Today, Meryl Streep held court at the 11th Rome Film Festival, attending a photocall and press conference for the Italian premiere of “Florence Foster Jenkins”, as well as a conversation panel called “Meryl Streep meets the Audience”. No conversation these days is complete without questions about Donald Trump, and Streep, who has appeared in a PSA to support Hillary Clinton last week, had little to say about the candidate: “I don’t feel that I have to make any further pronouncements on the sexism of the Trump campaign. I think they’re doing a very good job on their own. Or he’s doing a good job on his own. I’m not sure his campaign knows quite what to make of it.” Hopefully, more information on the press conference and panel with be added soon. For now, enjoy the 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.

As previously reported, Meryl Streep will be a guest at this year’s Rome International Film Fetival. On October 20, Streep will be attending a question-and-answer session for fans as part of the promotional tour for British director Stephen Frears’ “Florence Foster Jenkins”. Tickets will go on sale October 06. For a full programme of films and conversation panels, visit the festival’s programme. Many thanks to Glenn and Simona for the heads-up.

Some news on the aforementioned sequel, courtesy VineReport and CinemaBlend. Over 50 years after its initial release, Mary Poppins still remains one of Disney’s classic hits, blending live action and animation to create a heartwarming (if not completely faithful) adaptation of P.L. Travers’ original work. While most never imagined the House of Mouse would make a Mary Poppins 2, this has finally come to pass decades later, as Mary Poppins Returns will arrive in the next few years. One of the actors participating in this follow-up is Hamilton superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda, and he recently provided a few tidbits about what moviegoers can expect from the sequel. Speaking with Variety, Miranda slightly elaborated on Mary Mary Poppins Returns’ plot, including how his character, a lamplighter named Jack, specifically connects to Dick Van Dyke’s lovable Bert from the original movie. “Michael and Jane Banks have grown up, and they find themselves in their own spot, and Mary Poppins comes back to take care of Michael’s kids,” said Miranda. “I play a lamplighter named Jack who sort of grew up apprenticing to Bert. So I know if Mary Poppins shows up, it’s gonna get awesome. I perform that function in the movie, of saying: ‘Y’all don’t know about Mary Poppins. When Mary’s around, cool sh– happens.'” Miranda stated that he would be in London during the first half of next year to film the sequel. During the interview, he also said that he would love to meet Van Dyke. Well, he might get his wish soon because it is rumored that Van Dyke and original Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews, might appear in the sequel. The two actors have yet to confirm or deny this as of the moment, so readers are advised to take this rumor with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, Meryl Streep is going to play a character named Topsy Tartlet, and sources say Ben Whishaw may be portraying Michael. Directed by Rob Marshall, Mary Poppins Returns hits theaters on December 25, 2018.

CNN Films is producing a new film about girls overcoming incredible challenges to achieve their educations and change their own lives, with contributions from First Lady Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and CNN journalist Isha Sesay. Singer Andra Day’s motivational anthem, ‘Rise Up’ will serve as the theme for the film. “We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World” featuring Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, and Isha Sesay will premiere on CNN International on the International Day of the Girl during primetime in Asia, Europe, and Africa on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6:00am, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm. All times Eastern. Around the world, more than 62 million girls are not in school, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As girls grow into adolescence, cultural and familial pressures often make it harder for them to stay in school, though educating women correlates to lower rates of infant mortality, increased GDP, and greater economic security for families. “We are honored to have the contributions of the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Freida Pinto, Andra Day, and our own Isha Sesay, for this inspirational film,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development for CNN Worldwide. The complete press release can be read here.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros Television is closing a deal for the fall literary sensation novel The Nix, and the elements are dazzling. Meryl Streep is going to star and produce with JJ Abrams and his Bad Robot. Abrams will likely direct at least some of the episodes. The first novel by Nathan Hill is a sprawling generational tale that focuses on a hippie-era mother who gets national press exposure for throwing rocks at a conservative governor on the presidential campaign trail. Before you know it, her estranged son — a professor, aspiring novelist and general underachiever — seizes an opportunity to get himself out of debt by writing a scathing profile of his estranged mother. CAA handled the auction for the book, which was just published by Knopf.

While “Florence Foster Jenkins” is still being shown throughout the United States, the film has been released on DVD, Blu-Ray and on demand in the United Kingdom, where it was theatrically released in May. Be sure to grab your copy if you haven’t seen it yet / if you’re able to play European region DVDs. Having received my copy just in time, over 1.600 Blu-Ray screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery. Enjoy!

“Florence Foster Jenkins” was not able to dethrone “Suicide Squad” from the US box office’s number one, but according to Entertainment Weekly, it sits just well in comparison to Meryl’s previous Summer releases: Hitting the adult demographic in typical fashion, Meryl Streep’s Florence Foster Jenkins lands at No. 8, earning an estimated $6.6 million from 1,528 locations. The film’s $4,306 per-screen average and solid critical reviews line up with Streep’s last August outing, 2015’s Ricki and the Flash, which grossed $6.6 million on 1,603 screens. Though the numbers are small in comparison to the film’s wide release brethren, Streep’s consistency with the mature crowd (97 percent of Florence’s opening weekend audience was over 25) can’t be denied, and her latest outing should perform well in the coming weeks, finishing somewhere in the $28-$35 million range with strong critical reviews (86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and a decent A- grade from audiences on CinemaScore.

As you can see from the recent photos additions, there have been many additional public appearances to promote the theatrical release of “Florence Foster Jenkins” in the United States. These past few days, Meryl has attended conversation panels by Times Talks, the SAG/AFTRA Foundation and BAFTA New York. Together with Stephen Frears, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg, she was a guest on The Charlie Rose Show on Wednesday. All clips have been added to the video archive – the Times Talks has been added as an expcerpt because it runs over an hour (you can watch the full interview here). Also, a new featurette and three new clips from “Florence Foster Jenkins” have been added.

Lots of additional pictures from many of the past day’s events have been added. Besides the New York premiere for “Florence Foster Jenkins”, a screening was held in the East Hamptons on Monday to kick off the US promotion of the film. On August 10, the cast has attended several Q&As for BAFTA New York, the SAG/Aftra Foundation and appearing together on “The Charlie Rose Show”. Also on August 10, Meryl gave a very insightful and entertaining interview at Times Talks. Check out the next update for video additions. All added pictures can be found below.