According to Entertainment Weekly, Meryl Streep will lend her very famous voice to the audiobook version of Colm Toibin’s Booker Prize short-listed novel The Testament of Mary, EW has learned exclusively. The audiobook will be available from Simon & Schuster on CD and for download on Sept. 10. EW’s Jeff Giles wrote of the novel, “The Testament of Mary takes an icon buried under centuries’ worth of other people’s opinions and transforms her into an unapologetically real woman who, at the end of her life, is recalling the annihilating pain of watching her son die.” The novel has also been adapted into a Broadway play starring Fiona Shaw. It sounds like a meaty role for a 17-time Oscar nominee. “What Meryl Streep manages first is a sort of calm force; there is a naturalness in the voice, and in the phrasing. And then slowly something sorrowful emerges, it is like an undertone. It comes from the stops and the half-sighs and that can move into moments of insistent pain and out of that again into memory,” says Toibin in a press release. “She has a way of lingering on words and phrases which is always perfectly natural, but it gradually takes on a real power. I think anyone who hears it will be astonished by it.” Many thanks to Glenn and Frank for the heads-up.

Members of the Wilmington Fund VT are celebrating the success of last Saturday evening’s fundraising events. The evening kicked off at the Hermitage Club with an exclusive dinner with special guest, actress Meryl Streep. Also in attendance were Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Congressman Peter Welch. The fundraising dinner was sold out, with 115 guests paying between $1,000 and $5,000 per plate. Donors paying for the $2,500 and $5,000 plates also had their photos taken with Streep.

Streep was at the event at the behest of her friend, Wilmington Fund VT founder and president Dan Kilmurray. Kilmurray says he has known Streep’s family for years. “Her brother and I met and became dear friends when I was about 18,” Kilmurray said. “I met her when she graduated from Vassar. When I was in the process of launching this fundraising event, I asked her if she would help.” During an after-dinner chat hosted by Kilmurray’s wife and co-founder of Wilmington Fund VT, Tamara Kilmurray, Streep said that one of the reasons she was willing to help the Wilmington Fund was because she was familiar with the town. After she left Dartmouth College for Vassar, she said, she continued to travel between the two colleges on trips to visit her boyfriend at Dartmouth. “Wilmington was my halfway point,” she said. “I used to stop at a little ice cream place on Route 9 that isn’t there anymore (Gene’s KreeMee).” Streep also found an unexpected connection to the area. Rep. Ann Manwaring told her that the bottles of Vermont maple syrup on the tables were donated by local business owner Ed Metcalfe, who had attended elementary school with Streep. “Oh, little Eddie Metcalfe?” Streep said. “Is he here?” But Metcalfe wasn’t in attendance. More information on the event can be found here and at their official website.

One part of the gallery that has been ignored for long are the many posters and advertisments for Meryl’s films throughout the years. Many have received different key-arts for international releases, so flip through the new albums and see how they were distributed. Additionally to posters, DVD or laserdiscs covers, Oscar ads have been added as well. To launch all last updated albums, click one of the previews below.

BroadwayWorld has announced the “world-exlusive” confirmed casting for “Into the Woods”. Leading “Into the Woods” will be Meryl Streep as The Witch, James Corden as The Baker, Emily Blunt as The Baker's Wife, Johnny Depp as The Wolf, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Chris Pine as Cinderella's Prince, Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince, Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel, Lucy Punch as Lucinda, Tammy Blanchard as Florinda, Christine Baranski as Cinderella's Mother and Tracey Ullman as Jack's Mother. At this time, the actors in the roles of Jack and Little Red Ridinghood are still unconfirmed.

