On Sunday, Meryl Streep spoke at Spielberg’s USC Shoah Foundation 30th Anniversary Ambassadors for Humanity Gala at New York Hilton Midtown. “I am honored and I’m humbled to be here in the presence of survivors of the Shoah and in the company of some people who have dedicated their lives, heart and soul, to preserving the memories of these people and honoring their lives,” Streep said. Speaking of her friend, she went on to say, “30 years ago, my lion-hearted friend, Steven Spielberg, oppression artist with an unmatched gift for storytelling, saw that the defense of the truth was very, very important.” Spielberg founded the USC Shoah Foundation in 1994 after the release of his 1993 historical drama film Schindler’s List. A couple of pictures from the event have been added to the photo gallery.

This vault of irrefutable truth has a living mission, and 80 plus years after the Holocaust,” Streep continued. “The spoken words of the survivors are more crucially important than ever to bring us face to face with what hate can do and where it can lead us, to remind us of the consequences if we do nothing, and to keep alive the memory of what actually happened. Not just to chronicle the unspeakable acts of the past, but to inspire us with the vivid counts of courage that are lying within them, that they reveal to us, and that very courage is something we’re all going to need in the very near future. (Meryl Streep, October 13, 2024)

CNN will air an interview of Christiane Amanpour with Meryl Streep and women’s rights in Afghanistan. Amanpour posted a teaser on social media, alongside this tagline. In Afghanistan, it’s “the erasure of an entire gender. And I don’t think it has precedent in history, even in the natural world,” Meryl Streep tells me. But the “Taliban failed to understand that Afghanistan has transformed,” adds former MP and negotiator Fawzia Koofi. “Despite being completely erased from any kind of public and social life, [women] still protest.” My full conversation with Streep, Koofi, and former governor Habiba Sarabi airs later this week”. More than three years since the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to tighten restrictions on women and girls. Hollywood legend and activist Meryl Streep joins the show alongside former Afghan MP Fawzia Koofi and Afghanistan’s first female governor, Habiba Sarabi, to talk about the fight for Afghan women’s rights as reported in the new documentary film “The Sharp Edge of Peace. Edit: The interview has aired on September 27 and can be now found in the video archive.

We’re having a week of unexpected appearances. After the Emmys (which was very expected due to her nomination) and a special appearance at Oprah’s special for Kamala Harris, Meryl was a guest at the UN, today. The Permanent Missions of Ireland, Indonesia, Switzerland and Qatar, in partnership with the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan, hosted a high-level event on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. The event included remarks by UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and featured a short version of a new documentary film, “The Sharp Edge of Peace”, on the participation of four Afghan women leaders in the Doha talks prior to the Taliban takeover. The screening, introduced by actress Meryl Streep, was followed by an interactive panel discussion including women who participated in the intra-Afghan talks in 2020 and those currently engaged on the ground in Afghanistan. It was moderated by former Swedish foreign minister Ms. Margot Wallström. A couple of pictures have been added to the photo gallery. Meryl Streep’s speech can be watched in the video archive. Edit: After the meeting, a press conference took place, in which the meeting’s participants also spoke. Photos and a video from this appearance have been added as well.

Meryl Streep is lending her voice to the climate change crisis – literally. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning icon narrates “Want to Tell a Great Story,” a new PSA that debuted today from the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance made in partnership with the NRDC’s Rewrite the Future. Sustainable Entertainment Alliance, formerly known as the Sustainable Production Alliance, is an initiative of film, TV and streaming companies committed to a green industry through onscreen and offscreen actions. Members include A24, Amazon Studios, Amblin Partners, Disney, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Village Roadshow, Warner Bros. Discovery. The alliance is now focused on an expansion by developing resources and opportunities for industry engagement around sustainability onscreen after having created frameworks for sustainable production through its Green Production Guide. “We’re excited to explore how we can meet audience demand for stories that engage with our changing climate and more the industry toward a more sustainable future, both on and off screen,” says Sam Read, Sustainable Entertainment Alliance’s executive director. Adds NRDC’s Rewrite the Future director, Daniel Hinerfeld: “Storytellers are leading the way by creating award-winning film and television content that’s reflecting environmental issues and resonating with audiences. Every story doesn’t need to be about climate change but simply acknowledging that we live in a climate-altered world can make any story more relevant and compelling.”

