Happy New Year everybody. At the Palm Springs Film Awards on Thursday night, Meryl Streep made a rare public appearance and heaped some big praise on Barbie in the process. Streep, who was on hand at the event to present Carey Mulligan with the International Star Award, took the stage following the presentation of an earlier award to Billie Eilish and Finneas for their hit song “What Was I Made For?” Before presenting to Mulligan, Streep told the duo, “I just want to say to Billie and Finneas that you have delivered the Barbie love bomb. You’ve saved the movies last summer and all of our jobs. You’ve delivered joy to countless generations and genders of people, and you should surf that wave kids, until you’re old and deserve to be jaded like me.” The Hollywood Reporter has a lengthy article on Streep’s appearance with more quotes. A video of Meryl’s speech has been added with many thanks to EvaSofie. Pictures from the ceremony have been added to the photo gallery.

On December 6, Hunter College marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a powerful performance by actor and advocate Meryl Streep as Eleanor Roosevelt, who led the drafting of the declaration. The performance, staged as a dialogue with Navi Pillay, a former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, took place at a star-studded reception at Hunter’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. Pillay is now Leader in Residence at Roosevelt House’s Human Rights Program. “This event would be inspiring in any setting, but the ambience here is special — because we know that here Eleanor lived as she blossomed from wife and mother to social activist to political and policy advocate to admired leader in her own right,” said Jonathan F. Fanton Director of Roosevelt House Harold Holzer. Pictures from the event have been added to the photo gallery.

Meryl Streep has broken a Golden Globes record – her own. Streep came in to Monday’s Globes nominations with 32 nominations and eight wins and notched her 33rd nomination for her supporting turn as aspiring actress Loretta Durkin in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. It is her fourth nomination for her television work. She was previously nominated for the 1997 TV movie “First Do No Harm”; the 2003 miniseries “Angels in America”, which she won; and Season 2 of “Big Little Lies”. “Only Murders in the Building” proved to be a successful player at the Golden Globes, receiving 5 nominations for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Selena Gomez) and Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (for both Steve Martin and Martin Short). The awards will be handed out on January 07, 2023, at the The Beverly Hilton.

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

Abby Elliott (The Bear)
Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets)
Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)
Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)
Meryl Streep (Only Murders in the Building)

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced the TV category nominees for the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards. “Only Murders in the Building” received two acting nominations – one for Steve Martin in the Best Actor in a Comedy Series category and one for Meryl Streep as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The winners will be revealed at the star-studded Critics Choice Awards gala hosted by Chelsea Handler, which will broadcast LIVE on The CW on Sunday, January 14, 2024 (7:00 – 10:00 pm ET – delayed PT, check local listings).

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Paulina Alexis – Reservation Dogs (FX)
Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Meryl Streep – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Jessica Williams – Shrinking (Apple TV+)

The Academy Museum Gala returned for its third year on Sunday night, honoring Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola among an A-list group of guests. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles event — which was originally scheduled for Oct. 14 but was delayed until December following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel — serves as the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ marquee annual fundraiser, raising vital funds to support museum exhibitions, education initiatives and public programming; it has also quickly become one of Hollywood’s starriest nights. The gala raised more than $10 million in support of the museum, and presented four awards to reflect the its mission to advance the understanding, celebration and preservation of film and to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema. Greta Gerwig presented Streep with the Academy Museum Gala Icon Award, celebrating her significant global cultural impact, and Chloe Zhao presented The Visionary Award to Coppola. Pictures from the event have been added to the photo gallery.

The Academy Museum Gala, which had been postponed last month in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel, has been rescheduled for December 3. According to Deadline, the annual fundraiser, which this year will bestow honors on Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola, was originally scheduled for October 28. After the attack on Israel, gala organizers first canceled the pre-event red carpet then eventually postponed the entire event “out of respect for the devastating conflict and loss of life happening overseas,” they said at the time. The event is now moving forward with the now-escalated Israel-Hamas war top of mind, we hear. The gala aims to raise funds to support museum exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programming including screenings, K-12 programs, and access initiatives in service of the general public and the Los Angeles community.

Here’s another fantastic find for the archives. In the September 28, 1981, programme of “Film 81 with Barry Norman”, the BBC took us behind the scenes of “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”, which was released in the United Kingdom the following month. Besides some amazing footage from the filming, the segment also featured interviews with Karel Reisz and Jeremy Irons on the set, both reminiscing on working with “America’s greatest new star” Meryl Streep – as well as an interview with Meryl herself, conducted in London for the film’s release. The entire programme can be found in the video archive. Screencaptures have been added to the photo archive.

Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving her – hold your breath, seventh Grammy nomination – for her narration of the audiobook “Big Tree”, based on Brian Selznick’s novel. The fate of all life on Earth may depend on the bravery of two little sibling seeds, Louise and Merwin, as they try to save the world while searching for a safe place to grow. But when a fire forces them to leave their mama tree prematurely, they find themselves catapulted into the unknown, far from home. Alone and unprepared, they must use their wits and imagination to navigate a dangerous world – filled with dinosaurs, meteors, and volcanoes – and the fear of never finding a safe place to grow up. Throughout her career, Meryl Streep has received Grammy nominations for narrating the children’s albums “The Velveteen Rabbit”, “The Tale Of Peter Rabbit”, “The Tailor Of Gloucester”, “The One And Only Shrek” and “Charlotte’s Web” as well as for her participation on the “Mamma Mia!” soundtrack. She has yet to win her first Grammy, so let’s check back when the award is handed out February 04, 2024. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

A couple of few, but rare production stills have been added to the archives. The oldest find comes from the 1975 National Playwrights Conference rehearsal for “Dead and Never Called Me Mother”. There’s also a wonderful on-set picture from the filming of “Ironweed”, showing Streep and Nicholson out of character with author William Kennedy and his wife. The most recent find is a fantastic promotional still of Dee Dee Allen from “The Prom”. Enjoy the new editions and have a nice weekend everybody.

A big batch of newspaper articles on Meryl Streep’s appearance at Spain’s Princesa de Asturias Awards have been added to the photo gallery, with many thanks to Alvaro for collecting and sending them in. There are also a couple of international articles on “Only Murders in the Building” and the recent Albie Awards. For a complete list of updates, have a look at the list below. Enjoy your weekend.