Yesterday, George and Amal Clooney hosted the first-ever Albie Awards through their Clooney Foundation for Justice at the New York Public Library on Thursday. The Albie Awards are named after South African activist and former judge Albert “Albie” Sachs and honor “courageous defenders of justice who are at great risk for what they do.” Albie was given a lifetime achievement award during the ceremony, while other prizes went to Dr. Josephine Kulea of Kenya’s Samburu Girls Foundation who was handed the Justice for Women honour while Filipino journalist Maria Ressa was given the Justice For Journalists award. Among the star-studded guests in attendance were Meryl Streep with daughter Grace and son-in-law Mark Ronson. Pictures from the event have been added to the photo gallery. Edit: You can now also watch Meryl’s speech, honoring journalist Maria Ressa, below.

Yesterday, Meryl Streep joined film critic Leonard Maltin and guests including Robert Rodriguez and Luke Wilson in honoring Robert De Niro at the Harry Ransom Center’s “A Celebration of Film” in Austin, Texas. The Ransom Center marks its 65th anniversary by creating an endowment honoring De Niro, whose archive is housed at the Center and contains annotated screenplays, correspondence, production records and film stills. Pictures from yesterday’s celebration have been added to the photo gallery.

Public appearances have been rare this year. So it’s a nice surprise to see Meryl Streep and Sam Waterston celebrating the 125th anniversary of The Lakeville Journal at the Town Grove in Lakeville last Saturday, both serving as Honorary Co-Chairs. The Lakeville Journal Foundation has posted an array of pictures from the celebration to their webiste, which can be also found in the photo gallery. Check back for more public appearances pictures, as Meryl and Robert De Niro will attend the Ransom Center’s 65th Anniversary Gala later this evening.

According to Deadline, Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman have renewed their support for The Writers Lab, which will return to its in-person format for script development in 2022, supporting women screenwriters over the age of 40. The Lab has re-doubled its efforts to amplify the voices of women writers, calling for greater inclusion of their stories in film and television, in response to growing threats to women’s rights, with genre scripts (particularly comedies) and historical stories about pioneering women being seen most commonly amongst its pool of submissions. This year’s Lab will focus on building the tools and strategies for talented writers to develop their projects and navigate the ever-shifting landscape of professional opportunities, with the 12 screenwriters selected to gather in Saugerties, NY in early November. The Writers Lab also today announced that its work is being recognized by AdvancingDiversity.org, a collective of more than 40 advertising and media companies and organizations, which last week unveiled its 2022 inductees into the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors. “The Writers Lab is thrilled to be inducted into AdvancingDiversity.org’s Hall of Honors with these illustrious Honorees,” said co-founder Elizabeth Kaiden. “Advancing diversity is crucial to our mission of spotlighting an unexplored commodity: Cinematic stories that 50% of the population are clamoring to see.” Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Last April, Campus Activities announced that Meryl Streep will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award granted by the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC). However, on April 19, 2022, Vassar announced the postponement of the ceremony; Streep was unable to attend the event due to pneumonia. At the time, the College did not elaborate on the exact rescheduled date. According to Vassar’s Miscellany News, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, students who secured a lottery ticket for the event last semester received an email from the AAVC confirming that Streep would be coming to accept the award on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. The email communication offered these students the opportunity to reclaim their seats for the ceremony. President of Vassar College Elizabeth Bradley commented, “The award is presented to alums who have reached the highest level in their field, while using their position to better the human community and serve the wider goals of society. Meryl most certainly fits the bill. We are thrilled to welcome her to campus.” The College has yet to officially announce the rescheduled ceremony or provide specific details regarding the next ticket lottery.

I’m a little late on this one, but “Death Becomes Her” has celebrated its 30th anniversary back in July. It’s unbelievable that it’s three decades since the film’s release – and the legacy it has created ever since. I was going to write something in-depth for the anniversary until I remembered that I did just that two years ago for Streep in the ’90s. Make sure to have a look at it for more information on the filming process and the many scenes that were deleted and would have made it an altogether different film. I was also incredibly lucky to find an old segment from Entertainment Tonight, featuring cast and crew interviews that I have never seen before, as well as the Instagram page DeathBecomesHerForever, which features an abundance of behind-the-scenes stills from the film that I have also never seen before. The best way to celebrate “Death Becomes Her”, if you haven’t done this already, is to rewatch or stream it to see how it has aged (pun intended).

The University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center on Monday announced that Meryl Streep will attend “A Celebration of Film,” the center’s fall event honoring actor Robert De Niro. Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin will also attend, acting as master of ceremonies. Taking place at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center on September 24, “A Celebration of Film” will support preservation and access to historical film materials archived at HRC. De Niro’s archive, which is also housed at HRC, will be featured in a new exhibition examining his early years at the American Workshop, in acting instructor Stella Adler’s classes, and in plays and films that marked his initial successes and learning experiences. De Niro first donated his archive to the HRC in 2006, including annotated screenplays, correspondence, production records, film stills and behind-the-scenes photographs, posters and publicity materials, props, costumes, videotapes, and motion picture film. The gala supports the museum’s mission to preserve and provide access to historical film materials. In an effort to expand access to this unique celebration, the HRC will also hold its first-ever ticketed after party, immediately following the gala. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit hrc.utexas.edu/gala for the gala and hrc.utexas.edu/afterparty/ for the post-production afterparty.

In response to the overturning of Roe V. Wade, Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative of the University of Southern California have announced a project which “will monitor popular entertainment content for issues related to reproductive rights, marriage equality, interracial relationships, and gun violence, and offer insights to create change.” According to the AV Club, the initiative comes with the support of many high-profile actors and producers, including Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, Kerry Washington, Julianne Moore, Tessa Thompson, Amy Schumer, Laura Dern, and more. The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative works as an academic think tank out of USC Annenberg focusing on inequality in the entertainment industry, in front of and behind the camera. Those involved with study will not only use the research finding to offer solutions, but will also launch a “reproductive rights Accelerator program” to offer financial support to undergraduate film work on the subject. “The entertainment community plays a critical role in educating people about their sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion. With Roe v. Wade overturned and birth control, LGBQT+ and other rights threatened, this new Annenberg Inclusion Initiative research project will provide an invaluable tool to ensure audiences are reached with medically and legislatively accurate storytelling about these issues,” Planned Parenthood’s Caren Spruch says. “As we fight for every person’s right to bodily autonomy, working together with the Initiative and its supporters will be essential to changing the culture to achieve this goal.” Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

After another deep dive into the Meryl Streep archives, a nice batch of additional pictures have been added to the photo gallery. Updates include the 1982 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, where she won Best Actress for “Sophie’s Choice”, the 2004 St. Petersburg International Festival Of Festivals (which I have never heard of before) and some fantastic deleted scenes and production stills from “Death Becomes Her”. The complete list of updates can be found below the previews. Enjoy your weekend.

Hello everybody. It’s very quite right now with no news or appearances – I’m not even sure if the Apple TV+ Series Extrapolations, which was announced last November has been filmed or shelfed, so at this time there’s no new project to look forward to. But we can rely on the ever growing archive to bring you something new – a mixed bag of additions from the ’80s, including some wonderful French magazine scans with many thank to Alvaro and a couple of new production stills from “Out Of Africa” and “The River Wild”. Enjoy the new additions.