Bustle has an in-depth article on “Mary Poppins Returns”, Rob Marshall’s work behind the scenes and news on which songs will be performed – brace yourself for a musical number with Meryl Streep: Mary Poppins Returns is Blunt’s “third film with Meryl Streep,” the actor says, referencing The Devil Wears Prada and Into the Woods. “What a stalker she is.” In the film, Streep plays a character named Topsy, adapted from P.L. Travers’ books, who is an Eastern European distant cousin of Mary’s and lives in a fixit shop that turns upside down every Monday. Sounds a bit like Uncle Albert and his penchant for levitation, doesn’t it? The movie’s production designer teased some fun instrumental moments in Streep’s big “Turning Turtle” musical moment, because Topsy is more apt to turn a broken instrument into something else rather than fix it. When Meryl was here,” Platt recalls of the actor’s time on set, “she turned to me and said ‘it feels like we’re giving a gift to the word.'” That’s the joy that everyone involved with the movie seems to be taking in telling this new story and singing these songs. You can read the full article at Bustle with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up!

A couple of wonderful new magazine scans have been added to the photo gallery, with many thanks to Alvaro, Maria and Chan for their generous contributions. A full list of all added scans can be found below. Enjoy!

Although Meryl Streep was in the news this year for a variety of reasons – including her response to the allegations of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein – as an actress, she did what she always does and threw her weight behind a story she believed in. For her role as publisher Katharine Graham in Steven Spielberg’s The Post – the true story of The Washington Post’s attempts to publish the Pentagon Papers and expose a massive government cover-up in 1971 – Streep earned a record 21st Oscar nomination. In playing the part, Streep endorsed a timely message – namely that a rigorous, free press is an essential part of a healthy democracy, which we should not only support, but celebrate and defend. Here, she writes an exclusive letter for PORTER about why we need good reporters now more than ever.

We need to protect, defend and thank the current crop of journalists around the world, because they, their scruples and their principles are the front-line defense of free and informed people.

EXCLUSIVE: Meryl Streep's open letter in defence of the free presshttps://t.co/03Q3No7a3h pic.twitter.com/B9f2yNXnpX

— PORTER magazine (@PORTERmagazine) 26. September 2018

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Meryl Streep is the latest star to join the ‘Late Show’ host for an evening to raise money for the organization that presents the New Jersey film festival. Stephen Colbert will be joined by Meryl Streep for this year’s edition of his annual Montclair Film benefit set for Dec. 1. The Late Show star will host an evening with the three-time Oscar winner onstage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in downtown Newark. All proceeds from the evening will benefit Montclair Film, the nonprofit that presents the annual Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey, which Colbert has long supported. Past editions of the annual Montclair Film benefit have featured Colbert in conversation with Jonathan Alter, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Steve Carell, J.J. Abrams, John Oliver and Samantha Bee. The 2019 edition of the Montclair Film Festival will run May 3-12. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up!

On Friday, Meryl Streep broke some new ground by serving as questioner, conducting a Q&A with real-life longtime pal Tracey Ullman after a New York screening of the season premiere of the latter’s HBO sketch-comedy show “Tracey Ullman’s Show”. Hosted by Tribeca TV, the Q&A began with Tribeca founder Jane Rosenthal introducing Streep as “Tracey Ullman’s very best dearest friend,” with Streep and Ullman engaging in an enlightening chat. As Streep recalled, the two met when they were cast in the 1985 film “Plenty”, when Ullman was just 21. “I met you when I was 32,” Streep said, “and I said to my husband, ‘I think I’ve made a new friend.’ It’s hard to make a new friend when you’re old and famous.” Since then, the pair have remained close. “We had babies at the same time, shared life experiences,” Ullman said. “People ask me, ‘Do you and Meryl talk about acting when you get together?’ Are you kidding me?” The conversation, as it inevitably does these days, eventually turned to politics, with Streep praising Ullman’s uncanny impressions of such political figures as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British PM Theresa May. “I found that the most interesting women I could impersonate were politicians,” Ullman explained, admitting that Merkel is one of her favourites — both to impersonate and simply in general. “Could you imagine being her, the only girl in the room with Putin and Berlusconi and George W. Bush?” Responded Streep: “She holds her own.”

