Here’s your chance to win 2 tickets for the theatrical US release of “Escape From Extinction Rewilding” this September. The documentary follows tireless conservation efforts of leading organizations implementing rewilding practices across a diverse array of species in equally diverse environments. With many thanks to the marketing team behind the documentary, Simply Streep can provide 2x 2 tickets for the film’s September 27 release in many US cities. If you are from the US and would like to win 2 tickets, simply enter your name and email address in the field below. Please have a look at the giveaway rules as well. Good luck everybody.

Only Murders in the Building, which John Hoffman created with Steve  Martin, received 21 Emmy noms this year, including one for best comedy series – a feat Hoffman, a four-time Emmy winner, tells The Hollywood Reporter is “affirming.” It’s crazy. I was with [EPs] Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal going through the opening scene for season three potentially being this actress walking onto a stage, auditioning for a part, and Oliver being thunderstruck by both the talent and the woman standing before him, and I said to Dan and Jess, “Well, the perfect person to play this part — you know who that is?” They’re like, “Who?” And I was like, “Well, Meryl Streep.” And they were like, “Good luck with that, John.” Then, literally two weeks later, I get a text from Steve and Marty saying, “Hey, Meryl Streep just reached out and said she’d like to talk about doing something together. Should we bring up the show?” I said, “Yeah!” And a week later, they called and said, “Hey, Meryl just said she’s in if you think we have something for her to do. Do we have anything good?” And I was like, “Oh, fuck.”

I pitched her the character over a very nervous-making Zoom. I said, “We open on your character, actually, in the very first scene, but you’re 10 and visiting New York from St. Louis with your mom, who’s bringing you to your first Broadway show, it’s called No Strings. And before I got any further, Meryl said, “I saw that.” And I said, “What?!” She said, “Yeah, I saw that with my mother … Diahann Carroll was in it. She sang this beautiful song.” And she started to sing “The Sweetest Sounds.” I said, “OK, I don’t know what the hell is happening right now, but Meryl, you have to stop because my head is going to explode. Those lyrics you just sang are on page one of the script I’m going to send you after we hang up. And she said, ‘What?!’ (John Hoffman, The Hollywood Reporter, August 13, 2024)

Only Murders in the Building is going bicoastal. Hulu’s series about a ragtag trio of podcasting crime solvers released another trailer for its fourth season on Tuesday, teasing Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel’s (Selena Gomez) big trip across the country. The end of season three left the characters shocked by the death of Charles’ friend and former stunt double, Sazz (Jane Lynch). In the season four trailer, the group must balance their new investigation with a starry trip to Hollywood, after a film studio begins work on a movie adaptation of the podcast. Hulu has hailed season four as Only Murders‘ “starriest season yet,” with guest stars that include Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Molly Shannon, Richard Kind, Kumail Nanjiani and Melissa McCarthy. The trailer also features appearances from returning stars Lynch, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Michael Cyril Creighton and Meryl Streep (although only very briefly). Only Murders in the Building season four premieres on Hulu on Aug. 27, with new episodes every Tuesday.

The SAG-AFTRA Foundation has announced the official opening of the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists. According to Variety, the 15,000 square-foot facility is located on the 10th floor of the Union’s headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard and is named in honor of Streep, the most philanthropic donor in the Foundation’s nearly 40-year history. The state-of-the-art facility is a hub designed to help SAG-AFTRA artists fine-tune their skills and advance their careers. Courtney B. Vance, president and chairman of the board of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, shared his thoughts on the opening: “Meryl Streep’s quiet and consistent support for the Foundation and her fellow actors for decades has been nothing short of extraordinary. In recent years when serious crises struck our community, Meryl stepped up immediately to help lift up performers who needed it most.” He added, “Naming our new Center in her honor is our way of expressing gratitude for her unwavering commitment and generosity, as well as embodying the excellence she exemplifies in our industry. The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists will encourage and nurture the talents of countless performers, serving as a beacon of inspiration to us all. We are immensely proud to unveil this vibrant new home where SAG-AFTRA artists can connect, collaborate, and grow together. We eagerly anticipate the remarkable work, creativity and careers that will come from it.” The complete article can be read over at Variety.

