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?