Why does ‘Dexter’ make me fall asleep?

If there was ever a show that was tailor-made for me – it’s Dexter. Although I watch it every week, and am caught up on all the action, somehow, I don’t really… connect. And frequently, when I am watching it with hubby, I fall asleep and have to catch up later. Thank the lord for DVR.  But this isn’t about the merits of Dexter – but why I feel so disengaged from a pretty good show.

Whenever I do fall asleep, as Dexter is explaining why he is not like anyone else, and how he has to pretend that he is just like you and me, I feel guilty, as though I have fallen asleep in church, or some genius professor’s class…

Why, I ask hubby, why do I become so…anesthetized?

Hubby says, quite simply, “It’s Dexter’s monotone voice.” Leave it to hubby to get back to basics. Which puts it all in perspective. And then he said, “Remember Six Feet Under?”  (Well, who could forget it?)

But it hits on something crucial here. The reason why, in this tight economy, I will forego a lot of things but not my premium cable channels, is the quality of the programming you’ll find on HBO, Showtime, yada, yada, yada. Plus — no commercials. Yet, even in this land of richness there are shows among shows.

Dexter is good but it isn’t Six Feet Under, nor should it try to be. It just isn’t, and to try and pretend that it is is probably what makes me fall asleep, or again, maybe it’s that I am not overly sympathetic to the fact that Dexter likes snuffing people.

There was a time when I was obsessed — I mean, absolutely obsessed with serial killers. When my sister bought me a book for Christmas that I already had about profiling….I knew I had to stop the madness, and step away from trying to figure out just what made these dudes tick. Not to mention the time I was in the checkout line at the local grocery store and was convinced the average-looking bald guy in front of me was a serial killer. After all, they look like everyone else right?

 So, I don’t obsess over serial killers, and I keep Dexter in perspective now.

Which maybe – when I look at this way – I am glad Dexter is not keeping me up nights.

 

Movie Review: C-c-c-Changeling…

Clint Eastwood is one of our country’s greatest artists – a director so surefooted  you are willing to follow wherever he chooses to lead. His latest effort, Changeling is no exception.

The movie is based on a true story, and Eastwood has the common sense to know which events matter and which don’t in this telling of one women’s fight against a corrupt system in her quest to find her missing son. I went Googling after the movies…It really is one helluva story, and underscores, as the movie No Country for Old Men  does, that evil has and will always be with us — even in what we  think were more innocent times.

Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) is a single mom raising her nine-year-old son Walter in 1920s Los Angeles. The City of Angels is tarnished by a corrupt police department that appear to be worse than any of the criminals they’ve systematically gunned down. When Walter goes missing, Christine doesn’t get much help from the boys in blue until months later when they insist they’ve found her son. 

The kid who comes rolling into town isn’t Walter –he’s 3 inches shorter which is the most obvious clue – but what the hey, trauma can do that to a person. Not to mention Christine isn’t that far gone that she wouldn’t know at first sight that this kid is an imposter. The LAPD is using the case as a PR strategy to show what a swell upstanding department they are, so they refuse to be swayed by Christine’s insistence that they must continue to search for her real son.

Christine is aided by an unlikely hero — the Reverend Gustav Briegleb played by the ever-more-interesting as-he-ages John Malkovich. Briegleb isn’t your typical movie-style religious fanatic but an activist who uses his radio program to rail against the LAPD and call attention to Christine’s plight. Malkovich hits all the right notes in a performance that could have gone way south in the wrong hands.

When Christine is wrongfully stuck in the looney bin because she dares to oppose the cops, it’s Briegleb that helps get her sprung, aided by a high-powered lawyer who is not afraid of taking the whole department down.

[Spoiler alert -- and I did not see this coming so you may not want to either...]

The real twist to the story is that while all this tormented mom vs. evil cops is going on — there’s a unexpectedly dreadful reason Walter and other young boys have gone missing. A determined and honest detective named Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly) is assigned to nab Canadian teenager Sanford Clark who’s in the country illegally and get him back to his homeland. When he finds the youth, Clark tells him a horrific story of blood and death that leads to uncovering the buried bodies of 20 young boys – one of them may be Walter.

The maniacial killer is Clark’s older cousin, Gordon Northcott, played by Jason Butler Harner.  

Harner is scary, but not because he goes for the typical psycho route. He’s all fake charm and sweat, a guy who by turns is giddy with the media attention he obtains and full of self-pity because he has been caught. It’s a standout performance.Harner  doesn’t so much “play”  Northcott – he inhabits him. He’s that freaky, scary, icky good.