Meryl Streep is celebrating 10 years of The Writers Lab with the 2024 lineup of female and non-binary screenwriters to watch. According to IndieWire, Streep has funded The Writers Lab since 2014, and the program is still the only offering in the world dedicated exclusively to elevating the work of women and non-binary screenwriters over the age of 40. Nicole Kidman has also supported the Lab, which is the only program in the world for mid-career screenwriters. This year, the program is working with 14 writers across 12 projects, with Labs now operational in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe. The 14 selected women screenwriters will gather in early November in Saugerties, New York to focus on tools and strategies to navigate the ever-shifting landscape of professional opportunities and build sustainable careers. Along with Streep and Kidman, the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Lynch Hall Charitable Foundation, and the Alex & Meg Weidner Family Foundation also support the Lab. The complete article can be read over at IndieWire, with many thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

The sequel to the award-winning Escape from Extinction introduces rewilding, a proven method for sustainable conservation that has the potential to bring back hundreds of thousands of species from the brink of extinction. Rewilding is a transformative conservation strategy that prioritizes the restoration of natural ecosystems by reintroducing native species – both plant and animal – particularly apex predators and keystone species. This innovative approach restores ecological balance and enhances biodiversity, while generating farther-reaching impacts, such as strengthening our local and global food systems, mitigating climate change, and offering significant socio-economic benefits to communities. Escape from Extinction Rewilding is a powerful and timely documentary that delves into this critical conservation practice. Narrated by Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, the film follows tireless conservation efforts of leading organizations implementing rewilding practices across a diverse array of species in equally diverse environments. Through compelling storytelling and breathtaking cinematography, the documentary showcases the tangible successes and ongoing challenges in the field of rewilding. It highlights how humanity, when armed with knowledge and compassion, can halt the decline of countless animal species and restore the environments we call home. Escape from Extinction Rewilding will be released in over 100 theaters nationwide on Thursday, September 27.

This documentary not only brings the importance of rewilding to the forefront but also emphasizes that you can’t protect what you don’t love, and you can’t love what you don’t know,” shared Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane and the film’s executive producer. “At American Humane, we are profoundly thankful to Meryl for lending her voice to this critical story of survival, inspiring countless others to become advocates for animal welfare.

Congratulations to Meryl Streep for receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for playing Loretta Durkin in “Only Murders in the Building”. The show received a staggering 21 nominations in total, including nods for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series (Steve Martin and Martin Short), Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series (Selena Gomez), Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series (Paul Rudd) and Outstanding Guest Actors In A Comedy Series (Matthew Broderick and Da’Vine Joy Randolph). This is Meryl Streep’s sixth Emmy nomination – she received nods for “First Do No Harm” and “Big Little Lies” and won for “Holocaust”, “Angels in America” and for narrating the Netflix series “Five Came Back.” The Emmy Awards will be handed out during a live ceremony on September 15, 2024.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Carol Burnett (Palm Royale)
Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Meryl Streep (Only Murders In The Building)

The New Jersey Hall of Fame has announced its class of inductees for 2024—and the group includes some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Meryl Streep, who grew up in Bernardsville, Paul Rudd, who was born in Passaic, and Kevin Smith, a Red Bank native, are on this year’s list, which features 18 New Jerseyans who have achieved greatness in categories including performing arts & entertainment, sports, and education & science. “The 2024 class of inductees of the New Jersey Hall of Fame illustrate the New Jersey ethic of hard work, determination and grit,” Jon F. Hanson, Chairman of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to celebrate the contributions of 18 new Inductees so future generations can learn about their journeys.” Streep, one of our country’s most celebrated actors and a three-time Oscar winner, got her start in a fifth-grade play, then starred in musicals at Bernards High School. Things came full circle for the Jersey native in the late ’90s, when her movie One True Thing filmed for several months in nearby Morristown. You can watch the induction ceremony on November 13.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Devil Wears Prada” writer Aline Brosh McKenna is penning a would-be follow-up to the hit film that is being developed and produced by Wendy Finerman, who was behind the original. No deals for the cast are in place. Disney, which would be the studio behind the film following the acquisitions of the original Devil studio Fox 2000, had no comment. The 2006 film based on the book of the same name follows Andy (Hathaway), a recent college journalism graduate as she lands one of the most coveted jobs in publishing as the assistant to Anna Wintour stand-in Miranda Priestly (Streep). Andy dives into the world of magazines and high fashion thanks to her fellow assistant (Blunt). The film grossed a massive $326 million at the worldwide box office and earned Streep an Oscar nomination. Puck first reported the news of the sequel and offered insights into a possible plot where Priestly is still the head of Runway but the magazine has endured the financial headwinds of contemporary publishing and is in a diminished state. Blunt’s one-time assistant would now be an executive at a luxury brand conglomerate that advertises with Runway. While promoting her recent film, The Idea of You, Hathaway told E! she was doubtful about the possibility of a sequel, saying, “I don’t think a continuation of that story is probably ever gonna happen.”

We’re not done with magazine updates yet. As you’ve probably know (or maybe even celebrated), Meryl Streep turned 75 years this past Saturday. Many international newspapers have paid tribute to this amazing milestones. Scans from Spain, Hungary, Germany, Poland and France have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to my friend Alvaro for sending them in. Enjoy reading.