The Academy Museum Gala, which had been postponed last month in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel, has been rescheduled for December 3. According to Deadline, the annual fundraiser, which this year will bestow honors on Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola, was originally scheduled for October 28. After the attack on Israel, gala organizers first canceled the pre-event red carpet then eventually postponed the entire event “out of respect for the devastating conflict and loss of life happening overseas,” they said at the time. The event is now moving forward with the now-escalated Israel-Hamas war top of mind, we hear. The gala aims to raise funds to support museum exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programming including screenings, K-12 programs, and access initiatives in service of the general public and the Los Angeles community.

The star-studded Hollywood fund-raiser, which had already been complicated by the actors’ strike, was to have honored Meryl Streep and others on Saturday. According to The New York Times, it’s hard not to see the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’s attempt to put on this year’s gala – a glamorous party that raises more than $10 million for the museum and burnishes its image by drawing Hollywood A-listers – as anything but ill-fated. First the Hollywood strikes complicated efforts to hold the party, since striking actors are barred from promoting films and few would want to rub elbows socially with executives from the big studios that they are on strike against. That difficulty was ironed out after studio executives, who are among the museum’s biggest financial supporters, agreed not to come and union officials said actors could attend as long as they did not promote films. Then the Israel-Hamas war cast a shadow over the festivities, which had been scheduled for Saturday night. First the museum announced that the red carpet – where stars parade in their finery for photographers before going in – would be canceled. Then, on Thursday, the museum announced that the gala would be postponed. “Out of respect for the devastating conflict and loss of life happening overseas, we have made the decision to postpone the Academy Museum gala this Saturday,” the museum said in a statement on Thursday evening. “We look forward to rescheduling at a later date. We thank everybody deeply for their support.” The gala was to have honored Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan and Sofia Coppola. The chairs of the gala, which is raising money for exhibitions, education and public programs, are the director Ava DuVernay, the actor Halle Berry, the producer Ryan Murphy and the producer Eric Esrailian, a physician and a trustee. The museum through a spokeswoman said it had no further comment.

Meryl Streep, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Lawrence and hundreds of other high-profile actors have signed on to a pointed letter telling SAG-AFTRA leadership that they are prepared to strike in order to achieve a “transformative deal.” In the message sent to union leadership and its negotiating committee, the A-lister coalition — also including Lena Waithe, Laura Linney, Sarah Polley and Quinta Brunson — said that “a strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it. But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that.” Calling 2023 an “unprecedented inflection point in our industry,” the group said, “what might be considered good in any other years is simply not enough.” Rolling Stone was the first to report on the letter. The letter, which made the rounds Tuesday, aired concerns that “SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.” The group added, “We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom, and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories.” The full article and letter can be read over at The Hollywood Reporter.

According to Variety, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation is set to break ground next month on a 15,000-square-foot facility at the union’s mid-Wilshire headquarters that will be a central hub for the foundation’s educational, career development and event activities in the Los Angeles area. The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists will be built on the 10th floor of SAG-AFTRA’s longtime home in the famed Museum Square building. It’s expected to open its doors early next year, thanks to support from its namesake, the three-time Oscar winner who is one of the most renowned actors of all time. The facility will also feature the Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson Screening Room, equipped with high-end technology to host screenings, panels and educational programs. “We’re thrilled to name our new Center for Performing Artists in honor of Meryl Streep, a lionhearted leader and longtime supporter of our foundation whose commitment to her craft and her community is befitting of this recognition,” SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance said. “We are also excited to announce our new screening room will be named in honor of two additional champions of our foundation, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, whose key support, especially during times of crisis in our industry, has meant we never missed a beat when our members needed us.”

I’ve always thought that actors should have more places to go where they can not only fully express themselves – but grow professionally. The pandemic shook up our industry as we knew it, and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation was vital in assisting performers. That’s why I’m honored to have my name attached to a center where performing artists can come together to collaborate while getting the support and services they need. This exciting new space at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation will be a tremendous benefit to any performer who is looking to hone their craft and find community. (Meryl Streep)

Since its formation in 1985, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation has distributed more than $18.6 million in emergency financial and health assistance to actors as well as disaster relief. It has also given out more than $9.2 million in scholarship funds. The complete article can be read at Variety.

What better way to start the new year with a new project for Meryl Streep, who is checking into “Only Murders in the Building”. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, Streep will appear in the third season of Hulu’s murder-mystery comedy. Star Selena Gomez revealed Streep’s casting in an Instagram post Tuesday. Details of Streep’s role – and how extensive it may be – are being kept under wraps for now. She joins a cast led by Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short; Paul Rudd – who had a cameo in the second-season finale – and former Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams are also joining the cast, which also includes Tina Fey, Vanessa Aspillaga, Adina Verson, Ryan Broussard and Andrea Martin. Hulu has said the show is its most popular original comedy; it spent nine weeks on Nielsen’s top 10 streaming series chart in 2022, drawing 3.67 billion minutes of viewing time in that span. Steve Martin also posted a group photo with Streep and announced that filming on season three of the series began. Both pictures have been added to the photo gallery.

