As Meryl didn’t appear in the last two episodes of “Only Murders in the Building”, we’re only three episodes away from the season finale – fingers crossed she’ll be seen in more than one of the remaining episodes. In the meantime, here’s an article on her turn as Loretta Durkin by The Atlantic, with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up: Meryl Streep, who joined the show’s starry ensemble this season, just might be the most eccentric guest star yet. Her character, Loretta Durkin, is, unlike Streep, a struggling actress who has lived in the same shabby apartment for decades and finally gets a break by being cast in Death Rattle, a new show by Oliver, who is a theater director staging his Broadway comeback. In almost every scene in which she appears, Loretta is the picture of warmth: her hair in braids, a shawl or cardigan draped around her shoulders, looking the way she did as a little girl (as we see in flashbacks). The show has, in its latest episode, positioned her as its newest primary suspect in the murder of her castmate Ben (Paul Rudd). But Loretta is more than another potentially guilty party being played by a notable name. In Streep’s hands, she helps make Only Murders a show worth watching more closely, and not just for the slow drip of clues or the charm of its lead cast. The complete article can be read over at The Atlantic. A couple of new production stills from the previous episodes have been added as well.

Screencaptures from Tuesday’s fifth episode of “Only Murders in the Building” have been added to the photo gallery. The episode was accompanied by a Variety article on the many, many easter eggs of Loretta’s (terribly cluttered) apartment, which pay tribute to Streep’s career. Hulu has put one clip from the episode on Youtube, which you can find in the video archive – and a nice batch of additional magazine scans and reviews covering the previous episodes have been added to the gallery as well, with many thanks to Alvaro for sending them in. As always, many thanks to M as well for providing the screencaptures. Enjoy.

On the latest episode, Meryl Streep teamed up on “Look for the Light,” written by Sara Bareilles in collaboration with “Dear Evan Hansen” powerhouses Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Bareilles told The New York Times last week that she relished the chance to “tailor” the song to Streep’s “strengths. There was so much tenderness in Meryl’s vulnerability. She let that speak through her singing.” Pasek and Paul agree. “Her performance in this number is equal parts emotional, tender, vulnerable and filled with her signature quiet strength,” they tell PEOPLE Magazine. “It’s incredibly unoriginal but nonetheless very true to say that when the opportunity to work with Meryl comes along, you just jump.” Her performance with Ashley Park can be found in the video archive. Screencaptures from the episode have been added to the photo gallery, with many thanks to M for the contribution. Enjoy your weekend.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Meryl Streep and Ashley Park’s breathtaking rendition of “Look for the Light” from season three of Only Murders in the Building has been released on all streaming platforms. The new, original song featured in episode three, “Grab Your Hankies,” was written for the show by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles alongside Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriter-producers behind La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen. The single, which is currently available on Spotify and Apple Music, is among a season three soundtrack that features new music from a number of notable Broadway names, including Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman and Michael R. Jackson, alongside an original score by Siddhartha Khosla. “It was so easy to say yes to this invitation,” Bareilles said in a statement about her decision to co-write the song for the Hulu series. “I love the delicious unpredictability of collaboration, and this was as joyful and undeniable as they come.” “Meryl was gentle and focused, and I loved her musicality and her willingness to share her process,” Bareilles added. “Ashley Park’s glorious counter melody was added later, and I got goosebumps the first time I heard it.” Pasek and Paul also called Bareilles a dream collaborator, as they crafted the “song for the legendary Meryl Streep” alongside her. “Getting to shape this song around Meryl’s voice, and working together in the studio and on set, was a dream and we are three very lucky songwriters. Meryl not only amazed us with her usual brilliance and mastery of the craft, but also inspired us with her humility and tireless work ethic. While it is unfair for someone to be so wonderful at everything, it’s a basic human truth that we all must reckon with!”

Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan, and Sofia Coppola have been named this year’s honorees for the Academy Museum Gala to be held on October 14. As a fundraiser, the event has been greenlit to move forward by WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The evening will help raise vital funds to support the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programming, including screenings, K-12 programs, and access initiatives in service of the general public and the local community of Los Angeles. Supported by Rolex, the official watch partner and founding supporter of the Academy Museum, the Gala is being co-chaired by Academy Award-nominated director Ava DuVernay, Academy Museum Trustee, physician, producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Dr. Eric Esrailian, Academy Award-winning actor and Academy Museum supporter Halle Berry, and Academy Museum Trustee and screenwriter, director, producer Ryan Murphy.

