Ask and Meryl Shall Receive.
Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 9:00AM UPDATED WITH NEWLY SCHEDULED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT INFO
An Imagined Kennedy Center Honors Honor Photo OpDo you think Meryl Streep ever gets tired of hearing how awesome she is?
Do you think she ever has moments of doubt on set or has she ascended to a higher mortal plane? By now, 30+ years into her regularly lauded big screen career, the role she's had the most rehearsal time playing is that of "Gracious Recipient of Compliments". This will only continue this December with this year's Kennedy Center Honors on December 4th. The other recipients this year are all musicians: Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, and Sonny Rollins so I think they should make Streep sing for this particular supper; she's good at that, too.
[Tangent: In other Streep news this headline about a "10th anniversary screening of Mamma Mia!" nearly gave me a heart attack today. It's 2018 already????? What have I done with my liiiiiiiiffffffeeee.]
The topic of Lifetime Achievement and Oscar is an annual one. Someone gets that treatment every year though it's far from infallible as campaign options go. And every year people get that treatment who aren't even in the Oscar race, which muddies the water in terms of who people are feeling exceptionally generous towards in one calendar year. There will be a limit on how many stars can get a boost from it, or it's younger cousin (the simpler "Tribute"). This year has already seen tributes to George Clooney and Tilda Swinton (both at Telluride), and lifetime honors for Shirley Maclaine (at Deauville) and soon the list will include Michael Douglas (Santa Barbara), Warren Beatty (BAFTA Los Angeles), Mary Tyler Moore (SAG), Glenn Close (San Sebastian) and Meryl Streep (Kennedy Center Honors). It doesn't end there.
We're probably obviously headed straight towards Lifetime Achievement Territory with the campaigns for Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Vanessa Redgrave (Coriolanus), Christopher Plummer (Beginners) and Nick Nolte (Warrior)?
How many of these not so subtle "It's Time!" or "It's Time Again!" campaigns will really take off? AMPAS almost never goes with a whole group of already rewarded actors or an "all veteran quartet" in the acting races (though there was The Strange Case of 1994). Care to place your bets?
Meryl Streep, Oscars (11)
Reader Comments (43)
Has anyone heard anything about shifting release dates for "Coriolanus"? BoxOfficeMojo changed its date to January 13, but that's the only place I've seen it.
I love you for loving Pfeiffer but I'll never understand the Streep obsession. I've come to respect her myth because at the end of the day like Madonna she's still standing but like Madonna (who btw I love with all my heart Erotica is everything) fans in the industry and outside are what's really keeping them afloat.
Although the various film achievement awards you noted are deserving, I do not think they have the cultural prestige of the Kennedy Center Honor. Certainly Streep's honor is clearly well deserved in view of her amazing career. Actually, not too many movie actresses have been honored by the Kennedy Center, only about 13 in 34 years.
Liz N. - Coriolanus has indeed shifted to January (it's on IMDB as well).
I'm gonna bet that Plummer, Streep, Close, Redgrave and Oldman get Oscar nods. Not convinced about Nick Nolte and Albert Brooks yet.
Squasher88--
Thanks, but what does that mean for Oscar? Is it getting a qualifying run?
Yeah. NEVER EVER EVER trust that "January" means the following year. About 83% of the time it means "with oscar qualifying release"
I'm happy for Streep. She certainly deserves this honor. But we're all still waiting for Oscar #3.
Given that Close is a long time member of the Kennedy Centre's Artists Committee who make recommendations regarding honorands, I'd love to know what she thinks of Streep being honoured this year...
Im still liking my wounds from Glenn Close (who btw is the BEST actress EVER) losing an Oscar to Jodi Foster for "The Acused" (at Best an Emmy performence) when she (Glenn Close that is the (I never say this enough) BEST ACTRESS EVER) in "DANGEROUS LIAISONS" gave a performance that is to me the "Mona Lisa" of acting! (So yeah gave her ALL the awards you can 'cause you'll (Academy member that is) never make up for that)...