The two things that really bothered me –  I can’t help it — but when I am staring up at that gi-normous movie screen the unrealistic aspects pop out like big red stray pimples. First, in every scene Jolie is made up to look like a va-va-voom movie star — in fact, the very first scene, when she’s getting out of bed her hair is curled, her eye shadow lusciously dark. It’s distracting because you want to get lost in her character. Let’s face it, Jolie is no slouch in the looks department and it seems overkill here. I am reminded of some of Eastwood’s other leading ladies —  Sondra Lockhart for one, or the washed-out hardness of Carrie Snodgrass in Pale Rider – and wish someone had just kept the overzealous make-up artist away, away, away from Jolie. Her performance is okay, but not for one single solitary second do I forget just who she is.

The other thing is the score. I know Eastwood composed it but I kept thinking to myself – if I hear those same notes over again…I may just…(scream).  I am always reminded when I don’t like a movie soundtrack of how pitch-perfect Scorcese’s music choices always are. He’s the benchmark.

But — I kept telling myself, Eastwood composed the music. What, huh? really? I mean, is there anything Clint can’t do? He just gets better with age.

Review: The Pain of Max Payne

It’s that age-old question revamped for the new millennium – which comes first the chicken or the egg — or when it comes to Max Payne, the video game or the movie?  In this case, it’s the former. Quel surprise (!) I’m not a gamer, but couldn’t help thinking I was living in one during the long  86 minutes I sat in the smelly neighborhood theatre that hubby swore he would never return to. But that’s another story.

Yeah, the movie is interminable, but ambitious — lots of noise, lots of action, lots of film noir cinematography but there are plenty of movies that have done this a million times better, so what’s the point?

This is painful. Max Payneful.

Let’s face it, taking your cues from a video game can be good and bad. Good because there’s usually plenty of action, and good vs. evil elements,  bad because the movie characters can be as robotic as their game counterparts. Seriously, does anyone remember Angelina Jolie’s ahem, distracting physicality in Tomb Raider? Her bra did more acting. It should have received credits as a supporting player.

Such is the case with Max Payne.

Mark Wahlberg shoots up the town to in Max Payne.

Let’s just say this isn’t Mark Wahlberg’s finest moment. When he is good he is very, very good — The Departed, Boogie Nights, I Heart Huckabees  – when he is bad… Planet of the Apes and this movie…ugh. As the witty Dorothy Parker once quipped about Katharine Hepburn, “Her emotions run the gamut from A to B. “, well, that’s about all you can say about not only Marky but most everyone else in this movie.  Except for Beau Bridges as B.B., who should be spanked for his blustery over-the-top plain stupid performance. I’m a big fan of the Bridges brothers – but he tanks here.

The plot: Max Payne is a maverick cop on a mission to solve a series of murders — which includes not only his ex-partner but his beloved wife and infant. Of course, at first we don’t know that all these murders are connected – but being the resourceful dude he is Max dots the i’s for us fairly quickly. He joins forces (sorta — because Max really does his own thing) with another vengeful type, assassin Mona  Sax (Mila Kunis) whose sister Natasha is another victim of this evil wave of winged horror. Okay, the winged part is a spoiler – but as soon as your butt hits the seat you’ll get why it’s not much of one.

I  recently saw a portion of an interview with the great action director Ridley Scott , and I’m completely paraphrasing him here but Scott’s main point was:  When you have a good script, shooting a picture is relatively easy because you have a blueprint to follow. When you don’t have a  good script  — it’s just a terrible ordeal.  Max Payne does not have a solid blueprint — just a series of visuals that string together into a big old murky mess. All the style in the world can’t overcome no substance.

Part of a video game’s appeal is the story the players themselves bring to it. The movie version of Max Payne predictably plods along without any real surprises. It will most surely attract fans, but most likely because there’s not a whole lot out there in movieland right now. And that’s just not worth the price of admission.

Review: Thunderous Laffs,Tropic Thunder

To say Tropic Thunder is funny is sorta like saying Angelina Jolie is beautiful. Duh. How about this: it’s so funny.  Too often, if you’ve seen a comedy’s trailer you’ve caught the best laughs, but Tropic is chock full of them. It’s smart comedy giving us a satirical look at a big-budget movie gone horribly wrong. And there’s a real ring of truth to the way it exposes not only the self-indulgence of many actors today but the awful excess that can often sink a movie.

