The cast for “The Homesman” is getting more crowded. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Spader and John Lithgow have joined the Tommy Lee Jones film. Jones co-wrote the script and is directing the movie, assembling a cast that includes Hilary Swank, Tim Blake Nelson and Meryl Streep. Set in 1855 Nebraska, the story tells of a frontier woman and a claim jumper who ferry a wagonload of women, driven insane by the harsh world of the frontier, eastward to Iowa and back to the civilized world. While details of Spader’s role are being played close to the vest, it is known he will play a swindler. The movie, being financed and co-produced by EuropaCorp, is due to shoot this spring in New Mexico. Lithgow and Streep has been frequent collaborators on the stage in the 1970s, starring in “Trelawny of the Wells”, “Secret Service” and “A Memory of Two Mondays”, but “The Homesman” will mark their first film project together.

Frequent readers will remember previous news on two new projects for Meryl – Tommy Lee Jones’ “The Homesman” and the screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods”. The reason why there hasn’t been more information on both projects is because they haven’t been officially announced and the statements as of now didn’t sound very reliable. Today, BroadwayWorld has translated a recent interview that Meryl gave to a Chinese newspaper about “The Iron Lady” in which she seems to confirm both films. If you wonder why there is a promotional interview for a film that’s been released two years ago, BWW gives you a clue – it’s only been released in Beijing last month. “Streep tells the newspaper that following the wrap of shooting the stage-to-screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tracy Letts drama August: Osage County she will then film the Tommy Lee Jones-directed The Homesman. Following finishing those two films, in October, she steps in front of cameras in the central featured role of The Witch in director Rob Marshall’s highly-anticipated new feature film version of the beloved adult fairy tale-themed musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine.” Another article on the Homesman yesterday as well. According to the New Mexico Film Office, principal photography is scheduled for the end of March through mid-May at various locations in the Las Vegas, N.M., and Santa Fe areas”. I couldn’t find this original press release as it was only stated in this article. But since “the end of March” is just around the corner, they might be some confirmation on the film in form of set pictures soon.

Meryl Streep narrates Wings of Life, an eye-popping, hi-def nature documentary from Disney that zooms in to examine the pollination partnerships between flowers and the butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and bats that make our quality of life possible. Using amazing high-speed camera equipment that can shoot up to 1,500 frames per second, Wings of Life will open your eyes to the majestic beauty and mystery of nature, both exotic and familiar. “Wings of Life” becomes available on Blu-ray, Digital and On Demand on April 16, just in time for Earth Day. Click on the left to watch the trailer.

According to GoldDerby, John Wells’ screen version of “August: Osage County” just had its first test screening and reaction was overwhelmingly positive. “Our forum posters have been busy parsing the tweets of those in attendance. Almost all agree Streep is the one to beat for Best Actress at the Oscars”. The Broadway run of the play reaped wins for Deanna Dunagan as the vile Violet and Rondi Reed as her long-suffering sister Mattie. Margo Martindale (“Justified”) now plays that part and those who saw the film say she is likely to reap a supporting Oscar nod. The complete article with more information and reactions can be read here.

There’s one reason I’m posting this, rather speculative, news: The last time Meryl was mentioned to appear in a cameo, I thought, yes sure, that never happens. But since it was “Stuck on You” and really happened, I’ve kind of learned from it. So here we go: In a recent interview with Shortlist, Steve Carell dished on the upcoming sequel of “Anchorman” and mentioned he could imagine Meryl having a cameo in it. “Meryl Streep told me she was a huge Anchorman fan and she’d love to have a cameo in the sequel. That could be really funny. There are going to be plenty of great cameos in this movie.” “Anchorman 2” already boasts big names: in addition to original cast members Carell, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Christina Applegate, “The Legend Continues” will also feature appearances from Kristen Wiig, James Marsden and Harrison Ford. So, if “Anchorman 2” happens with Streep, I’ll have my fingers crossed she’ll share the screen with Kristen Wiig, which would be worth its ticket alone.

Update: Well it has taken just one day for Carell to deny his words again :-) He told Access Hollywood that Meryl won’t be able to fit the film into her schedule. “When I did ‘Hope Springs,’ [Meryl] mentioned she was a fan and she said, ‘Oh, I’d love to be in it,'” Steve told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Friday’s Access Hollywood Live. “But that’s not gonna [happen] – that’s not a thing. “She’s actually busy – she can’t do it,” he added, with a laugh.”

