2013 comes to an end (as fast as it has started), so annually a Year in Review has been compiled with all the essential highlights of the year. If you think it has been a quiet year, you may be surprised by the workload it has brought to Meryl. Click the image below to launch it. Additionally, over 80 additional pictures from the “August: Osage County” Los Angeles premiere have been added with many thanks to my friend Lindsey.

This is the last update of 2013, so I’m wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the visitors of Simply Streep. Spend a good time with your family and beloved ones and see you all again in 2013. As a last word, in case you have missed the Christmas Calendar hosted on Tumblr, be sure to revive all the specials posted over this month.

It’s December 1st (I wonder where the year has gone, wasn’t it just December?), and to celebrate this year and the days until Christmas, there will be a Simply Streep Christmas Calendar on Tumblr. All you have to do is check our Tumblr page every day for a Christmas addition to the site – there are some rare videos and new pictures to be added – so there’ll be lots of goodies until Christmas Day. You can also follow Simply Streep on Tumblr and spread the word. To start with a bang, the first entry is a video of Meryl’s appearance at the 1981 Tony Awards. Screencaptures have been added to the image library as well. It has been her first award presentation in her career and I’ve been looking for this forever. So I’m happy to finally share it on Simply Streep.

While Simply Streep isn’t using Facebook or any of the countless social media features, I do have a Twitter account for the site which I find very handy. A predecessor for the good old newsletter (a feature on fansites that didn’t survive the time of social media), you get an instant notification on last updates and news. From today, a new feature will be launched for Twitter followers – the Gallery of the Week and the Video of the Week. Once a week, usually on Sundays, a spotlight will be posted for a gallery album – may it be a public appearance, a set of film stills or magazine scans. Since the image library has been growing over the years with over 100.000 pictures, I’m sure there are parts of the gallery that some visitors have never seen. It also gives me the chance to add some new pictures or update them in better quality. Ditto for the video archive, with a link being posted sometime during the week. So in case you’re not following Simply Streep on Twitter, make sure to join. The first Gallery of the Week has been chosen already.

It’s been some time since I have added flipbooks to Simply Streep, so here are two new ones to make up for the time. Thanks to Joan for bringing both ideas to my attention, the first became a favorite while creating it: Have a look at Meryl’s Connections with numerous cast members of the Long running “Law & Order”, I’m sure there’ll be some surprises for you. Just like the second new flipbook, about Meryl’s co-stars who once made it big on television. So, have fun flipping and guessing. If you have another good idea for a flipbook, let me know.

2012 is in its last week, so let’s revisit the hightlights of Meryl’s incredible year. Enjoy reading and reminding what happened in these last twelve months and share your personal hightlights. I wish you all a Merry Christmas, see you in 2013. 2012 has been the busiest year for Meryl Streep in a long time. There were two films to promote, a third to be filmed and a new shelf to be bought for all the accolades she won for “The Iron Lady”.

Although “The Iron Lady” had a limited release in December 2011 to qualify for awards season, the film widely released in January. In order to promote the film, Meryl participated in an international press campaign, starting with the European premiere in London on January 4 and the Paris premiere three days later. The film’s release was met with support by the American Vogue, who made Meryl their “cover girl” for the January 2012 issue. On January 10, Meryl was on hand at theNew York Film Critics Circle Awards, accepting a trophy as Best Actress. She also taped various interviews for the US release, attending both Ellen DeGeneres‘  show as well as Jimmy Kimmel Live.  For the Golden Globe Awards, much was speculated if  either Meryl or Viola Davis would be named winner in the Best Actress Drama category. Both actresses have has received  numerous accolades for their performances in “The Iron Lady” and “The Help” before, and the Golden Globe win in this category was expected to be a direction towards the Academy Awards. At the Golden Globes on January 16, it was Meryl’s name to be called, accepting her career’s eighth Golden Globe win. After mentioning performances by leading ladies that weren’t nominated that year, Meryl thanked “everybody in England that let me come and trample all over their history.”

It’s my great pleasure to announce a new section to Simply Streep – the Fan Sightings. Over the years, many fans and visitors of Simply Streep were fortunate to meet Meryl Streep at events, such as film festivals and premieres. So I have created a new section to collect those stories. You can already read two stories online – one by Simona, who met Meryl at the 2009 Rome International Film Festival, and one by Miri, who met Meryl last November in Beijing at the US-China Forum on the Arts and Culture. If you have met Meryl and would like to share your story, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll feature your story as well. You’re welcome to include pictures or memorabilia to share with the visitors. If there are more questions, feel free to ask :-) And now, enjoy the stories.

