At the beginning of this year, some of the biggest names in Texas media left their respective organizations to begin a new one. Former Texas Tribune Editor Emily Ramshaw and Chief Audience Officer Amanda Zam­mora founded the 19th*, a national nonprofit newsroom focused on the “unfinished business of the 19th Amendment” granting (white) American women the vote in 1920. Andrea Valdez, formerly editor-in-chief of the Texas Observer, fills the same role at the 19th, and Errin Haines, previously national writer on race for the Associated Press, is editor-at-large. Next week, Aug. 10-14, the nascent enterprise is bringing together some more big names of American politics and culture in a “virtual summit,” the 19th Repre­sents. Speakers including Stacey Abrams, Alicia Garza, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Meryl Streep will headline discussions on the intersection of race and gender issues, voting rights, and electability. Updated: As part of The 19th Represents, Award-winning actors Meryl Streep and Zoe Saldaña perform excerpts from historic speeches by American suffragists – women like Inez Milholland; Sojourner Truth; Crystal Eastman and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who fought not just for the right to vote, but for racial justice for women. The 19th Represents is the inaugural summit of The 19th News, a new nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. To learn more about The 19th, visit summit.19thnews.org.

The German/French tv channel ARTE celebrates the “Summer of Dreams” with films and documentaries, but for us it will be the “Summer of Streep” in August. On August 23, 2020 at 22:50pm, the broadcaster will air a brand new documentary on Meryl Streep titled “Meryl Streep: Die unverstellte Göttin” (the genuine goddess), right after a broadcast of “Out of Africa” at 20:15pm. The documentary will be featured on the ARTE website starting August 21 and will be available on-demand for a month. On Sunday, August 30, there will be a broadcast of “Julie & Julia” at 20:15pm. Their special on Streep is accompanied by a lovely cover story and article in the August issue of ARTE Magazin, which you can find in the photo gallery. Many thanks to Katrin for the heads-up.

Big congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination earlier today as Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for “Big Little Lies”. She shares the crowded category with Laura Dern for “Big Little Lies”, Fiona Shaw for “Killing Eve”, Julia Garner for “Ozark”, Sarah Snook for “Succession”, Helena Bonham Carter for “The Crown”, Samira Wiley for “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Thandie Newton for “Westworld”. “Big Litte Lies” fared ok in the overall nominations with five, although only two actresses – Dern and Streep – made the cut. The other nominations come in the categories for Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program, Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup. In comparison, the first season of “Big Little Lies” scored 16 nominations in 2017, winning 8 – including for Outstanding Limited Series and its stars, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgard. Meryl Streep’s track record at the Emmys is equally impressive – she has won 3 Emmys out of 4 nominations so far – as an actress for “Holocaust” in 1979 and “Angels in America” in 2004 as well as a narrator for the Netflix documentary “Five Came Back” in 2017. The Emmys will be handed out on September 20, 2020. Edit: Meryl’s management forwarded the following reaction to various news outlets:

Thank you!!! I am very honored to be in the company of such gifted women, who have helped us all get through this screen centered moment in time!”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan Murphy’s film The Prom – starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and James Corden – is starting up production again on Thursday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. The movie, which had two days left of shooting when the pandemic forced an industry-wide shutdown, is slated to film for the next four days. Not all of the stars are expected to be on set, however, as some had already wrapped their parts. Murphy’s star-studded Broadway adaptation marks the second major project from the streamer to return to production in the U.S. this month, after Adam Sandler’s comedy movie Hubie Halloween went through with a day of pick-ups earlier in July. The production was said to go off without a hitch, though insiders note that the streamer was limited in what it could draw from the experience given the short duration of the shoot. Since The Prom plans to film for multiple consecutive days, sources say it’ll likely serve as a better test case for the company, which sources note has developed its own set of health and safety protocols. Says one insider, “Netflix is serious about the plan they put together and is using this as a test run for their other productions.” Given the fluid nature of the situation, some studios, including Warner Bros. and Universal’s TV arms, have pushed back their target shoots dates from August to September. Holding them back, say insiders, are continued negotiations with the guilds over aspects of the COVID protocols. Among the issues still being hashed out: the role of COVID-19 managers, the frequency and type of testing, 10-hour workday caps and sick day compensation (meaning whether or not crew members who fall ill to the virus still get paid).

