New fantastic production stills from “Julie & Julia” have been added to the Image Library with many thanks to Tina!

Article courtesy USA Today: The Streep-inator is about to strike again. Action hero Harrison Ford was once the superstar staple of the summer blockbuster season, but now Oscar’s favorite leading lady, Meryl Streep, is making a habit out of cashing in on the busiest moviegoing period of the year with female-oriented counterprogramming. First, her fashionatrix in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada. Then came last year’s disco diva in Mamma Mia! Combined ticket sales: a solid $268.8 million in the USA and Canada and $929.2 million worldwide. Next, Streep juggles pots, pans and pâté in what promises to be a deliciously rich portrait of Julia Child during the decade-long span when she evolved into America’s queen of French cuisine in Julie & Julia. Joining her is Amy Adams, her nun sidekick from Doubt, as blogger Julie Powell, who spent a year toiling over all 524 recipes in Child”s classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Director/writer Nora Ephron, who did the screenplays for Streep”s Silkwood (1983) and Heartburn (1986), says the actress basically did an informal audition for her a couple of Junes ago when they bumped into each other at New York”s Shakespeare in the Park. “It was before I even started writing the script,” the filmmaker says. “She asked, “What are you doing?” I said, “Blah, blah, Julie Powell, Julia Child, 524 recipes.” She went into Julia as we were walking out of the theater. She did her for a full 10 seconds. I think she even said, “Bon appétit,” ” the late chef”s famous sign-off from her PBS cooking show. “I thought, “OK, look no further.” ” Once Prada opened, Ephron says, “I knew if I could get her, not only would she be the best person for it, but she would also force the studio to make the film. She was a movie star at age 57 or whatever she is.” The full article can be read in the press section, a second article by USA Today on director Nora Ephron can be read here.

At Sony Pictures’ special ShoWest presentation of their summer line-up, ComingSoon.net had a chance to view some all-new footage from the studios’ planned summer releases, which span a fairly diverse variety of genres. They showed the first trailer for Julie & Julia (August 7), starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, which essentially showed the plot of how Amy Adams’ character, unsatisfied with her life and career, decides to start a blog where she cooks her way through Julia Childs’ “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in 365 Days. Based on Julie Powell’s book, it tells the story of the two women, acting as a biopic for Julia Childs, who we see making her way into the French culinary circles, as well as an inspirational story about Adams’ character. There’s a nice moment between Streep and Stanley Tucci, who plays Julia Childs’ husband. (We actually had a chance to see this trailer a few weeks ago, and it looks like a sweet movie.)

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Meryl Streep May be playing Julia Child in a movie version of the famous cook’s life: Meryl Streep will be whipping up some culinary delights as legendary chef Julia Child in Columbia Pictures “Julie & Julia.” The film is an adaptation of the 2005 book by Julie Powell, “Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.” Columbia is in negotiations with Amy Adams to co-star as Powell. The film follows Powell, a government worker, who decides to cook her way through Child’s classic, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in one year’s time out of her small Brooklyn kitchen. Powell blogs her daily experiences, gaining a loyal following along the way. Nora Ephron penned the script and is directing. Streep has starred in two films written by Ephron, 1983’s “Silkwood” and 1986’s “Heartburn.”