I just did a bit of reading over at Wikpedia, and it seems that some people have even won the "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar more than once!
stjean -- would you like to pour salt in this wound. i'm still hurting from that too and it's been 20+ years. WHAT were they thinking? Usually when you have two back to back MAJOR acting successes and you were runner up the first time, you win the next time. ARGH.
I guess Oscar God doesn't exist!
I don't know if it's prestigious enough to count for anything but the Seattle International Film Festival also had a tribute to Ewan McGregor.
nathaniel and stjean - the dangerous liaisons loss is exactly why i fear Close won't win this year - even with a lifetime achievement angle to her campaign - Oscar rules don't seem to apply to her
[and don 't get me started on a lack of nomination for Reversal of Fortune - though perhaps it simply predates the "category fraud" strategy of leads going for supporting.?]
Matt,
I read somewhere that Close and Streep are friends. So for all we know, it may have been Close that put Streep up as a nominee for the KCH award.
I know nothing but I think I hope Close, Plummer and Redgrave will win. Meryl next time.
And that "multiple Meryl" pic scares me! I'm afraid some day Streep's characters will come alive and hunt me down! They're all so.. intense.
Eh, if anyone was robbed in 1988, it was Streep (and Huppert). So whatevs. Close deserved her nomination, but the only win I would've supported was for Garp (though Warren was my favourite that year). I think Close had the much stronger movie, but Foster was excellent too.
/3rtfull , I have no idea what you're trying to say
That's okay -- in all matters of Meryl Streep I'll come across as a crazy person anyway.
Both Streep and Madonna are still standing because they have the ability to change, they are smart and they are lucky. The former is more talented than the latter.
btw, just saw "Jane Eyre" and absolutely loved it
Blinking Cursor - the friendship supposedly goes back to their filming of House of the Spirits.
That said, I have always wondered the extent to which Streep pulling out of the planned filming of "Mary Stuart" (co-starring and co-producing with Close) in the late 90's put a strain on the friendship.
I have also pondered about a very public exchange that occurred in the 2005 award season. Both Streep (Angels in America) and Close (Lion in Winter) were nominated for the Emmy. Streep won, and in her very funny acceptance speech described the other nominees who (by memory) included Helen Mirren and Emma Thompson stating that they were acting goddesses (I think she referred to Thompson as being a bitch but it was very very funny). When she got to Close she stated "Well Glenn's a friend, so she'll forgive me [for winning]".
Later that year, Close won the Sag. Her speech opened with a "Well Meryl, are we still friends?". The line bombed, but it always seemed a bit bizarre to me because Streep wasn't even nominated that year (she had in fact been nominated and won the previous year for Angels due to Emmys and Sags having differing "in contention" date rules)... I kind of got the feeling that what Streep had said 3 months earlier had really rankled Close
It may just be my frustration that Streep's career in the last decade has sucked much of the oxygen from the careers of Close, Huston, Weaver, Lange, Spacek et al....but a tiny bit of me hopes that Close feels the same way and is determined to triumph this year.
I'm guilty of this -- it's not true. America doesn't take care of their aging pop stars and their film actresses -- hence me using Madonna as a mirror example to Streep's legacy -- their core support system keeps them afloat. Close is returning to film full time after her Damages contract is up -- Weaver hasn't accepted television yet, although she will do TV movies these days -- Lange fucked up her face -- she has accepted TV character work as her fate -- Huston continues to find bit parts in high quality or intentioned indie film projects -- she's taken a Spielberg produced tv gig for an Emmy of her own -- Spacek is so fucking talented and underrated it's shocking. Diane Keaton is still wanted at HBO -- Kathy Bates could upset since she's due for at least one Emmy victory -- this is her 9th nomination -- one thing TV has over the stage which a lot of beloved actresses go is visibility to the general public.
Streep's continual cinematic visibility is not due to her (admitted) talent nor her "core support system of fans" (as supportive as they may be) but rather:
1) her appeal to a broader audience who attend few movies a year and are looking for some sort of guarantee that they will receive a quality experience
2) the risk averse nature of many directors and producers for whom she is the "go to" for roles portraying women of a certain age
For both groups, these days Streep is as much a brand as an actress. Each award builds and reinforces this brand. Ultimately the quality of individual performances matters little.