Monumental Women, the all-volunteer nonprofit group bringing the first statue depicting real women to Central Park, has announced that award-winning actors Jane Alexander, Viola Davis, America Ferrera, Rita Moreno, Zoe Saldana and Meryl Streep will portray Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in English and Spanish-Language ‘Talking Statues’ monologues that will accompany the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument. According to Broadwayworld.com, The Monument featuring Truth, Anthony and Stanton is set to be unveiled on Central Park’s Literary Walk on August 26, 2020, the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, when women won the right to vote. Actors Jane Alexander and America Ferrera will voice Susan B. Anthony, Viola Davis and Zoe Saldana will voice Sojourner Truth, and Meryl Streep and Rita Moreno will voice Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Monumental Women began working to develop the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument and “break the bronze ceiling” by securing a prominent location on Central Park’s famed Literary Walk in 2014. The organization raised $1.5 million in private funding to pay for the statue, which is being designed by nationally-recognized sculptor Meredith Bergmann. In the statue, Bergmann shows Anthony, Stanton, and Truth working together when they met to advance the fight for equality, justice, and women’s rights. They are depicted as equals, working together at a table, with each taking on an essential element of activism: Sojourner Truth is speaking, Susan B. Anthony is organizing, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton is writing. The Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument honors three New York women who dedicated their lives to women’s rights and to women winning the franchise, though none of them lived long enough to see it happen.

In a coming attractions trailer, HBO Max gives us a first look at “Let Them All Talk”, and Entertainmnent Weekly writes about it: Let them all talk… about Meryl Streep’s arrival on HBO Max. The streaming platform picked up the rights to the Oscar winner’s new movie with director Steven Soderbergh early in the shelf life of the service, and now the streamer has snuck in the first look at the actress’ latest eye-turning performance in Let Them All Talk. Tucked away around the 1:52 time stamp of the latest trailer for HBO Max’s upcoming offerings is a look at this gem, which also stars Dianne Wiest (Edward Scissorhands), Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown), Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea), and Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians). “Here’s to reconnecting the gang of three,” Streep says as her author character, who takes a cruise with her besties, played by Wiest and Bergen. Based on Bergen’s next line, it seems there’s a lot of self-reflection involved with this trip. “Who’s the real you?” she questions. “Does anybody trust you?” Meanwhile, off in the quiet corners of the film (and the trailer), there’s Hedges, playing Streep’s nephew, trying to romance Streep’s literary agent (Chan). The trailer briefly highlights a number of other programming, including Jude Law in HBO’s limited series The Third Day, Ridley Scott and Aaron Guzikowski’s Raised By Wolves sci-fi series for HBO Max, and The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco in the series The Flight Attendant. Then there are the more heavily promoted shows like HBO’s Perry Mason and Lovecraft Country, and HBO Max’s Seth Rogen-led film American Pickle.

Stacey Abrams, who made history as the first Black woman to run for governor and deliver a response to the State of the Union address, is one of numerous forces behind a new #BeCounted PSA dedicated to the 2020 Census. #BeCounted is in partnership with Abrams’ organization Fair Count and Harness, an advocacy organization founded by America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, and Ryan Piers Williams to engage artists in social change. Abrams is one of many recognizable faces, including Meryl Streep, Darren Criss, Connie Britton, Queen Latifah, Justin Timberlake, and Kerry Washington, participating in the video, which can be seen above. #BeCounted launches this PSA (in both English and Spanish) produced in partnership with NowThis to help raise awareness about the immense power and impact of the United States Census. “The census is one of the most powerful tools of progress in America, and one of the least understood. It’s how we allocate $1.5 trillion in investment every year, and it’s also how we allocate political power for a decade,” Abrams tells EW. The #BeCounted initiative is just one of many efforts Abrams is engaged in to raise awareness around the power of the census and fight for voting rights. While #BeCounted is an extension of her work with Fair Count and her voting rights organization Fair Fight, she also addresses the census in depth in her new book Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America. Abrams is also one of the subjects of And She Could Be Next, a two-part documentary series premiering on PBS on June 29, which chronicles the story of a defiant movement of women of color who are transforming American politics from the ground up. It’s not the only documentary on her docket either; she’s also featured in a still-untitled voting rights documentary from Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, which Amazon is slated to release this fall.

We conclude our weekly series on Meryl Streep’s films of the 1990s, which started 12 weeks ago and was originally designed with the thought that our lives would have been back to normal 3 months later. Unfortunately this is not yet the case. To all visitors, readers and friends, stay healthy and strong. And enjoy a Saturday dose of “Music of the Heart” if your’e strong enough :-)

The combination of Wes Craven and Meryl Streep in the late 1990s seemed like the most far-fetched idea Hollywood could offer around that time. After all, Craven had single handedly revived the slasher genre with „Scream“, the following films in the franchise and countless knock-offs of who did what when during Summer vacation. Of course, Craven wasn’t new to the genre – he created „A Nightmare on Elm Street“ in 1984, significantly mixed horror cliches with humor and satire and became the „Master of Horror“ for legions of fans. So, what could he possibly be filming with Meryl Streep, if it wasn’t a part of Ghostface’s crazy mother? The story behind the making of „Music of the Heart“ is a prime example to never judge a book by its cover, nevermind how bloody or gory it may be.