Since Meryl was recently interviewed on Fresh Air from WHYY to promote “The Iron Lady” (thanks to everybody for the heads-up), I got hold of the fact that the audio archive somehow disappeared when the new layout was launched :-( It has been brought back to the site and features many new files of radio interviews, special conversation panels and readings. You can launch the audio archive here, a perament link can be found in the video archive. If you have any other audio files that are not featured in the archive yet, please let me know. Enjoy!

It’s that time of the year again when I think, “haven’t I just written a year in review?” Where has the year gone? Looking back there was plenty to report on Meryl’s career, although it hasn’t been a particularly busy year. Most of the new things happened in November and December – for the rest of 2011, Meryl was busy shooting films and being a spokesperson for the National Women’s History Museum. Much of the year felt like waiting for December, when not only “The Iron Lady” would release – her first film in two years – but also when Meryl would receive the highest honor for artists in America – the Kennedy Center Honors. So, let’s have a look at what 2011 brought us, Meryl-wise.

As Meryl Streep will be honored tonight at the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, let’s take a look back at her previous appearances. Meryl has attended the annual awards ceremony three times as a speaker. In 1981, actors Donald Sutherland, Richard Chamberlain and Meryl Streep joined on the stage to honor actress Helen Hayes, the First Lady of the American Theatre. They read quotes of famous filmmakers about acting while the last quote, as read by Meryl, was from Miss Hayes herself.

One actress expressed best what all actors feel – Helen Hayes. “I think in acting as in everything else one has to find one’s own center of gravity. But more and more I have come to believe that there are only two styles of acting: Good and bad. A little talent doesn’t hurt, but talent is no good without the discipline. And nothing is any good without endurance. What is talent for an actress? Perhaps it is an instinct for understanding the human heart”. Miss Hayes, for the understanding you have given us, and for the inspiration you offer, we thank you.

In 2003, when Mike Nichols was honored, Meryl and actress Candice Bergen paid tribute to the director of “Silkwood”, “Heartburn”, “Postcards from the Edge” and “Angels in America”, with a poem by Willa Cather – and Mr Nichols’ own “five rules for filmmaking”:

One: The careful application of terror is an important form of communication. Two: Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for. Three: There’s absolutely no substitute for genuine lack of preparation. Four: If you think there’s good in everybody, you haven’t met everybody. Five: Friends may come and go, but enemies will certainly become studio heads.

In 2009, Meryl’s co-star Robert De Niro, with whom she worked together on “The Deer Hunter”, “Falling in Love” and “Marvin’s Room”, was honored. Meryl talked about his acting craft and recalled a moment of watching his process to find the right detail for his character while working on “Falling in Love”.

Actors love Bob’s work because it’s unfailingly honest and it’s uncluttered. He’s relentless in his desire to find just the right detail, the little thing that’s gonna tell you everything about a man. After “The Deer Hunter”, he and I made “Falling in Love”, and I had the privilege of watching his process – in a wardrobe test. For three hours, he tried on 37 identical little boxy jackets. Windbreakers. To me, they looked identical. But, he’s checking the cuff, the color, the zip – up, no, down, down, yeah, no, yeah, down. Until he found the right one. And the right one was the right one because it’s signified, it told you everything about this guy’s socioeconomic status. It showed you his modesty and his precision. It was just tan, it was ignorable. But that’s different from unimportant. Details are important, and Bob knows that.

So, let’s see who will speak on Meryl’s tribute tonight! The awards ceremony will be broadcast on CBS December 27, so in the meantime – check out the video clips of her past appearances.

It’s finally here, welcome to the new version of Simply Streep! I was aiming for something different, yet classic and easy to navigate. All the previous content is still here and each page has been revised and updated – especially the career section with additional information on each film, play and television appearance as well as the specials section with a new feature on the many panel conversations that Meryl has done throughout the years. The video archive will be converted to the new layout as we speak. That being said – browse around, enjoy the new look and features – and tell me what you think! :-) And in case you’ll find a bug or error pages, let me know as well!