None of this is Streep's fault but I still think Close would be forgiven if her mantra this year was: "I won't be ignored,
DanMeryl"I loathe Lifetime Achievement Oscar nods and wins. Like, I would be so offended if someone ever felt the need to reward me with a prize when I was 60-80 for an average-to-decent performance on the sake of my age and history alone being the deciding factors. And for a lot of these instances, they almost always are. And nearly always taking up space for someone infinitely more deserving in the end. Annoying in every way, basically.
It's always interesting this Close vs Streep thing because even though I think they could've swapped some roles in a somehow grey-middle range area, I can't see them swapping more iconic roles. Streep wouldn't have nailed Alex Forrester and Close could've never done Mamma Mia. Yes, I can see Close in The Hours, but I can't see her in Sophie's Choice. She could've done Prada as well, and Streep could've done Dangerous Liaisons, but I don't see her nailing it. I don't know, I guess my point is that they aren't always as interchangeable as we think.
And I agree with Matt, regardless of talent, she has become a brand for most people as referring to good actressing. As Angelina is for the charities and adopting children. That's partly why other actresses equally talented of her age don't have a shot.
Have to agree with Mark- I hate lifetime achievement awards too. Worthy performances are snubbed in favour of lifetime achievement awards and then, years later, that wrong is "rectified" by denying someone else. It's the vicious circle of life.
one of the interesting things about the Streep argument -- i.e. inadvertently damaging the other women in her age range and being a marketable brand -- is that it's weird that Hollywood gave up on people that are ALSO marketable. Maybe Close will be revived with albert nobbs but it's not as if she doesn't have hits to her name and isn't somewhat of a brand herself (people instantly knew what they were going to get with Damages, 101 dalmations... for example. Diane Keaton carried several hits of her own and one not so very long ago (something's gotta give) and is also a brand ...but maybe she squandered the good will on the bad movies she made though afterwards?
but in Streep's defense -- not that she needs defending -- one sometimes gets the sense that she loves acting more than many working actors. the joy bleeds through and joy is infectious so why wouldn't people enjoy watching it? I think a lot of actors who are paid gazillionss and who work a lot do fall out of love at some point... or lose the fire that motivated them. I mean y'all know i love Michelle Pfeiffer but I firmly believe she lost the fire and that the dwindling of her career has more to do with her own interest than Hollywood's or the audiences interest in her if that makes sense.
When did she lose the fire you think nat,mid 90's maybe,i belive she still has acting chops,i loved her in cheri.
mrripley -- it was definitely mid 90s when she started producing and started having kids. I'm not saying that child rearing necessarily kills the acting obsession in people... (Annette Bening for example seems more into acting than ever and Meryl only had a tiny blip of not working as much) but in some people it does. and Pfeiffer was one of those people. it got very erratic in the mid 90s and then of course in the 00s very *vanishes*
Jessica, thanks for that link to the Seattle Fest - I had never heard of the new Ewan McGregor film Perfect Sense, did you get to see it? A disease-epidemic film with Ewan McGregor and Eva Green having sex? That sounds a lot more fun than Contagion, IMO. (I watched the trailer and Ewan looked sexier than he has in ages onscreen.)
I love both Close and Streep, they were the heights of actressing when I was growing up in the 1980's, but I would dearly love to see Close get her due. It's weird how Streep sucked up all the acclaim (for reasons several people have enumerated here); maybe she's more likable/lovable/better at charming her peers than Close is? We forget how much that counts when it comes to awards (ex: Sandra Bullock's Oscar.)
I don't believe for a second Streep loves acting above and beyond her peers. Women as they continue on in their careers get rejected very quickly when the powers that be behind the scenes change from the older men who use to hire them to the younger men who find Glenn Close a dog face and all they know of Meryl Streep is that she's the Sophie of Sophie's Choice.
Do you believe they're doing television because they love film acting less?
