Great news from Venice today. Ahead of the aforementioned premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, “The Laundromat” will also be screened (assumingly its world-premiere) at the 76th Venice Film Festival. With the announcement, a first synopsis for the film has been released which indicates that a) Streep is playing the central character of the film and b) announces James Cromwell and Sharon Stone as co-stars. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Netflix will have a solid lineup once again in Venice this year after scoring big last year when Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma took home the Golden Lion and the Coen Bros.’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs won the Best Screenplay award. Also from Netflix, Steven Soderbergh’s uber-timely Panama Papers comedy The Laundromat follows Meryl Streep as Ellen Martin, whose dream vacation takes a wrong turn and leads her down a rabbit hole of shady dealings that can all be traced to one Panama City law firm, run by seductive partners played by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. She soon learns that her minor predicament is only a drop in the bucket millions of files linking an off-shore tax scheme to the world’s richest and most powerful political leaders. The all-star cast also includes Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer, Larry Wilmore, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Cromwell and Sharon Stone”. After facing backlash for an almost all-male lineup in recent years, the good news is that Venice has doubled the number of female directors in competition. The bad news is that wasn’t too hard to do, going from one director to two out of 21 competition films. The 76th Venice Film Festival runs August 28 – September 07, 2019.

Lucky us! Only one day without Meryl Streep on “Big Little Lies”, and the next project is already waiting around the corner. Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat” will have its world-premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before its release in theaters and on Netflix November 01, 2019. The Toronto International Film Festival seems to outdo itself year after year with its lineup of film presentations and premieres. In the 44th annual iteration of the buzzy Canadian fest, star vehicles and award season hopefuls will screen for critics and industry insiders Sept. 5–15. “Some of the year’s biggest films will land in Toronto this September,” said Bailey, co-head and artistic director of TIFF, in a statement. “Our new programming team has been hard at work for months to deliver the compelling stories, acclaimed filmmakers, and top onscreen talent that mark our two highest-profile sections.” In a record number for the festival, 50% of the gala films announced are directed or co-directed by women. This year’s 18 galas and 38 special presentations includes 29 world premieres, six international premieres (films that debuted in the U.S.), 13 North American premieres, and eight Canadian premieres.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the finale of the HBO drama scores its biggest audience ever for an initial airing, and the season as a whole is up substantially. Sunday’s episode, which (seemingly) brought the series to a close, drew just under 2 million viewers — 1.98 million, to be precise. It passed the season one finale (1.86 million) as the show’s most-watched hour for its first airing. Replays and streaming pushed the Sunday total to 3.1 million, also a series high. Across all platforms, season two of Big Little Lies is averaging 10 million viewers per episode, according to HBO (which, like the rest of the industry, doesn’t break out streaming figures from the aggregate). That’s an increase of 18 percent over the 8.5 million who watched the first season. That linear increases for the current season are even larger: It averaged 1.64 million viewers for first airings, a 40 percent jump over season one’s 1.17 million. Each episode of season two improved on the comparable installment from the first season. The increases in viewership came despite some cooling of critical acclaim for the series and a report that director Andrea Arnold had creative control taken away in postproduction so the episodes would be more in line with the style of season one helmer Jean-Marc Vallée. Sources say Arnold’s contract did not include final cut on the series, and HBO released a statement praising her work.

It’s a wrap for the second season of “Big Little Lies”. Screencaptures from the seventh and final episode, “I Want To Know”, have been added to the photo gallery. The episode has been a courtroom showdown between Mary Lousie and Celeste in a custody fight over her boys – a highlight in a sometimes slow season (some reviews have called it disappointing while others have highlighted Streep as a standout for the show) and definately something to remember when the 2020 awards season starts rolling. A clip from the episode, in which Renata confronts Mary Louise, has been added to the video archive, as well as the final part from HBO’s roundtable discussion. With screencaptures from all episodes being added, I would like to thank Ashley for helping me with the first episode and to Jess for her generous support with the rest of the series. Thank you very much!

Celeste (Nicole Kidman) questions Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) about a tragic event from Perry’s childhood; Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) worries their lie is tearing the Monterey Five apart.

