Many thanks to Julie for passing the following information to me. November 16th, 2011 will mark the official opening of the first U.S.-China Forum on The Arts and Culture in Beijing. This four-day event will involve the participation of an extraordinary line-up of American cultural icons, including Meryl Streep, film director Joel Coen, musician Yo-Yo Ma, among others, who will engage in dialogue and perform with their Chinese counterparts. A special screening of “The Iron Lady” will be held on Nov. 19, 2011 at 7:30pm local time, in the National Museum of China, with a follow-up discussion after the screening.

Seated next to Howe is actor Andrew Havill, playing Tom King, who held a variety of portfolios from Employment to Northern Ireland, during Mrs Thatcher’s Downing Street reign. On the premier’s right is a blurred vision of Michael Elwyn as Michael Howard, then the Local Government Minister. And all on his lonesome in the inset picture is Richard E. Grant as Michael Heseltine. Plotting, no doubt. Director Phyllida Lloyd is still in post production, refining and editing her cut of the picture. Over the summer, Meryl did some voice work on the film and fine-tuned a speech or two. Many of the speeches and statements heard in the film won’t be exact records of what was spoken in the Houses of Parliament, on the steps of No 10 or other famous locations – although they will reflect the flavour of what Mrs Thatcher and other major players said.

This was done for a variety of reasons, including copyright, but also so producers didn’t have to seek anyone’s approval for use of their words. Abi Morgan, who penned the screenplay, is a skilled writer and from the bits of footage I have seen it would appear the words put into the mouths of the real-life characters are close to what was actually uttered. In any event, the movie isn’t a documentary on the Thatcher years. It’s an exploration of one remarkable woman’s ambition, and how she hand-bagged her way to success in what is still regarded as a man’s world. ‘It’s also about the price she paid,’ producer Damian Jones told me a while back.

Pictures of Meryl’s appearance at the Directors Guild of America Honors Gala have been added to the gallery.

Director David Frankel was interviewed by ComingSoon.net on his latest film “The Big Year” and was also asked about “Great Hope Springs”. An excerpt can be found below, the complete interview is here.

It’s a drama with surprising comedy, that’s the best way to describe it now. I mean, until I see it in the cutting room, but I think our take on it is that it’s really, really funny, but we’re not playing anything for laughs, and I think that’s the best kind of comedy, I think, where the humor comes out of very real emotion, not unlike “The Big Year.” I think that’s a similar tone that we’re going for in “Great Hope Springs.”

Presenters for Thursday’s New York ceremony will include Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren and directors Taylor Hackford, Steven Soderbergh and Martin Scorsese. The DGA Honors are the guild’s annual honorary awards; they go to individuals and institutions “that have made distinguished contributions to American culture through the world of film and television.” Belzer has hosted three times in the past. This year’s honorees are director/writer/producer Nora Ephron, senator Patrick Leahy, IATSE International president Matthew Loeb, HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins and filmmaker Alice Guy Blache. Streep will present the award to Ephron, Mirren and DGA vice president Paris Barclay to Leahy, DGA president Hackford and DGA national executive director Jay Roth to Loeb, Soderbergh to Nevins, and Scorsese to Blache. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, October 13 at the DGA Theater in New York City.

According to the Hartford Courant, “Great Hope Springs” wrapped filming this Friday – so these might be the last additions of pictures from the set (September 28, 2011 and October 04, 2011) so far. No word though if principal photography is done or if the film continues to shoot elsewhere.

With many thanks to Alvaro, scans from the November 2011 issue of Vanity Fair have been added to the gallery. While I was expecting a bigger article, they have a half page on the upcoming “The Iron Lady” with two new stills from the film.

Olivia Colman was relieved Meryl Streep wore prosthetics on the set of their new film about former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – because it made it easier to forget that she was working with the Oscar-winning star. Colman plays Carol Thatcher in the movie, The Iron Lady, which stars Jim Broadbent as her father Denis Thatcher and Meryl as her mother, Britain’s first female prime minister. Olivia told Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “I couldn’t quite believe I was in the same room or city as Meryl Streep. I was quite grateful that she was covered in prosthetics so she didn’t quite look like her, otherwise I don’t think I would have been able to function at all.” Olivia said Meryl perfected the voice of the former Tory leader, adding: “It’s spooky, its proper spine-chilling spooky, it’s brilliant.” Even though she thought she would turn “to jelly” while working with the actress, she said: “Within moments I forgot that she was stratospherically wonderful…she’s a funny woman, who is very close to giggles at all times.

“She’s got nothing to prove so there’s no ego, she was lovely to be around.” The Rev star did not meet Carol Thatcher before playing the role. She said that she was “not an impressionist” but that the trick to sounding like her was “weak Rs”. Olivia, who is also filming the role of Queen Elizabeth in Hyde Park On Hudson, the movie starring Bill Murray and Laura Linney, said of her future: “I hope to work until I can’t stand any more.”

Exiting news! The November issue of Vanity Fair features a pictorial by Brigitte Lacombe on the shooting of “The Iron Lady”. It’ll be on newsstands in New York and L.A. on October 4, and nationally and on the iPad October 11.

Over 200 new production stills – including photoshoots and on-set pictures – of most of Meryl’s films have been added to the gallery. Some have been replaced in better quality, the majority is new to the site. Click the previews below to see all new pictures. Enjoy!