/3rtfull -- i'm just theorizing. I don't root for Streep to get every role or even as much as half of the roles she gets (everyone knows this about me) even though she is one of my favorite actors but to me, as a viewer, her love of the profession comes across more than other peoples. It's more visible to the eye. Just sayin'. And you won't find a bigger champion of Pfeiffer than me but I 100% don't believe she loves to act as much as Meryl does.
I think it's now that Streep has nothing left to lose. Remember, there once was a time when Streep was considered cinematic medicine - unappealing, but good for you. But as she's shaken that off in the 00's with a string of comedic works and box office hits, just's just ascended to that status where if you don't like her, it's easier to cry uncle.
As much as we'd love to blame Streep for Close, I think we should remember that Close hasn't made a notable film in twenty years. I mean, look at the other eighties queens: Pfieffer, Lange, Weaver, Spacek... all have had some success in the 90's and onwards. I do think it's lack of roles, obviously, but given how much she gravitated towards television in that time (guest roles, movies/miniseries, ongoing arcs and now Damages) and theatre (two Tony awards in the 90s), you wonder just how much of it is her own disinterest. Not Pfeiffer levels, of course - I think Pfeiffer made a concious choie to recede from the limelight (a la Garbo).
In general, I hate lifetime achievement awards masquerading as individual oscars. Sometimes, if the performance reaches a certain level, I'm all right with it, regardless of the quality of the competition (Paul Newman is a good example - it may not be his best work, but it's still worthwhile). At the same time, what I really really hate is career awards for a career that isn't even near over. Winslet in The Reader, for example.
arkaan -- so are you saying you won't be behind Leonardo DiCaprio's upcoming Oscar for J Edgar ;) ?
I believe that Sir isn't love of the craft but love of one's self. Her ego is massive even before people began to stroke it. All actors have an ego btw -- but Streep's could fill Heaven. I have to stop bashing this woman -- she's like a cancer in my brain -- ala whenever I think of Dubaya.
/3rtfull
you really are a sick f---!!!!
Get it, Meryrrrrl! Oscar next!
(No, not really, but it's fun to dream.)
I never thought of it that way re: Meryl Streep as a "brand," so thanks for that read matt. It's so true though. Directors/casting directors' laziness + the over 50 crowd not going to movies anymore with rude teens around, so all they're seeing are the adult/prestige films a few times a year (or Oscar season). They know Meryl's rep and respond with their $$$. It's not Streep's fault for these harsh realities, and I don't think it's a case of her peers losing their passion for acting. It's an unadventerous Hollywood that casts a very small net for actresses of that certain age. Why shouldn't Meryl benefit from that when Close, Field, Weaver, Bening, Moore, Spacek, etc., can't benefit from it? Maybe it gets old when Meryl gets nominated for so much, but that's the system pretty much. I am pleased to see her get this Kennedy Center Honors. I didn't think she would be in play for that with "The Iron Lady" on the horizon. But good for her. It doesn't mean that she's greenlit for the 3rd Oscar, but it's putting the rest of the field on notice that she's a force to be reckoned with still. So watch ya back, Glenn!
rick
You're a dick.
Matt, thanks for your insight on Meryl being a brand. So true. I never thought about it that way (but I have for Madonna). She got her reputation in the 80s and 'it' has been built from there. I do not in any way see how Streep could be 'damaging' other actresses. Lots of movies get made with lots of actresses, but Streep rises to the top. I just think she's quite talented and takes on challenging and interesting roles (and she gets noticed), all the time, consistently. If anything, other actresses BENEFIT because of Streep. And I agree that 3rtfull doesn't know what he's talking about.
Nathaniel: re DiCaprio.
Nope. At least with Winslet, I think she was totally hosed once (Holy Smoke so clearly was the best performance of the year from a leading lady) and you can justify oscars for Eternal Sunshine and Sense/Sensibilty. I'm barely okay with DiCaprio being an oscar nominated actor.
Though Eastwood's never made anything as bad as The Reader, so fingers crossed that I actually enjoy this flick.
*sigh*
This conversation only got me thinking about who, of Meryl's peers (Lange, Weaver, Spacek, Close, Field) would've been better suited for some of her more less successful roles. AGAIN.
Janice - No I have not seen the movie.