Eighteen of the 20 nominees in the acting categories will be among more than 150 Oscar nominees who will gather at noon on Monday, February 6, at the Beverly Hilton when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon. Additional confirmations are expected to come in over the weekend. From the Best Actress and Actor categories all the nominees – Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Demián Bichir, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt – are expected to attend. Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, Nick Nolte, Max von Sydow, Bérénice Bejo, Melissa McCarthy, Janet McTeer and Octavia Spencer will represent the Supporting Actor and Actress categories. Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the first round of presenters has been confirmed for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Meryl Streep, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, and Rashida Jones will take part in the Seth Rogen-hosted ceremony held on February 25. It airs that night at 10 p.m. ET on IFC. The Artist and Take Shelter lead the nominations. Thanks to Frank for the heads-up!

More pictures from yesterday’s 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have been added to the image library, click the links to check all recent additions from the red carpet and the show. Then, the segment of Meryl presenting the In Memoriam tribute, as well as the Outstanding Female Actor category can be found in the video archive.

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards take place today, and Simply Streep will keep you updated throughout the evening. The red carpet has just started, so make sure to check back for the first pictures of Meryl and, later, results and multimedia from the ceremony. First pictures from the red carpet have been added. Meryl hosted the In Memoriam segment. The award for Outstanding Female Actor went to Viola Davis for “The Help”. Check the image library for newly added pictures.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts announced the winners of its newly launched AACTA International Awards recognizing International Achievements in Film at an intimate awards Ceremony at Soho House. The Artist was awarded Best Film, lead actor, Jean Dujardin, was awarded Best Actor. Meryl Streep was awarded the AACTA International Award for Best Actress for her role in The Iron Lady. Meryl has attended the award, so pictures will be added later today. Thanks to Frank for the heads-up! Edit: Over 100 pictures from the event have been added to the image library.

No matter if Meryl will take home another Screen Actors Guild Award on Sunday or not, according to the SAG’s recent press release, she’ll take the stage anyway – as a presenter. The Screen Actors Guild Awards Executive Producer Jeff Margolis has announced that Actor® recipients including Tina Fey, Kevin Bacon, Kenneth Branagh, Jean Dujardin, John Krasinski, Kyra Sedgwick, Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams are to present at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. They join an already impressive list of actors who are honoring their colleagues, including Kyle Chandler, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Judy Greer, Larry Hagman, Armie Hammer, Ed Helms, SAG President Ken Howard, Regina King, Julianna Margulies, Natalie Portman, Maya Rudolph, Octavia Spencer and Dick Van Dyke. The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® will take place at the hrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles and be simulcast live on TNT as well as TBS on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT).

Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving a Best Actress Oscar nomination for “The Iron Lady”. She shares the category with Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Viola Davis (The Help), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn). This is the seventeenth Academy Award nomination for Meryl Streep. “The Iron Lady” has received a further nomination for Makeup (Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland). The Academy Awards are handed out on February 26, 2012.

I am honored to be in company with such beautiful artists, and touched deeply by my fellow actors for their generosity in giving me this acknowledgment. (Meryl Streep, Entertainmnent Weekly)

Three new videos have been added to the archives – a live interview with Fox2News from today, a backstage interview after winning the Golden Globe on “The Insider”, and a film excerpt from “The Iron Lady”. Edit: An interview with Good Day L.A. has been added as well. Then, Meryl has won the London Critics Circle Film Award as Best Actress (tying with Anna Paquin for, ironically, “Margaret). She has also won the Dorian Award as Film Performance of the Year and has received nominations for the Iowa Film Critics Award and the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts as Best International Actress. Thanks to Frank for the heads-up.

Congratulations to Meryl for receiving a BAFTA nomination as Leading Actress for “The Iron Lady”. She shares the category with Bérénice Bejo (The Artist), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Viola Davis (The Help). The film scored a total of four nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (Jim Broadbent), Original Screenplay (Abi Morgan) and for Make-Up and Hair. The Hollywood Reporter has Meryl’s reaction on the nomination: “Thrilling thrilling news! Not just for me, but for the film of which I am very proud, and for the hundreds of people who worked on it! Thanks, from a (New) Jersey girl…” Jim Broadbent, nominated in the supporting actor category for his portrayal of Denis Thatcher opposite Streep, gave a very British reaction. Said Broadbent: “Really exciting news. I couldn’t be more excited that a film that was such fun to make, is getting this recognition. It’s fantastic for all of us and I can’t wait for the party!” The BAFTAs will be handed out on February 12, 2012.

Pictures and videos from the Golden Globes keep coming in, so here’s another update on last night’s big event. Videos of Meryl’s press room interview, a segment from Access Hollywood – and an interview on the Today Show, which was taped a day before the Golden Globes took place, have been added to the video archive.

Then, many additional pictures have been added to the Golden Globe galleries, have a look at the previews below.