The SAG-AFTRA Foundation has announced the official opening of the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists. According to Variety, the 15,000 square-foot facility is located on the 10th floor of the Union’s headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard and is named in honor of Streep, the most philanthropic donor in the Foundation’s nearly 40-year history. The state-of-the-art facility is a hub designed to help SAG-AFTRA artists fine-tune their skills and advance their careers. Courtney B. Vance, president and chairman of the board of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, shared his thoughts on the opening: “Meryl Streep’s quiet and consistent support for the Foundation and her fellow actors for decades has been nothing short of extraordinary. In recent years when serious crises struck our community, Meryl stepped up immediately to help lift up performers who needed it most.” He added, “Naming our new Center in her honor is our way of expressing gratitude for her unwavering commitment and generosity, as well as embodying the excellence she exemplifies in our industry. The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists will encourage and nurture the talents of countless performers, serving as a beacon of inspiration to us all. We are immensely proud to unveil this vibrant new home where SAG-AFTRA artists can connect, collaborate, and grow together. We eagerly anticipate the remarkable work, creativity and careers that will come from it.” The complete article can be read over at Variety.

Meryl Streep is celebrating 10 years of The Writers Lab with the 2024 lineup of female and non-binary screenwriters to watch. According to IndieWire, Streep has funded The Writers Lab since 2014, and the program is still the only offering in the world dedicated exclusively to elevating the work of women and non-binary screenwriters over the age of 40. Nicole Kidman has also supported the Lab, which is the only program in the world for mid-career screenwriters. This year, the program is working with 14 writers across 12 projects, with Labs now operational in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe. The 14 selected women screenwriters will gather in early November in Saugerties, New York to focus on tools and strategies to navigate the ever-shifting landscape of professional opportunities and build sustainable careers. Along with Streep and Kidman, the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Lynch Hall Charitable Foundation, and the Alex & Meg Weidner Family Foundation also support the Lab. The complete article can be read over at IndieWire, with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

“The Three Questions” is written and illustrated by Jon J Muth and read by Meryl Streep. What is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? Nikolai knows that he wants to be the best person he can be, but often he is unsure if he is doing the right thing. So he goes to ask Leo, the wise turtle. When he arrives, the turtle is struggling to dig in his garden, and Nikolai rushes to help him. As he finishes work, a violent storm rolls in. Nikolai runs for Leo’s cottage, but on his way, he hears cries for help from an injured panda. Nikolai brings her in from the cold, and then rushes back outside to rescue her baby too. With stunning watercolors and a text that resounds with universal truths, this award-winning artist has based his first original story on one by Leo Tolstoy, transforming it into a timeless fable for young readers. You can watch all wonderful readings by the SAG-Aftra Foundation’s StorylineOnline on their official website.

Meryl Streep, Tony Kushner, Courtney B. Vance, Paul Giamatti, Anna Deveare Smith, Emanuel Ax, Phillipa Soo, J Wortham, Glenn Ligon, Merve Emre, Sterlin Harjo, Jericho Brown and National Student Poet Miles Hardingwood are among the luminaries and cultural leaders who will read new and favorite poems at Poetry & the Creative Mind on April 30, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Poetry & the Creative Mind, which has raised more than $3.3 million over the years, is produced by the Academy of American Poets, the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry, as a National Poetry Month celebration every April. Coinciding with the Academy’s ninetieth anniversary this year, the event raises critical funds for the organization’s award-winning K–12 Education Program, which includes free lesson plans for teachers on Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly-funded resource for poets and poetry. The benefit also provides support for Dear Poet, a special writing project for thousands of students nationwide, as well as for a new series of poetry workshops in New York City schools. You can read the full press release here. Meryl has a long history with Poetry & the Creative Mind, having more or less regularly attended all benefits since its inauguration in 2003, as you can read here.

SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance announced Wednesday that the nonprofit organization has raised more than $15 million for its emergency financial assistance program, thanks in large part to contributions from more than a dozen of Hollywood’s top-earning stars who’ve donated $1 million or more. According to Variety, Dwayne Johnson had contributed a “historic” seven-figure donation, a figure which Vance described as “a call to arms” for everyone to “step up however you can.” But Johnson is not alone. More than a dozen A-listers have also answered the call, each donating $1 million or more, including George and Amal Clooney, Luciana and Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey. “I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” Streep said, explaining her desire to give back. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.” The full article can be read at Variety with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Meryl Streep, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Lawrence and hundreds of other high-profile actors have signed on to a pointed letter telling SAG-AFTRA leadership that they are prepared to strike in order to achieve a “transformative deal.” In the message sent to union leadership and its negotiating committee, the A-lister coalition — also including Lena Waithe, Laura Linney, Sarah Polley and Quinta Brunson — said that “a strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it. But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that.” Calling 2023 an “unprecedented inflection point in our industry,” the group said, “what might be considered good in any other years is simply not enough.” Rolling Stone was the first to report on the letter. The letter, which made the rounds Tuesday, aired concerns that “SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.” The group added, “We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom, and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories.” The full article and letter can be read over at The Hollywood Reporter.