Jimmy Kimmel’s post Academy Awards bash has been a tradition of awards season for the past nine years with previous guests for the hour long special including Ben Affleck and Tom Cruise. This year, the host has scored a lineup that includes nominees and some of his favourite guests. Best Actress nominee Meryl Streep will join Best Director favourite Martin Scorsese along with Captain Phillip’s newcomer Barkhad Abdi and this year’s Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres. Also dropping by will be Kevin Spacey who will serve as the lead guest while big names like Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman will also make an appearance. Fans of the Hemsworth brothers are in for a treat as both Chris and Liam are scheduled to appear along with Christoph Waltz, Ben Kingsley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Seth Rogen, Andy Garcia, Adam Driver, Queen Latifah, Gary Oldman and Anjelica Huston. Kimmel’s A-list guest list is largely helped by the fact he shoots his show across the street from the Dolby Theatre where this year’s Oscars will take place on Sunday night. The show will air live on ABC after the 86th Academy Awards and will also include a popular comedy video segment following the success of last year when Kimmel premiered the trailer for the star-filled Movie: The Movie. Many thanks to everybody for the heads-up.

Many thanks to Beatrice for bringing this to my attention: During her visit in France to promote “August: Osage County”, Meryl Streep attended the French television show 20h Week-End to talk about the film and the Oscars. It’s a pretty bumpy interview, maybe because of its editing and the translation – and I still don’t understand the lenghty Maria Callas clip. But see for yourself. The full interview can be watched in the video archive. Captures have been added to the image library.

Here’s a surprise for today. Although Meryl’s interview with Ellen has been taped yesterday but won’t air until Monday, Ellen’s website has posted three preview clips (which, together, run for 10 minutes, so that I call a preview!) from the interview. Meryl talks about her 18th Oscar nomination and the letter she wrote to Emma Thompson after finding out she was not nominated. She also talks about doing a safari after wrapping “The Giver” in South Africa last December. Then, Ellen lets Meryl read various text passages in different characters. So in case you’ve ever dreamed of Meryl reading a traffic report while giving birth, here you go. The preview clips have been combined to one (the middle one is not in the best quality but will be edited later) and can be found in the video archive. Promotional pictures as well as HD screencaptures have been added to the gallery.

Yesterday, Meryl Streep attended Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote “August: Osage County”. As a change to the recent ones, this is a rather lenghty and informative interview. Besides “August” and living in a condo with her co-stars while filming, they talk about Paul McCartney’s “Queenie Eye” music video, Meryl’s visit to the Beatles concert in the 1960s.

The full interview can be watched in the video archive. HD screencaptures have been added to the gallery. In other news, Meryl has been announced among the presenters for Saturday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, so we’ll see her on stage, winning or not. Also, expect more updates after tonight’s Critics Choice Awards. Edit: Many thanks to Claudia for sending in some fantastic pictures from the taping of the show.

Great news from the talkshows circuit. Tonight, Meryl will be a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live (11:35/10:35c on ABC) to talk about “August: Osage County” and on Monday, she’ll be attending the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Tomorrow will be a busy day as well – the Academy Award nominations are announced and the Critics Choice Movie Awards take place. So, check back for more updates tomorrow.

This morning, Meryl was interviewed on GMA. The segment is rather brief (I wonder why these things become sooo short, where did the in-depth interviews go…), anyway, they dished about the film, Oscar appearances and holiday plans. The interview can be watched in the video archive, screencaptures have been added to the image library.

This morning, Meryl has attended “The View” to talk about “August: Osage County”. She dished on the dynamics of an ensemble cast, her character’s wit, and what friend’s remark made her accept the part of Violet Weston. The full interview can be watched in the video archive. Screencaptures have been added to the image library. Don’t miss Meryl on tomorrow’s Good Morning America.

As previously reported, Meryl will be a guest on “The View” tomorrow. She’ll also attend Good Morning America on Friday, December 20. Expect clips and caps from both appearances here after their broadcast. Thanks to Tena for the heads-up.

While they may raise children, cook, clean and honor their spouses, the women celebrated in the PBS-AOL collaboration “Makers” are the daring ones who ventured out of the house to lead the women’s liberation movement, who broke barriers and became emblems in the fight for equality. “Makers: Women Who Make America” is a broadcast and digital effort, already online and premiering as a three-hour documentary narrated by Meryl Streep on PBS on Feb. 26. Bra burning? Yes, that’s part of the story, along with Supreme Court appointments, the first female astronaut, anchorwomen, congresswomen, corporate executives, coal miners, Boston marathoners and more. From the victory of Roe v. Wade to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, from consciousness-raising about advertising imagery to the admission of women in sports, it has been a long, not always winning slog. The complete article on the documentary can be read here.

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.