The plot? A troupe of spoiled Hollywood actors shooting a big-budget Vietnam war movie run into a real-life drug cartel when they are taken away from the set to shoot “guerilla-style.” It’s all about capturing their fear when faced with enemies hiding in the jungle and being surprised by big loud explosions to keep them jumping.

Ben Stiller plays Tuggs Speedman, a not-too-bright action star who can’t cry on cue. Robert Downey Jr. is Kirk Lazarus, an Oscar-laden Method type who doesn’t like to break character — and this time he’s undergone quite a transformation to play African-American. This annoys his fellow ”brother” who’s the real deal, rapper/actor Alpha Chino ( Brandon T. Jackson.) And surprise —  Jack Black is his usual hysterical manic movie persona, playing a drug-addicted comic star best known for his farting ability. Black spends a lot of time running around in his underpants — which is a visual you can really never grow weary of.

While it’s nearly impossible to eclipse the irrepressible Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. does it in this movie. He’s comical in ways that are just plain brilliant as he muses about character, and at times thinks he really is a black man struggling against the world. It’s ridiculous and absurd but you buy it.

Throughout the movie, the only actor who doesn’t realize that they’re no longer shooting a movie is Tuggs. He desperately wants to be a leader and a good actor and sets off on his own to eek out the best performance ever. And while the actors try to get back to civilization and must eventually rescue Tugg, Tugg’s materialist agent  (Matthew McConaughey) and {SPOILER ALERT) a foul-mouthed studio mogul (a cameo by Tom Cruise) are busy negotiating with the drug cartel.

Well, of course, the secret’s out about Tom Cruise’s cameo. And guess what — he’s really funny. It’s a good time for Cruise to get cool again. A very good time indeed.

Dark Knight Brings in the Light

In a time when mediocrity has often made moviegoing a chore rather than entertainment, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight restores my belief that there are people in showbiz who understand that rich storytelling really does matter.  Audiences are smarter than Hollywood often wants to believe — and this weekend they proved it by flocking to the theatres resulting in a record-breaking box office weekend tally of $158.4 million.

Profoundly entertaining on every level, I relished it like a delicious meal and walked away inspired. Inspired about movies, art, life. It’s really that good.

By now most have read the plot so there’s no need to go there except to say it blows past the typical comic-book genre and turns it into something magical. Writing, directing and acting are firing on all cylinders. 

The screenplay by brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan is amazing - exploring the complexities of good vs. evil in ways that make you laugh, cheer and shake in your boots.   The acting is  triumphant. Yes, Heath Ledger’s Joker is mesmerizing, hysterical, disturbing — wonderfully fresh — but all the other characters are as fully realized. Christian Bale’s Batman is beautiful and wonderful to behold, and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon makes you forget that he is just acting, after all. Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are perfect, too.

I’m ignoring all the headlines contemplating: Is this Batman too dark, blah-de-blah-de-blah. Yes, it is dark. Dark and disturbing but also hopeful. Because in the darkness there is light — revealing the good in people, and the belief that humanity will fight against the darkness when it seems like fighting will do no good at all.

Loved, loved loved it. What about you?

 

 And did you know…Big Talker is not just a blog…it’s a whole big novel and I’ll be posting some chapters here. Help it get to an airport bookstore near you. Tell me what you think. It’s about Hollywood, movies, stars and…murder.

Big Talker – The Novel – Start Reading it Now

Chapter One: What’s in a Name? 

Chapter Two: Dainty-Dainty Goes Down

Mamma Mia – Sorry, It’s Still All About the Meryl

My idol Ebert’s rating was right on: It’s a two-star flick. That makes me sad, but I paid me money and am not sorry I did. Yes, I am talking about Mamma Mia!   l actually had a day off from the corporate machine and went and matineed it alone. No, I didn’t subject hubby — I was there with all the blue hairs.

I was underwhelmed. I  can dream about what could’ve been but in the end it was what it was. Most fans of the musical will appreciate it.

For me, any movie that involves her presence is worth the dough. Yes, it’s always about the Meryl. She is what makes a movie worth watching — even a 2-star movie, which I guess this really was. And Pierce Bronson ain’t half-bad either. I love him and he appears to be a great kisser — something extremely important if you are laying a big one on the Meryl.

