Today, Sony has launched the theatrical trailer of “Ricki and the Flash”. It looks pretty much exactly what fans have been hoping for, so head over to watch it in the video archive. Additionally, screencaptures from the trailer, the first poster for the film and a bunch of new production stills have been added as well.

Article courtesy the Los Angeles Daily News: Jonathan Demme has won an Oscar and also has directed loads of Academy Award-winning performances. So when another Oscar-winner’s screenplay — Diablo Cody’s Ricki and the Flash — came his way with nomination queen Meryl Streep attached to play the San Fernando Valley cover band frontwoman forced to re-engage with her Midwestern family, it felt about as perfect as movie projects get. “ ‘Ricki’ is a truly original, way-surprising screenplay loaded with emotion, humor, great characters and great gobs of top-rate rock ’n’ roll,” Demme enthuses. “Plus, it didn’t hurt that Meryl Streep was already in line to play Ricki.” Yeah, but did the super actress with the can-do-anything reputation play the music? “You bet she did,” the director reports. “This was a no-playback, in-the-moment shoot. Meryl nailed it. She sings on 10 songs (nine rock covers and one original, written by Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice), while accompanying herself on electric or acoustic guitar. “Meryl is such a versatile and charismatic singer/performer, and her movie band the Flash is kind of an amazing supergroup. A Ricki and the Flash concert film would be a joy to capture and present.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone, director Jonathan Demme revealed that Streep covered songs from artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Lady Gaga. Streep performed in front of a live audience and no playback was used to enhance her vocals — Streep is a very talented singer, as many of you are probably already aware. The actress covered Petty’s “American Girl” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which means a group of lucky people on this planet got to watch Streep perform like a rock goddess and somehow managed to not hyperventilate to death.

Entertainment Weekly’s April 17 issue features a look at the Summer movies to look forward to – including the Jonathan Demme directed “Ricki and the Flash”, starring Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer. Besides a nice article on the film that includes interviews with Demme and Gummer, a new picture of Meryl as Ricki Randazzo is featured as well. Both the magazine page and the production still can be found in the image library, with many thanks to Claudia.

Here comes the first production still for “Ricki and the Flash”. While a first known picture from the film wasn’t released by Sony and not ready to be published, this is our official first look, courtesy to People Magazine. In Juno writer Diablo Cody’s latest movie, Streep, 65, plays singer-guitarist and Flash band member Ricki, who gave up everything to pursue her dream of rock-‘n’-roll stardom. Then she returns home to make amends with her family. Streep’s real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer, also plays the role on screen, alongside Kevin Kline as Ricki’s ex-husband, and rocker Rick Springfield plays a bandmate who is in love with Ricki.

According to Vanity Fair, Rick Springfield has joined Meryl Streep in the upcoming Jonathan Demme–directed, Diablo Cody–written film Ricki and the Flash. Last month, Springfield posted a photo on Twitter of himself with the Oscar-winning actress before promptly taking it down. But now that the news has been broken by The Hollywood Reporter, the snapshot is back up as proof of the unlikely on-screen partnership. The outlet notes that “Springfield will play a bandmember who has a crush on Ricki, and he’ll be showing off his skills on the guitar in the project.” Last week, we learned that filming on the project was on hold because the director insisted that Streep, who is playing a struggling musician, learn how to play the guitar herself. No word on whether Springfield is helping tutor the actress. According to last week’s report, the band will “mostly play classic rock” plus some contemporary music, possibly Lady Gaga. And according to Broadway World, The Book of Mormon’s Ben Platt has signed on as well. He will play Daniel, the bartender at Ricki and the Flash’s regular spot, who worships Streep’s Ricki. The film, about “a woman who abandoned her family when she was younger to find fame and fortune in California,” begins shooting this October. Kevin Kline and Streep’s real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer, round out the cast as Ricki’s ex-husband and estranged daughter. Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Jonathan Demme talks about “Ricki and the Flash”, confirming the casting of Kevin Kline and Mamie Gummer and gives insight on what to expect of Meryl’s rock’n’roll character. Now, I’m in heightened pre-production on a feature film, Ricki and the Flash, which we’re going to start shooting on Oct. 1. It’s a great script by Diablo Cody, and Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Mamie Gummer are in the cast. It’s a rock ’n’ roll driven family drama/comedy. Meryl plays Ricki and she’s the rocker. Kevin is the ex—the abandoned husband who lost Ricki to rock ’n’ roll. In our story, they come back together again under grave family circumstances. There’s another part we’re looking to cast of the guitarist who really wants to be Meryl’s boyfriend. Meryl, who is as we know a terrific singer, is a rock ’n’ roller. She loves rock ’n’ roll, and is taking a very personally-crafted approach to Ricki. Ricki’s of a generation of people like Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde, but I think this is going to be a very unique act. The complete interview can be read here.

Kevin Kline and Mamie Gummer are in negotiations to star opposite Meryl Streep in Jonathan Demme’s “Ricki and the Flash,” multiple individuals familiar with the Sony project have told TheWrap. Sony had no comment. Jonathan Demme (“The Silence of the Lambs”) is directing from a script by fellow Oscar winner Diablo Cody. Marc Platt and Mason Novick are producing the film, which hits theaters on June 26, 2015. It will be the first release from Tom Rothman’s TriStar Productions. Streep stars as a rock ‘n’ roll-loving woman who chased her dreams at the cost of her family, but gets a chance to put things right. Kline is in negotiations to play Ricki’s forgiving ex-husband Pete, while Gummer is in talks to play the Oscar-winning duo’s confrontational daughter Julie. When Julie gets divorced from her cheating husband, Pete asks Ricki to visit Chicago and help their daughter through a difficult time. Thanks to Frank for the heads-up!

According to The Wrap, there’s a new project on the horizon, written by Diablo Cody and to be directed by Jonathan Demme. Hollywood is salivating over a red-hot package making the rounds that has Jonathan Demme attached to direct a Diablo Cody script, with none other than Meryl Streep attached to star, an individual familiar with the project told TheWrap. In “Ricky and the Flash,” Streep would play a woman who abandoned her family when she was younger to find fame and fortune as a rock star. Decades later, she decides to be a mother again to her estranged children, one of whom is going through a rough divorce. Marc Platt, who worked with Demme on “Rachel Getting Married,” will produce, while Cody’s manager, Mason Novick, is also expected to be involved in a producing capacity. Novick produced the Cody-scripted films “Juno” and “Young Adult,” as well as Marc Webb’s directorial debut “(500) Days of Summer.” The prestige package is being shopped to studios and high-level production companies with access to financing. Universal and Fox 2000 are among the studios that have expressed interest in the project, according to one insider. Many thanks to Frank for the heads-up.