Prepare for a (rather interesting) history lesson, as the theatre pages of Meryl’s early work have been updated. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Meryl was part of the The Experimental Theatre of Vassar College, winning early praise for her lead performance as “Miss Julie” as well as in “The Miser” and “The London Merchant” (have a look at this new picture on the right). Additionally, she made her Off-Broadway debut in “The Playboy of Seville” at the Cubiculo Theatre in New York City. The detail pages for these productions have been revised with more information and reviews on the performances. Head over to the stage productions to launch the new pages.

According to The Playlist, “August: Osage County” has finally received a theatrical release date for the USA – November 8, 2013. The picture is an adaptation of Tracy Letts’ dark comedic play (a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and centers on a troubled family that tries to overcome their differences when their alcoholic patriarch goes missing. Letts wrote the deeply acidic play “Killer Joe” that William Friedkin adapted to fantastically bonkers effect last year and also penned the screenplay to both films. Directed by John Wells, it’s his follow-up effort to “The Company Men,” which starred Ben Affleck, after spending almost three decades in TV writing, producing and directing (notable credits include “Shameless,” and “E.R.” among many). The cast is unstoppable. The mother and father are played by Meryl Streep and Sam Shepard and the adult daughters are played by Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis and Julianne Nicholson from “Boardwalk Empire.” The cast also includes Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin and Dermot Mulroney. Unless there is something botched in the execution, expect this picture to be a big awards player.

In a recent interview, actress Margo Martindale has dished on the recent filming of “August: Osage County”: August was a wonderful, incredible two months. It will look beautiful. The script is magnificent. The actors are all fabulous. Will it all work? That will be a mystery. I was wildly happy to get that part, and I said to myself, after seeing it on Broadway, “I want to play that in the movie.” Rondi Reed, who played it on stage, I couldn’t have perfected that. There was no need to do it on stage. So I decided to set my sights on the movie. You’ve worked with Meryl Streep, who plays your sister Violet, a few times in your career. Did that previous experience with her help build your relationship as sisters? Tremendously. We spent our off time together. She’s a great, great person. These sisters really lean on each other, and I’ve known Chris Cooper, who plays my husband, since 1981. I love him so much. I think that when everyone got this job, you had that looming around in the back of your mind. Juliette Lewis said, “So much came with getting these roles,” and I responded, “I know. I wish we had never had that. I wish we had just been out here doing a movie.” Which we were, but there was so much expectation. There’s something about that that makes it hard.” The complete article can be read here.

Back in October, there were news about a film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” with Meryl in talks to play the Witch. Now, according to Broadway World, the casting seems to be announced. In a new interview with the Litchfield County Times with arranger David Krane confirms, telling the paper that: “I am coming into an exciting time,” said Mr. Krane in a telephone interview from New York City. “My show, “The Road to Qatar,’ is being presented in London next month and then I am doing a revival of an old show, ‘Good News’ at the Goodspeed Opera House. And then the biggest news-they are doing a movie of the musical ‘Into the Woods.’ Disney is going to make the movie and I will do the arrangements. Meryl Streep will be the witch and it will be the first time I have worked with her since 1977 when we did ‘Happy End.’ For one, a new project would make sense since “August: Osage County” is wrapped, but as always I’d consider a project official once the film studio makes an announcement or Meryl mentions it in an interview. The same can be said about recent news of Tommy Lee Jones’ next film “The Horseman”, which has been announced some time back as a vehicle for Meryl – so far, there hasn’t been an official confirmation. Let’s see what happens…

One of the rare finds in Meryl’s career is the 1981 documentary “Kiss Me, Petruchio”, a behind-the-scenes look at the Shakespeare in the Park production of “The Taming of the Shrew” in 1978, starring Raul Julia and Meryl Streep. As I’m sure many are interested in seeing more from this programme, a lenghty excerpt has been added to the video archive. New screencaptures in better quality (although quality is quite a word for an old 1980s tape) have been added to the image library as well.

Watching the documentary on “The Taming of the Shrew” reminds you of two things – first, what a great institution the Public Theater and its annual Shakespeare in the Park is. It opens its doors for the public to watch classic theater for free, boasting performances and plays that are still being mentioned for their brilliance decaded later. And secondly it shows why Meryl has been hailed for her stage work early on. Here, at 29 years old (the play was performed in 1978) she is energetic and intelligent in her interview – and a force of nature on the stage.