According to Broadway World, the 92NY Unterberg Poetry Center’s 84th season will continue with a Winter/Spring lineup featuring beloved playwrights and actors, critically-acclaimed novelists and poets – and tribute events centered on Gwendolyn Brooks, John Guare and Philip Roth, among others. Details on Meryl Streep’s appearance be found below. For more information, visit www.92y.org/poetry

A CELEBRATION OF JOHN GUARE: Mon, Feb 6, 7:30 pm, From $40

An evening of words and music in celebration of playwright John Guare, whose theatrical works include Two Gentlemen of Verona, Lydie Breeze, Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves and Landscape of the Body . Tony Kushner cobbled together the lineup for this event, and he will produce it. Kushner wrote: “So enormous is the esteem in which I hold the Great Guare and his monumentally important body of work. Like Williams, he figured out a way for Americans to do a kind of stage poetry. There are astonishingly beautiful things in his plays.” Other performers and participants include: Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller, Ariana DeBose, Paul Dano, Suzan-Lori Parks, Linda Lavin, Dylan Baker, Kenneth Lonergan, Edie Falco, Zoe Kazan, Elizabeth Marvel, Stephen Adly Giurgis, Bill Camp, Camryn Manheim, Becky Ann Baker, Corey Hawkins, Linda Emond and Ato Blankson-Wood.

According to Deadline, Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman have renewed their support for The Writers Lab, which will return to its in-person format for script development in 2022, supporting women screenwriters over the age of 40. The Lab has re-doubled its efforts to amplify the voices of women writers, calling for greater inclusion of their stories in film and television, in response to growing threats to women’s rights, with genre scripts (particularly comedies) and historical stories about pioneering women being seen most commonly amongst its pool of submissions. This year’s Lab will focus on building the tools and strategies for talented writers to develop their projects and navigate the ever-shifting landscape of professional opportunities, with the 12 screenwriters selected to gather in Saugerties, NY in early November. The Writers Lab also today announced that its work is being recognized by AdvancingDiversity.org, a collective of more than 40 advertising and media companies and organizations, which last week unveiled its 2022 inductees into the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors. “The Writers Lab is thrilled to be inducted into AdvancingDiversity.org’s Hall of Honors with these illustrious Honorees,” said co-founder Elizabeth Kaiden. “Advancing diversity is crucial to our mission of spotlighting an unexplored commodity: Cinematic stories that 50% of the population are clamoring to see.” Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

In response to the overturning of Roe V. Wade, Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative of the University of Southern California have announced a project which “will monitor popular entertainment content for issues related to reproductive rights, marriage equality, interracial relationships, and gun violence, and offer insights to create change.” According to the AV Club, the initiative comes with the support of many high-profile actors and producers, including Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, Kerry Washington, Julianne Moore, Tessa Thompson, Amy Schumer, Laura Dern, and more. The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative works as an academic think tank out of USC Annenberg focusing on inequality in the entertainment industry, in front of and behind the camera. Those involved with study will not only use the research finding to offer solutions, but will also launch a “reproductive rights Accelerator program” to offer financial support to undergraduate film work on the subject. “The entertainment community plays a critical role in educating people about their sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion. With Roe v. Wade overturned and birth control, LGBQT+ and other rights threatened, this new Annenberg Inclusion Initiative research project will provide an invaluable tool to ensure audiences are reached with medically and legislatively accurate storytelling about these issues,” Planned Parenthood’s Caren Spruch says. “As we fight for every person’s right to bodily autonomy, working together with the Initiative and its supporters will be essential to changing the culture to achieve this goal.” Many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

On April 19, Vassar College announced that renowned actress Meryl Streep ’71 would be unable to attend the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC) Distinguished Achievement Award Ceremony, due to pneumonia. Streep was in line to become the sixth alumna/us to receive the award in this ceremony. A series of statements were released by the College in relation to the ceremony and its postponement. AAVC President Steve Hankins ’85 and Chair of Alumnae/i Recognition Committee Amy Pullman ’71 released an email to the Vassar student body, addressed to the registrants of the ceremony, the Class of ’71 and AAVC board members.

“[Streep] wishes to convey that a bout of pneumonia is keeping her from the festivities, but she is so honored to be included in the day’s commemorations from the College that ordered her thinking, ignited her creative imagination, and gave her friends for life,” the email stated. “We are therefore postponing the bestowal of the award to a time when Ms. Streep can join us and we can properly celebrate her many accomplishments. As we look for a new date, please join us in wishing Ms. Streep a speedy recovery.”

As of now, the AAVC board has yet to release a date for the rescheduled ceremony. However, festivities will continue for the Class of ’71 to celebrate their 50th reunion. Thanks to Alvaro and Glenn for the heads-up.

Great news according to The Hollywood Reporter: Apple TV+ has lined up a star-studded cast for a climate change anthology series. Meryl Streep, Kit Harington and Matthew Rhys will head the ensemble for Extrapolations, an eight-episode drama from writer Scott Z. Burns and The Morning Show production company Media Res. The cast also includes Sienna Miller, Gemma Chan, Tahar Rahim, Daveed Diggs, David Schwimmer and Adarsh Gourav, with additional actors to be announced. Extrapolations, which is currently in production, will tell interconnected stories about how the upcoming changes to the planet will affect love, faith work and family. “The only thing we know for sure about the future is that we are all going there together — and we’re taking with us our hopes, our fears, our appetites, our creativity, our capacity for love and our predilection to cause pain,” said Burns. “These are the same tools that storytellers have been using since the beginning of time. Our show is just using them to keep time from running out.” Miller will play a marine biologist. Harington plays the CEO of an industrial giant. Rahim plays a man struggling with memory loss. Rhys will play a real estate developer. Diggs (Snowpiercer) plays a rabbi in South Florida. Chan plays a single mother and micro-finance banker. Schwimmer plays the father of a teenage daughter. Gourav plays a driver for hire. Details of Streep’s role, her first series work since HBO’s Big Little Lies in 2019, are being kept under wraps.