Last week, Meryl has attended a press conference for “August: Osage County” in London. You can view pictures in the image library. Many thanks to Lindsey for sending them in.

As previously reported, the cast of “August: Osage County” has been honored as Best Enemble cast at the Hollywood Film Awards. Julia Roberts was honored as Best Supporting Actress as well. Unfortunately, Meryl was a no-show at the ceremony, but most of her castmembers attended and took the stage to accept the award. You can watch their speech, held by Chris Cooper and Margo Martindale here.

Macmillan Audio has re-released its William Steig collection as a new audio edition. Three of the children stories – “Brave Irene”, “The Amazing Bone” and “Spinky Sulks” – are narrated by Meryl Streep. These are not new recordings as all stories have appeared on the 2007 “The One and Only Shrek” already, but in case you haven’t heard these lovely readings yet, head over to Amazon. Thanks to Frank for the heads-up. Also, there hasn’t been a proper mention of “The Testament of Mary” yet, which is also read by Meryl and was released earlier this year. To learn more, visit its career page, which features an audio excerpt as well.

Here comes the fantastic new poster for “August: Osage County”, highlighting the disfunctional Weston family at its best. The film will be shown at the 2013 Houston Cinema Arts Festival, before its slated to be released on December 25th. This article on its Houston premiere also has a nice quote by Julia Roberts on the film’s making: “I’ve never worked so hard in my life – and I’ve given birth to three children. We would work all day and go home and shower, and then all run to Meryl’s house and start practicing for the next day. Because you had to have that momentum going really about 19 or 20 hours of the day or else it would just leave you. And it was the best acting experience of my life.”

A scan from the October 14 issue of US weekly has been added to the gallery, featuring a full page article on the recent making of “Into the Woods”. Besides a big spot for Meryl’s witch, there are more pictures of her co-stars Emily Blunt (who plays the Baker’s Wife), Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine (who play Cinderella and her prince) in costume. Click on the preview to view the article. Many thanks to Claudia for contributing the scan. The issue of US Weekly is on newsstands now.

The cast of August: Osage County will receive the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award at the 17th annual Hollywood Film Awards, the first awards show of the 2013 season, on Oct. 21 at the Beverly Hilton, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. John Wells’ big-screen adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony- and Puliter Prize-winning play features a star-studded cast, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham. August’s producers include George Clooney and Grant Heslov, who also produced last year’s best picture Oscar winner, Argo. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Entertainment Weekly has a present for us today: She’s not nice, she’s just right, she’s the witch. Check out the first photo of Meryl Streep as The Witch in the upcoming film version of the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Into the Woods. Rob Marshall is directing the film, which started production this week in the U.K. In the photo, Streep takes on a terrifying yet high-style version of the character, which was originated by Bernadette Peters on Broadway in 1987, complete with yellowing talon-like nails and a feathery frock.

But no one is alone. The musical is a twisted fairy tale featuring a number of classic characters including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and Little Red Riding Hood, all connected by The Witch’s powers. Streep joins Johnny Depp (as the Wolf), Anna Kendrick (as Cinderella), Chris Pine (as Cinderella’s Prince), and Emily Blunt (as the Baker’s Wife) in the film, which is scheduled for a Christmas 2014 release. That’s a lot of midnights away, but it looks like it will be worth the wait. Thanks to everyone for the heads-up.

Well, not the first names you imagine as favorite upcoming co-stars, but it gives “The Giver” a new dimension of attention. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift have closed a deal to join Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges in The Giver, a drama from The Weinstein Co. and Walden Media that’s being directed by Phillip Noyce. Brenton Thwaites is the young star of the sci-fi project, which tells of a society in which there is no conflict, racism or sickness. Thwaites plays a young boy who is selected for his life service as the Receiver of Memories and works with The Giver (Bridges), an old man who teaches the boy to use his unique gifts of the senses. Streep is the society’s Chief Elder, an authoritative and antagonistic woman who assigns the young their tasks. Holmes will play Thwaites’ mother, a strict obeyer of the laws that govern what is described as an antiseptic society. The movie, which is eyeing a budget of around $25 million, is being produced by Nikki Silver of Tonik Productions along with Neil Koenigsberg and Bridges. A shoot in South Africa is being planned, although it is likely that Steep will shoot her scenes in England, where she is filming Disney’s Into the Woods. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

A theatrical release date for “The Giver” has been set by the Weinstein Company, according to this source: Way back in 2008, David Yates was set to direct an adaptation of Lois Lowry’s children’s novel and Newbery Medal winner, “The Giver” after helming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but he instead decided to tackle the two-part finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, setting the project back several years. Now the film is in the hands of The Weinstein Co. and director Philip Noyce, and the studio has just set an August 15, 2014 release for the feature. The Giver will star Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and soon-to-be-star Brenton Thwaites whose 2014 not only includes this film, but a lead role in Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction and Maleficent opposite Angelina Jolie. The story centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young boy aged 12, from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver (Bridges), who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life. Streep plays the story’s chief elder, the authoritarian charged with keeping order in the society, order which is disrupted when Jonas is chosen to receive details of the past, before society conformed to a level of “sameness”. Thanks to Frank and Glenn for the heads-up.

Over the past days, lots of news blips have been released for “August: Osage County”, “Into the Woods” and “The Giver”. First, the Los Angeles Times has interviews director John Wells and broke the news that the ending of the film might be changed for its theatrical release. Be aware that the article spoils both the original ending and the alternative one, so better not read it if you want to see the film un-spoiled (article here). Then, there’s an interview with Harvey Weinstein by The Daily Beast, in which he talks about the process of shooting “August: Osage County” and Meryl in particular.

The process of August: Osage County is an interesting one […] I started reading it and it was the most incredible dialogue I’d read in a long time, up there with Tennessee Williams. These people were desperate for money, and I think it was $500,000 or something… I wrote the check. The play went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and was a financial success at the box office, and they kept their word and sold us the rights to make it a movie. George Clooney was our biggest competitor, so I thought it was only fair that George produce the movie. Off-set, the cast loved each other. Meryl’s process is one of the most interesting ones. In order to do this role correctly, she was at Costco at two o’clock in the morning shopping like a homeless person. She becomes the role. She lives it. She is it. This is my sixth movie with her, and we’re about to do a seventh, and an eighth.

That being said, with the seventh and eighth film, Weinstein means “Into the Woods” as well as the upcoming “The Giver”, which will both be distributed by the Weinstein Co. BroadwayWorld reports that the first week of shooting in Pinewood Studios has been wrapped and relies on various cast member’s tweets (that’s how news are done today ;-): Filming on the first week of shooting for Rob Marshall’s eagerly awaited stage-to-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s celebrated fairy tale-themed musical “Into the Woods” starring Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp is now complete and the soundtrack is already nearing completion according to Tweets by cast-members shared this week.

And Deadline has some casting news on “The Giver”: The Weinstein Co.’s lit adaptation The Giver has added 16-year-old Odeya Rush to its cast. The actress, seen in Disney’s The Odd Life of Timothy Green, joins Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and Brenton Thwaites in the dystopian tale adapted from Lois Lowry’s novel about Jonas (Thwaites), a young man who is chosen to receive memories of life before emotion was wiped from society. Many thanks to Glenn for compiling these latest news.