“Music of the Heart” tells the story of real-life teacher Roberta Guaspari as she rebounds from a painful divorce and moves to New York with her two sons to start what’s become the hugely popular East Harlem Violin Program. “I wouldn’t have the ability to play the violin. I never would have even thought about it without the gift of that program,” she said during a interview with the Los Angeles Times prior to the film’s release. „“The only reason that I’ve fought so hard through the years is that I love teaching, and I don’t want to stop. The only thing that’s changed in my life now is that I’ve got 10 more things to do all the time.” Guaspari hesitated when Miramax Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein asked to do a feature based on her life, and then told her that a man known for horror films would direct the project. “I was really frightened, to be quite honest. It was like selling myself to have to put my life up on the screen. All of my friends and family said, ‘No, don’t let them do it,’ ” Guaspari says. But she is satisfied that Weinstein and Craven kept their promise to take care of her story, though it is one that presents a slightly warmer classroom atmosphere than the more disciplined learning environment favored by the real-life instructor.

„Dancing at Lughnasa“ remais a curiosity in Streep’s filmography, but a lovely one. Brian Friel’s play about five unmarried sisters in 1930s Ireland was a runaway hit after ist 1990 premiere in Dublin and later London, winning the Olivier Award for Best Play, followed by its transition to Broadway the next year and winning the Tony for Best Play and a Best Featured Actress award for Brit Brennan. But besides its success on the stage, „Lughnasa“ was never a dead-ringer to become a box office hit in theatres. Streep’s casting secured the film an international spotlight and decent reviews, but it struggled to find a mainstream audience. Today, „Dancing at Lughnasa“ reigns among Streep’s fine work in the 90s, but is often forgotten to be mentioned at all.

Friel’s story explores themes which were central to Irish cinema and to Irish culture more generally in the 20th century, namely, emigration; the position of women in Ireland (rural) society, including illegitimacy, being unmarried and working at backbreaking labour; the relationship between the legacy of popular ‘pagan’ religious practice and the institutional church; and the point-of-view of a young boy recalling his childhood and the events which formed him. In 1936, five sisters live in quiet desperation in the small town of Ballybeg in Donegal.The eldest sister, Kate, a local schoolteacher is a woman of rigid beliefs. On the surface she is a formidable woman,a little feared but deeply loved by all of her sisters, especially Maggie, who has a kind benevolent heart, a wicked sense of humour and a wild fondness for life. Agnes is a quiet, deep woman with secret reserves of courage. She is devoted to Rose, who is simple, frightened of no danger because she does not know any. Rose has embarked on a relationship with a local married man, Danny Bradley much to the concern of her sisters. Christina, the youngest, has defied the strict morality of her society and given birth to a love child, Michael. All of their lives are thrown into turmoil by the re-emergence of two men. The first is their brother Father Jack, a missionary long lost to the ways of African culture who has returned home. The second man is Gerry Evans, Michael’s father – a Welsh travelling salesman who sweeps in and out of Christina’s life as if he had no cares or responsibilities in the world. He has returned to see his son and to stir Christina’s emotions up once more before leaving to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The impending arrival of a woollen factory threatens what paltry income Agnes, Rose and Christina earn from knitting gloves and falling school numbers leaves Kate without a job. As the oldest sister, Kate feels responsible to keep the family dynamics together, in the most stubborn way possible.

According to Page Six, the Public Theater has postponed its digital gala, “We Are One Public,” due to the protests around the country. “In this time of national trauma, when the Covid crisis has so disproportionately impacted the Black community, when the injustices of our way of life have been made so clear, it just feels wrong for us to sail ahead with our event,” a note on the theater’s website stated. “This is a time for mourning and reflection,” the statement continued. “It has taken us far too long to proclaim the simple truth: Black Lives Matter,” the New York City-based theater company further stated. “We must stand in solidarity with Black artists, Black staff members, and the Black community … The Public is determined to be on the side that fights racism and inequality manifested inside and outside of our walls.” Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Antonio Banderas, Glenn Close and more had been scheduled to participate in the event scheduled for Monday night.