More actors have been announced for “Into the Woods”. According to Deadline, stage and screen actress Tammy Blanchard is in negotiations to join Disney‘s Into the Woods, the fairytale movie musical directed by Rob Marshall. Blanchard earned Tony nominations for her turns in the stage revival Gypsy: A Musical Fable and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and a Golden Globe nod for her performance as the teenage Judy Garland in ABC’s telefilm Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, which also won her an Emmy. She’ll play the role of Florinda, one of Cinderella’s evil step sisters, opposite Lucy Punch and Christine Baranski as the iconic princess’s stepmother. Filming is scheduled for fall in London on the adaptation of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s Tony-winning musical. According to the same source, Billy Magnussen has replaced Jake Gyllenhaal, who dropped out earlier, and MacKenzie Mauzy has landed the plum role of Princess Rapunzel. Thanks to everybody for the heads-up.

John Wells’ “August: Osage County”, the film adaptation of Tracy Lett’s Tony Award-winning play, will make its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced this morning. Starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Margo Martingdale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Sam Shepard and Ewan McGregor, the drama hits theaters on Christmas Day 2013. The film will see Streep and Roberts playing family matriarch Violet and her eldest daughter, respectively. This year’s TIFF opens on September 5 and runs through September 15. Many thanks to Frank for the heads-up.

While Simply Streep isn’t using Facebook or any of the countless social media features, I do have a Twitter account for the site which I find very handy. A predecessor for the good old newsletter (a feature on fansites that didn’t survive the time of social media), you get an instant notification on last updates and news. From today, a new feature will be launched for Twitter followers – the Gallery of the Week and the Video of the Week. Once a week, usually on Sundays, a spotlight will be posted for a gallery album – may it be a public appearance, a set of film stills or magazine scans. Since the image library has been growing over the years with over 100.000 pictures, I’m sure there are parts of the gallery that some visitors have never seen. It also gives me the chance to add some new pictures or update them in better quality. Ditto for the video archive, with a link being posted sometime during the week. So in case you’re not following Simply Streep on Twitter, make sure to join. The first Gallery of the Week has been chosen already.

According to ComingSoon.net, Jake Gyllenhaal is dropping out of Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” to focus on his upcoming indie flick “Nightcrawler”. Scheduling conflicts forced Gyllenhaal to choose between the two projects. The actor was slated to star as one of the princes. Meanwhile, Anna Kendrick is in talks to join “Into the Woods” as Cinderella, The Hollywood Reporter. Kendrick’s name has been announced earlier as well since she has taken part in a table reading for Rob Marshall last year, although some sources have misinterpreted this as an already done deal. Since production is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks, it sure won’t take too long to find out. Thanks to Glenn for the news.

While sorting my files, I’ve realised there are quite a few video clips that haven’t been added to the archive. Until now :-) Ten new video files have been uploaded, all coming from public appearances, such as conversation panels or special events. There are some real treats, such as a report on the 1992 press conference for “Death Becomes Her” in Paris or Meryl’s very funny conversation with Jane Pauly at Indiana University in 2010. Also, two new interview clips for “A Prairie Home Companion” and “The Hours” have been added. A complete list of the latest additions can be found below. Enjoy watching.

Video Archive – Public Appearances – A Magical Evening (2011)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Indiana University – An Evening of Conversation (2010)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Apple Store SoHo: Meet the Filmmakers (2009)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Global Environmental Citizen Award (2007)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Lemony Snicket Screening at JBF Center (2004)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Walk of Fame (1998)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Dancing at Lughnasa Premiere Glenties (1998)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – Death Becomes Her Press Conference (1992)
Video Archive – Films – A Prairie Home Companion – Interview 03
Video Archive – Films – The Hours – Interview 02 (additional footage)

As you might have noticed, it’s running slow these days regarding Meryl news. Which leaves some time to focus on the site’s various subpages. To start with articles and interviews, over 100 new scans in the image library. To view all latest pictures, click any of the previews below. A complete list can be found below. My thanks to those who have contributed the scans to the Simply Streep archive, it’s very appreciated. For new transcripts and archive additions, scroll a bit more down :-)

Additionally, ten article transcripts have been added to the magazine archive. There’s also the option to sort articles by cover-story, which makes it easier if you’re looking for a specific update. Enjoy reading.