Today, Meryl Streep was among those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. President Barack Obama presented the recipients with the medals today in a White House ceremony. Five people received the honor posthumously. “We’ve got some extraordinary public servants on this stage,” Obama said before presenting the medals. “We also give thanks to innovators who change our world.” The president annually awards Medals of Freedom to people who have made contributions to society including in the areas of security, peace and culture. Of Meryl, President Obama said, “I love Meryl Streep. Her husband knows I love her. Michelle knows I love her. There’s nothing they can do about it.” A first batch of pictures from the ceremony can be found in the image library.

On Saturday night, Yahoo Movies hosted an exclusive Q&A with the the cast and creators of Into the Woods, including Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, screenwriter James Lapine, and director Rob Marshall. You can check out our video of the interview above, and see the movie when it opens Dec. 25.

If the promotion on “Into the Woods” remains this extensive until its release, it’s going to be a busy November/December. Today, the B-Roll for the film has been released, including lots of footage from the making of the film and its recording sessions. Then, a lenghty 13 minutes interview with Meryl, in which she talks about her role, the musical and her cast members. And finally, a first clip (of a scene that was teased yesterday on Entertainment Tonight) can be watched, featuring the Baker (James Corden), his wife (Emily Blunt) and Meryl’s witch, hitting all the right funny notes (Cow’s gone, get it back!). Enjoy the new clips.

Video Archive – Career Videos – Into the Woods – Film Scene 01
Video Archive – Career Videos – Into the Woods – Interview 01
Video Archive – Career Videos – Into the Woods – B-Roll

It’s nearly time to go Into the Woods! The film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s beloved musical comes out Christmas Day, and ET talked to the composer and Meryl Streep about turning the fairytale mashup into a major motion picture. Streep attended the original Broadway production of Into the Woods, which starred Bernadette Peters as The Witch, the same role the Oscar-winning actress plays in the film. “I thought it was fantastic,” Streep told ET. “I remember coming out of the theater singing to myself.” ET got a behind-the-scenes look at some of the film’s special effects and talked to Sondheim about casting the star in the big-screen adaptation. “Meryl Streep is so remarkable,” the composer gushed. “She would do a number of takes on the songs in the recording studio and every one was different.”

Yahoo has announced that on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 9:30pm ET/6:30pm PT, the site will be livestreaming a special Q&A event with the cast of the upcoming musical adaptation INTO THE WOODS, including Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, and Christine Baranski. Also set for the live event will be screenwriter James Lapine and director Rob Marshall, who teamed to bring the iconic Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical to the big screen. Yahoo is asking fans to send in their questions for the cast via their Twitter, Facebook, Instragram accounts using the hashtag #IntotheWoodsEvent. Don’t miss the live event this Saturday evening! The film hits theaters on December 25th. Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Very sad news today: Mike Nichols, who made such films as The Graduate, which earned him a best director Oscar, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, has died. He was 83. Meryl was one of his frequent collaborators, appearing on four of his projects – Silkwood, Heartburn, Postcards from the Edge and Angels in America – and was slated to team with Nichols for a fifth time for the HBO adaptation of Masterclass in 2015. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Streep once said of Nichols, “no explanation of our world could be complete and no account or image of it so rich, if we didn’t have you,” in hailing him as one of the essential artists of our time. Nichols presented Streep with her AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004 and Streep repeated that duty in 2010, presenting Nichols with his award. With Nichols, Hollywood loses one of his most unique and crafted directors. He will be greatly missed. Edit: Meryl Streep was quoted in today’s USA Today.

An inspiration and joy to know, a director who cried when he laughed, a friend without whom, well, we can’t imagine our world, an indelible irreplaceable man.

A couple of nice additional theatre pictures have been added to the image library, with many thanks to Jane for contributing some of them. Pictures range from Meryl’s early work with the Yale Repertory Theatre (Major Barbara, The Possessed) to the Newman Theater’s production of “Taken in Marriage”. For a complete overview, have a look at the list below the previews.

In 2006, Meryl Streep participated in an odd but fascinating short subject called “The Music of Regret”, a “mini-musical” inspired by three distinct periods of director Laurie Simmons’s photographic work: vintage hand puppets, ventriloquist dummies and walking objects enact tales of ambition, disappointment, love, loss, and regret. While additional information about this project has been posted to the career section for some time, DVD screencaptures have been now added to the image library, as well as on-set pictures and captures from an interview with Meryl.

Looks like promotion for “Into the Woods”‘ December 25 release starts early. Meryl Streep will be promoting the film on the Late Show with David Letterman on November 20 (yes, that’s in four days!) and on Good Morning America on December 2. This will be Meryl’s first appearance on the Letterman show since 2008, when she promoted both Mamma Mia and Doubt. She has been a frequent visitor to GMA over the years, including a hilarious stint in 1990 with her daughters. Be sure to find coverage on both new appearances after their broadcasts. Thanks to Alvaro and Joan for the heads-up. Edit: Please note that the Letterman appearance has been canceled, probably due to Mike Nichols’ passing today.

With many thanks to my friend Alvaro, new scans from magazines – all published this year – have been added to the image library. Besides some earlier articles in the French Femina magazine, there are scans from the British Total Film, Empire and The Lady magazines. Find the complete list below and enjoy reading.