A great cover and in-depth article on “Into the Woods” by The Hollywood Reporter: When Stephen Sondheim summons, you answer the call. And so it was that in the spring of 2013, Meryl Streep found herself arriving at the 84-year-old composer’s five-story Manhattan townhouse. She’d just been cast as the Witch in the big-screen version of Into the Woods, Sondheim’s darkly twisted musical about fractured fairy tales. Rob Marshall, who would direct Streep in the film — opening Christmas Day — also was called to the town house, as was James Lapine, who wrote the book for the play. But none of them had any idea why they had been bidden.

It turned out Sondheim had a new tune he wanted to run by them. It was called “She’ll Be Back,” and the composer thought the Witch could sing it at the point in the story when Rapunzel (played by MacKenzie Mauzy) escapes from the tower to run off with a handsome prince (Billy Magnussen). “I was in his living room and I had the sheet music in front of me and I was gasping because I didn’t know where to look,” recalls Streep. “I thought, ‘Is he going to ask me to sing it for him?’ Because I could never do that.” The complete article can be read here.

Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for “Into the Woods”. She shares the category with Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Emma Stone (Birdman) and Naomi Watts (St. Vincent). Surprisingly, the cast of “Into the Woods” has not received a nomination for Best Ensemble. The Screen Actors Guild Awards will be handed out on January 25. The Golden Globe nominations will be announced tomorrow. Also, don’t miss Meryl’s appearance tonight on the Late Show with David Letterman and Nightline’s special segment on “Into the Woods.

The New York premiere for “Into the Woods” took place yesterday and pretty much all of its key players were on hand to celebrate the film. Many pictures have been added to the image library. My biggest thanks to Lindsey for her wonderful contributions. More coverage and videos to follow.

Edit: More clips, including a lenghty press junket interview and a segment with E! Entertainment, have been added to the video archive as well. Yesterday, ABC aired their World News Tonight segment on “Into the Woods”, featuring an interview with Meryl on the streets of New York, and joined by her co-stars for a conversation about the film. It looks like this is only an apetizer since the cast will be featured on Nightline next week. The full video as well as screencaptures can be found in the archives. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

This morning, Meryl has visited Good Morning America to promote Into the Woods. She talked about finally playing a witch after refusing it so often in her past, the recent internet story of Emily Blunt saving her life, and what role she would like to play that she hasn’t played. The full interview can be watched in the video archive with HD screencaptures being added to the image library.

This week, “The Giver” has been released on Blu-Ray, DVD and on demand in the United States. With many thanks to Ali, screencaptures from the Blu-Ray have been added to the image library. To learn more about the project and its long way to the big screen, visit the career page. Once again, thanks Ali!

As promised, new video clips from the “Into the Woods” promotion has been added. There’s a new tv spot with quite a few new scenes, excerpts from the Yahoo Movies Q&A and the press conference in New York, a segment of Meryl receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the White House as well as two television interviews with Access Hollywood and Extra. Enjoy the new clips.

Lots of new additions today. First, over 70 more press images from the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony have been added to the image library, with many thanks to Lindsey for the support. Screencaptures have been added as well. Then, there seem to be a ton of press junkets and interviews right now in New York for the upcoming media coverage on “Into the Woods. Pictures from the November 23 press junket for the film have been added. Much more, including video clips from the various press junkets as well as news coverage will be added tomorrow. Enjoy the new additions.

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