986)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1980 > 7 Heurs (Canada, April 1992)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1982 > 7 Heurs (Canada, September 1992)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1983 > 7 Heurs (Canada, October 1994)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1983 > New York Magazine (USA, October 1994)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1984 > Ditjes & Datjes (Netherlands, January 2010)
Image Library > Magazine Scans > 1990 > Sky Movies (United Kingdom, November 2010)

Many thanks to Equality Now for bringing this to my attention. In a new online video PSA, Meryl Streep talks about Equality Now’s efforts on behalf of women and girls around the world. The video can be watched on Youtube and in the video archive. Be sure to watch :-)

Meryl has attended yesterday’s celebration for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. In 1988, Paul Newman founded the camp in Connecticut, which every year serves 800 seriously ill children. Meryl has been a supporter to it ever since, appearing last time in 2001 in the one-night-only play “The World of Nick Adams” alongside Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman to pay tribute to Paul Newman’s efforts. Pictures from yesterday’s event can be found in the Image Library.