We are excited to gather again at our third annual Academy Museum Gala to celebrate the power, global impact, and indelible importance of cinema. I am truly honored to recognize four artists, Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola, whose creativity and passion have inspired and shaped our culture in such powerful ways,” said Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum. “We are truly grateful to our co-chairs Ava DuVernay, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Halle Berry and Ryan Murphy, for hosting this special evening and to Rolex for their continued support of the Museum and cinema worldwide.

The Icon Award, presented to Streep, is celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global cultural impact. The Vantage Award, presented to Jordan, is honoring an emerging artist or scholar who is helping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.The Pillar Award, presented to Winfrey acknowledges exemplary leadership and support for the Academy Museum. The Visionary Award, presented to Coppola, honors an artist or scholar whose innovations have advanced the art of cinema. This year’s glamorous event will mark the two year anniversary of the Academy’s Museum Of Motion Pictures.

The season-three premiere of “Only Murders in the Building” begins by smartly broadening the world of the show beyond the walls of its titular structure to the Broadway stage, where Oliver (Martin Short) is directing a new play. For this reason, we’re introduced to Streep’s character, actress Loretta Durkin, by way of a voice-over from Charles (Steve Martin) that clues us in on her backstory. We see how she fell in love with theater as a young child, leading her to a life as a struggling actress trudging through endless rejection with the hopes of one day finally being seen and hearing the magic words “Where have you been?” Screencaptures from the premiere episode have been added to the photo gallery. Many thanks to M for sending them in.

We’re two episodes into the highly anticipated third season of “Only Murders in the Building”, and while promotion for the show has been cancelled due to the strike, at least there have been plenty of reviews in print, most of them very positive towards the series and Meryl’s appearance. A great batch of international articles has been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to my friend Alvaro. Enjoy reading.

The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a nice summary of the events leading up to the third season of “Only Murders in the Building” – and how Meryl Streep’s character, Loretta Durkin, fits in: There’s a new murder to solve in Only Murders in the Building season three — and Selena Gomez’s Mabel, Steve Martin‘s Charles and Martin Short’s Oliver are on the case. In the final moments of season two, Charles stars in Oliver’s play alongside none other than Paul Rudd as series newcomer Ben Glenroy. Right before the curtain rises, Ben and Charles are seen bickering and Charles utters, “I know what you did.” As soon as Ben steps onto the stage and recites his first line, he collapses and dies. Rudd isn’t the only new castmember welcomed into the orbit of the murder-mystery-solving trio in season three. Meryl Streep joins Only Murders as struggling actress Loretta Durkin, who has a role in Oliver’s Broadway play and begs him not to give up on her. The season three trailer shows Ben isn’t a fan of Loretta, even going as far as to call her a “stinkarooni.” Could she be his killer? But, according to Hulu’s season three synopsis, Loretta actually helps the trio as they embark on their toughest case yet — one that sees them leave the comfort of the Arconia, much to the tenants’ joy. “At least you had the consideration to keep the body out of the building this time,” Mia Hoffman’s Uma tells Charles in the two-and-a-half-minute look at the upcoming season. The complete article can be read at The Hollywood Reporter.

In a previous conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, co-creator John Hoffman admitted that Streep “was the dream” casting choice for Loretta, and then she “reached out to her friends Steve and Marty” about wanting to be a part of the show. “It’s this domino effect of wonderful experiences, and she is everything anyone has ever said about working with her. It [was] really a hell of a time on our set.” Gomez echoed Hoffman’s sentiment about Streep when she shared a photo in April with the three-time Oscar winner to announce production on season three had wrapped. “I’m not sure I have enough words to explain just how beautiful this season has been,” she wrote in the caption. “It has been deliriously hilarious, challenging and for me, an absolute dream. I’ll post more soon. But I’ll I leave it with the woman I adore, look up to and love.”

SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance announced Wednesday that the nonprofit organization has raised more than $15 million for its emergency financial assistance program, thanks in large part to contributions from more than a dozen of Hollywood’s top-earning stars who’ve donated $1 million or more. According to Variety, Dwayne Johnson had contributed a “historic” seven-figure donation, a figure which Vance described as “a call to arms” for everyone to “step up however you can.” But Johnson is not alone. More than a dozen A-listers have also answered the call, each donating $1 million or more, including George and Amal Clooney, Luciana and Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey. “I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” Streep said, explaining her desire to give back. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.” The full article can be read at Variety with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Fans of Meryl Streep’s genius narration voice are in for a treat: For Harper Audio, Streep has read Ann Patchett’s new novel “Tom Lake” in an unabridged 11 1/2 hour version, which will be available August 01, 2023. You can pre-order the audiobook on Amazon and all other retailers. The book’s synopsis can be found below.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.