Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving a BAFTA Award nomination as Leading Actress for “Florence Foster Jenkins”. She shares the category with Amy Adams for “Arrival”, Natalie Portman for “Jackie”, Emma Stone for “La La Land” and Emily Blunt for “The Girl on the Train”. The BAFTAs have embraced “Florence Foster Jenkins” with a total 4 nominations, for Hugh Grant as Best Supporting Actor as well as Costume Design and Hair & Make-Up. Throughout her career, Meryl Streep has received two Best Actress prizes from the British Academy, for “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” in 1982 and for “The Iron Lady” in 2012. The BAFTAs are handed out on February 12, 2017.

Tonight at the Golden Globes, Meryl Streep gave a speech that should be winning her just another award for the brilliant mind she is. Streep spoke of the importance of empathy in today’s world and referenced the moment that Trump mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski during a rally in 2015 for his disability. “This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in thee public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing,” Streep said. “Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.” She then highlighted the importance of the press: “We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage. That’s why our Founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our Constitution.” Her full speech and tribute video can be found in the video archive, pictures are constantly being added to the photo gallery. After the cut, you can also find a transcript of her speech.

Condolences to the Fisher family so quick again after Debbie Reynolds has passed away only a day after her dauhter. Carrie Fisher, the actress and writer best known for her iconic role as Star Wars’ Princess Leia, died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack four days earlier. She was 60. The daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, she carved out her own idiosyncratic career as a truth-telling Hollywood wit. Frankly addressing her own problems with substance abuse and bipolar disorder, she penned the 1987 hit novel “Postcards From the Edge”, an only slightly fictionalized version of her own life as a sometimes-depressed actress and the daughter of a major, and occasionally intimidating, Hollywood star. She went on to write the book’s screen adaptation for the 1990 film version, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine. Whenever Fisher appeared on the Hollywood awards circuit to pay tribute to another star, she could be counted on to offer up a wry observation that provoked laughter. Speaking at the 2004 AFI Life Achievement Award given to Streep, she recalled what it was like to have the Oscar-winning actress play her. “After Postcards premiered, I began daily to see the pain and disappointment in the eyes of my family and friends every time I wasn’t Meryl,” Fisher admitted. “There’s a name for this condition as it turns out — Merylnoma Streepdecoccus.” Streep and Fisher grew close during the pre-production of “Postcards from the Edge” and remained friends and frequent red carpet companions. This is truly sad news. Rest in peace.

Congratulations once again as Meryl has received a Best Actress Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, as well as a Best Actress Phoenix Film Critics Society nomination, for “Florence Foster Jenkins”. At the SAGs, Hugh Grant was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. at the Phoenix Society, “Florence” racked up four nominations – for Best Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor and Best Costume Design. The Phoenix winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 20, 2015. The Screen Actors Guild Awards are handed out on January 29, 2017. This is Meryl Streep’s 16th SAG Award nominations, with acting categories and ensemble categories combined. She received her first nomination at the 1st annual awards for “The River Wild” in 1995 and her most recent nomination in 2015 for “Into the Woods”. Congratulations. Thanks to Frank for the Phoenix news.

Say hello to the record breaker Meryl Streep, who, this morning, has earned her 30th Golden Globe nomination – the most individual nominations of all time. She is nominated as Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy alongside Annette Bening (20th Century Woman), Lilly Collins (Rules Don’t Apply), Hailee Steinfeld (The Edge of Seventeen) and Emma Stone (La La Land). “Florence Foster Jenkins fared well at the Golden Globes with three more nominations as Best Picture Comedy or Musical as well as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations for Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg. Even if Meryl does not win in her competitive category, she will take the stage to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The 74th Golden Globe Awards are handed out on January 08, 2017.

Hundreds of additional pictures from the press conference and opening ceremony of the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival have been added to the photo gallery. Videos will follow soon, this weekend at least. Many thanks to everybody, especially Yuri, for helping out with pictures and links. Very appreciated!

Hundreds of additional pictures from the 11th Rome Film Festival have been added. After yesterday’s photocal, press conference and conversation panel, the premiere for “Florence Foster Jenkins” was held. After the premiere, Meryl Streep was honored at the US Embassy in Rome. There have also been press junkets over the day to promote the Italian release of the film. Videos from the interviews and conversation panels will follow soon. For now, enjoy the additional pictures.

This update comes with a story, a personal one for Simply Streep. As you know this website runs in its 17th year, which is insane – it’s probably older than many of our visitors. Back in 1999, when I started this as a project, it was way harder to get hold of material. A fellow German, Anke, who has been a tremendous help over the years, sent me a VHS tape with some of Meryl’s talkshow appearances she did in the late 90s, among them her first visit on David Letterman’s late show, one of her first talkshow appearances. I had to learn the hard way that American NTSC tapes could not be played properly on European PAL recorders (in case any of you remembers a video cassette), so all faces turned out green like the Incredible Hulk and it was almost impossible to watch. I tried just about everything to get a video copy for Simply Streep, but nothing worked out. So I just settled and thought, with Youtube and other sources emerging, “one day it’ll be on Youtube”. That thought came and went for the past 17 years.

Well, mark you calendars. Today, with many thanks to Youtuber Daniel Poitras, the Letterman appearance has been posted in its entirity, and in good old fashioned VHS quality. The interview runs for a whopping 13 minutes, which is so much more than today’s talkshow snippets. Also, she gives the best excuse for declining to appear on Letterman’s show for 20 years. I’m so happ to finally add this to the archive, it makes Simply Streep feel a whole lot more complete. Enjoy the clip and make sure to view the screencaptures in the photo gallery.

It’s really not a good year for Meryl’s past movie directors, as the passing of wonderful filmmaker Curtis Hanson was revealed today. Hanson was probably best known for 1997’s “L.A. Confidential”, which was nominated for nine Oscars, including for best picture and best director and won for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay (Mr. Hanson and his co-writer, Brian Helgeland). As Sasha Stone at AwardsDaily wrote earlier today, he was also a director of great women. Hanson had an ability to bring out fierce performances in his actresses – from Kim Basinger, who won an Oscar in LA Confidential, to the absolutely fantastic Rebecca De Mornay in the Hand that Rocks the Cradle. She should have gotten an Oscar nomination for that movie. And what can you say about The River Wild except that it’s a much better movie than it’s been given credit for, thank in large part to Meryl Streep – but also Hanson was a good director of thrillers, usually those that revolved around female characters, but he also directed 8 Mile with Eminem which came close to getting a Best Picture nomination.

Yesterday marked the big promotional day for “Florence Foster Jenkins” in New York. Dozens of press junkets were taped, Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant were guests at CBS This Morning and Good Morning America, and the N.Y. premiere for the film was held in the evening (see the next update). For a complete list of video addtions, have a look at the list below.