London’s most magical nanny is back, over half a century since she first arrived on our screens, and by the looks of it, she hasn’t aged a day since. Emily Blunt takes over Julie Andrews’ iconic titular role in the first full trailer for Mary Poppins Returns, a delightful and welcome throwback to the 1964 original. The trailer promises that the style of Mary Poppins Returns will be a strong throwback to the original, bringing back elements like musical numbers and 2-D animation that have fallen out of favor since the 1960s. Mary Poppins Returns is directed by Chicago’s Rob Marshall, from a screenplay by David Magee, and screen story by Magee & Marshall and John DeLuca, and is based upon The Mary Poppins Stories by PL Travers. Hamilton founding father Lin-Manuel Miranda takes his best shot at an English accent playing Poppins’ friend Jack in the trailer, an optimistic street lamplighter helping bring light and life into the streets of London. (Rest assured, he also gets the chance to do a little dancing, and Blunt the chance to sing a few bars, as this, like the original, is a musical.) Also starring are Angela Lansbury, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, a redheaded Meryl Streep and a returning Dick van Dyke. Mary Poppins Returns arrives in theaters Dec. 19. Screencaptures from the trailer have been added to the photo gallery, alongside the new poster for the film.

There’s no denying that the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have had a significant impact on Hollywood. But does that mean that the industry is in for a long overdue sea change? Not without taking the right action, and not without raising the right awareness. In “This Changes Everything”, director Tom Donahue and actress Geena Davis — who also founded the Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media — reveal just how gender-biased the film industry really is, by laying bare the raw statistics and providing essentially irrefutable, numerical evidence as to how female filmmakers, actors and even behind-the-scenes crew members have been systematically discriminated against going back decades. The result is eye-opening, to say the least, but as the film makes abundantly clear, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Also featuring interviews with some of Hollywood’s biggest names — including Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain and Natalie Portman – “This Changes Everything” isn’t just a telling exposé of the dark side of the industry. It’s also an affirming look at how people are willing to come together to change the situation for the better. “This Changes Everything” makes its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Its runtime is 1 hr. 37 min. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

While there’s still no official confirmation of Meryl Streep or any of the other stars being on board of Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women”, the film team is currently looking for extras in the Boston area for a October-December shoot of the film. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet and Laura Dern are in talks to star alongside Streep in the role of Aunt March. While many anticipated that Streep would play Marmie, the March sisters’ mother, she will in fact assume what may be a meatier role. “Meryl Streep gets to play any part she wants to play,” said Robin Swicord, who wrote the 1994 film version of Little Women starring Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst. Though Aunt March hasn’t enjoyed nearly as much screen time as Marmie in most previous film and television adaptations of Little Women, Gerwig’s screenplay will focus more on the sisters’ young-adult lives after they leave the family home, which likely means more focus on Aunt March and her very contentious selection of which sister to bring to Europe. The complete article about the Boston casting call can be read over here.

Universal Pictures is prepping “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” fora 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray release in the United States on October 23, 2018. International releases should be likewise around the same time since the film opened in most European cities a few days after the US release. The discs will be action packed with special features, have a look at the full list below. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon.com.

– Deleted/Extended Songs and Scenes with Commentary by Director/Screenplay Writer Ol Parker

– Sophie’s Story – Of all the characters, Amanda Seyfried’s Sophie has developed the most since the first movie. Here we will chart how Sophie has gone from a vulnerable young girl to a confident young woman following life-changing events.

– Choreographing MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN – Choreographer Anthony Van Laast and his team will reveal some of the secrets behind the highly original dance routines.

– Dancing Queen: Anatomy of a Scene – The most famous piano roll in musical history opens one of ABBA’S biggest hits, “Dancing Queen.” The number is the biggest and most complex sequence. Ol Parker will discuss where and how he wanted to use the song in the story.

Big Little Lies may not be returning for Season 2 until 2019, but there is some consolation — the first official footage of Meryl Streep in Big Little Lies is here, and it’s already proving worth the wait. The iconic actor appeared for just a second or two in a new HBO promo video that was released Sunday, but even just that one glimpse is an embarrassment of riches. The promo was, unfortunately, not a Big Little Lies teaser, but rather one for all of HBO original shows, crowded with teasers from True Detective, Veep, and even Game of Thrones. But somehow Streep stood out anyway, holding her own even against the sneak peek of Daenery Targaryen and her dragons from the final season of Game of Thrones. It’s a hard field to stand out in, but it should be no surprise that Streep is managing it, even with only a brief blip of screen time. It was previously announced that the 69-year-old would be brought onto Big Little Lies Season 2 to playing Mary Louise Wright, mother to Alexander Skarsgård’s character Perry, and thus mother-in-law to Nicole Kidman’s character Celeste. And while exact plot details aren’t yet known, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Mary Louise is in town to check in on her grandchildren and get some answers about what happened to her son. It’s a reasonable motivation that should make total sense to anyone who remembers the events of BLL’s Season 1 finale. More bits by Bustle with thanks to everybody for the heads-up!