Screencaptures from the sixth episode of “Big Little Lies”‘ second season, “The Bad Mother”, have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to Jess. Now we’re only one episode away from the finale, and probably the last ever episode of “Big Little Lies”. While episode six didn’t feature too much Mary-Louise, the season finale will be a courtroom showdown between Mary Louise and Nicole Kidman’s Celeste. So I think we can all be excited for Sunday’s episode. As always, make sure to find highlight clips of each episode in the video archive.

Celeste (Nicole Kidman) is blindsided by Mary Louise (Meryl Streep); Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) contemplates a solution to her mother’s suffering and her own ongoing guilt; Ed (Adam Scott) entertains an unusual proposition; The Monterey Five feel the pressure of increased scrutiny of Perry’s death.

Screencaptures from the fifth episode of “Big Little Lies”‘ second season, “Kill Me”, have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to Jess. Only two more episodes to go! On a sidenote, since many fans are looking forward to the Emmy nominations being announced later this month – please keep in mind that “Big Little Lies” is eligible for the 2020 Emmy Awards, not the ones this year. So, don’t be disappointed when “Big Little Lies” doesn’t show up this year. As always, make sure to find highlight clips of each episode in the video archive.

Renata (Laura Dern) deals with the fallout from Gordon’s (Jeffrey Nordling) legal troubles and attempts to help Celeste (Nicole Kidman); Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) relives painful memories from her past.

Screencaptures from the fourth episode of “Big Little Lies”‘ second season, “She Knows”, have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to Jess. As always, make sure to find highlight clips of each episode in the video archive.

Celeste (Nicole Kidman) accuses Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) of overstepping boundaries with Jane (Shailene Woodley). Renata (Laura Dern) endures a prying court hearing with Gordon (Jeffrey Nordling). Jane opens up to Corey (Douglas Smith) at Amabella’s (Ivy George) birthday party. Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) continues to try to make things right with Ed (Adam Scott).

Even more magazine scans, including four brand-new cover-stories, have been added to the photo gallery. All articles cover either Meryl Streep’s birthday on June 22, and/or the premiere of “Big Little Lies”. The new additions come from Austria, Australia, Finland and the United States. Many thanks to Alvaro for some of these great finds. For a complete list, have a look at the list below.

Screencaptures from the third episode of “Big Little Lies”‘ second season, “The End of the World”, have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to Jess. Much appreciated! Also, make sure to find highlight clips of each episode in the video archive.

Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) tries to get closer to Jane (Shailene Woodley). Rather than address her troubles at home, Renata (Laura Dern) focuses her wrath on Principal Nippal (P.J. Byrne). Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) is forced to confront her issues at a couples therapy session with Dr. Reisman (Robin Weigert). Celeste (Nicole Kidman) remains conflicted by her memories of Perry.

According to Deadline, Ryan Murphy will direct and produce the feature adaptation of the Tony-nominated stage musical “The Prom” and has secured a cast that puts Netflix in new starpower territory. Meryl Streep will star alongside James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Ariana Grande, with Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells playing key roles. Sources said Murphy will get underway directing the film adaptation of the Broadway hit in December, for a fall 2020 awards season release in theaters before it airs on the streamer. Murphy adds this to three series he is delivering — The Politicians, Ratched and Hollywood — with two yet to be announced documentaries and another movie stage adaptation coming. Latter is The Boys in the Band, directed by Joe Mantello with the recent Broadway 50th anniversary revival cast. That one begins shooting in July, fresh off its recent Tony win. In Prom, Streep will play Dee Dee Allen, a two-time Tony winner who teams with Corden’s Barry Glickman in a flop musical about Eleanor Roosevelt. After career-ending reviews, they decide – along with Broadway babies Kidman as Angie Dickinson and Rannells (Book of Mormon) as Trent Oliver – to champion a cause to rehabilitate their careers. They find one in Emma, a high school senior in Indiana who isn’t allowed to take her girlfriend to the prom. A nationwide search led by casting director Alexa Fogel is on to fill the role of Emma.Grande will star as Alyssa, a popular daughter of the head of the PTA. Awkwafina will play the group’s publicist Ms. Sheldon, and Key will play Streep’s love interest and Emma’s ally, Principal Hawkins. Murphy will produce with Alexis Woodall, Bill Damaschke, and Dori Berinstein. Script is by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, music and lyrics are by Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, based on the original concept by Jack Viertel.