But to say Mamma Mia! worked for me is like saying my son actually understands cleaning up in the kitchen.  His half-hearted attempts at wiping down a counter and getting the dishes loaded in some kind of strategic fashion in the dishwasher  turns into performance art, but it ain’t housecleaning. You appreciate the effort, but you always think you can do it better yourself.

The thing is: It should have really been better than it was. Greece, Meryl, Colin Firth, Pierce Bronson Stellen Skarsgard, Judy Walters, Christine Baranski — what’s not to love? And the delicious music of ABBA.

The plot is paper thin as many musicals are and should be — yet, in this case, it withers under the camera’s eye. Yes, Greece is beautiful. Yes, the songs are charming. But the whole story is too broad to stand up to all that Greek sunlight and wind that makes the stars’ hair fly into their mouths. And I’m not crazy about  Amanda Seyfried as Sophie. Yes, she is pretty and blond and sparkly but why do all the young romanic ingenues have to turn into some kind of lemon-flavored yogurt? I was there when Streepy was young enough to be an ingenue and she always ignited the screen. You don’t have to be young, beautiful and boring.

In the end, I found myself trying too hard to like this movie. It was simply tough to go along for the ride. Well, not too tough, actually.

Consider the strategy of Dream Girls - they built the action behind the scenes before any one of those dynamic chicks ever walked onstage. All that drama made for a real emotional ride and the music never stopped the flow —  it made everything pop. Of course, you can’t compare story lines, but there is something to be said for building a simple reality even if it is in a movie musical.

I won’t stop anybody from seeing Mamma MIa!  But I’d also say — for a touch of real ABBA magic rent Muriel’s Wedding.

 

Big Talker – The Novel – Start Reading it Now

Big Talker is not just a blog…it’s a whole big novel and I’ll be posting some chapters here. Help it get to an airport bookstore near you. Tell me what you think. It’s about Hollywood, movies, stars and…murder.

Chapter One: What’s in a Name? 

Chapter Two: Dainty-Dainty Goes Down

Spencer Pratt: Will Someone Shut This Guy Up?

I must admit I have enjoyed watching my rich little reality kids on The Hills – which is so laughingly superficial it gets a 5-star rating from me. After all, they film entire scenes where people say virtually nothing because they have nothing to say. The music is the breakout star.

But  when it comes to ubiquitous Spencer Pratt I’ve reached my limit. The boy is certainly living his 15 minutes of fame. Yeah, good for him — it’s America — we get it. He can live the dream.

Yes, he’s popping up in headlines everywhere and this latest one from the folks at Us made my blood pressure soar. I guess famous twin Mary-Kate Olsen talked to David Letterman about the boy’s bad temper in high school.

You can read the deets in the Us piece, but it’s Pratt’s really quotable quote that is so priceless:

“I know I’ve made it in Hollywood when a famous troll is talking about me on Letterman,” Pratt told Us.

“I forgive her, though,” he added. “She’s had to go through life as the less cute twin, which must be tough.”

Really, is there anything more to add? I thought you made it in Hollywood when you actually accomplished something.

Death of a Fashion Icon: Tori’s Mimi LaRue

Mimi La Rue, the beloved pug of Tori Spelling is no more.  It’s a dog-gone shame. Extra, extra:  Read all about it. I bet Tori’s having a ruff time. (Sorry, I really didn’t mean to go there.)

I don’t know why I am fascinated by Tori, but she actually seems like a nice person — although her unusual cleavage always distracted me on Beverly Hills, 90210.  I don’t watch her reality show often,  but I can marathon it any time when I am folding laundry or need something soothing to fall asleep by.

Hubby is not big on Tori.  But then again, I don’t like marathons of the History Channel either so there you go. There’s a lot we can agree on but he doesn’t get Tori and Dean. I don’t get Dean either. He seems uber-nice and extra patient.  Again, not a bad thing. Just almost unreal for reality TV.  You couldn’t film me for any length of time without me hitting the freak zone. 

The new season is called Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood  – and when you come to think about it, that title alone sums up why Tori is not like you or me and never will be. While her dog became a fashion icon, my dog is wondering when her next flea dip is due.

I mean, it’s one thing for a celebrity to walk the red carpet, it’s another thing for her dog to get regular coverage. It’s a different world from where I come from.

It seems I am drawn to the  most superficial headlines these days due to these difficult economic times.  Reading the news is just plain scary — so yes, Tori lightens things up a bit.

And  I’m in the doldrums when it comes to all things entertainment — I can’t even get inspired about a Saturday matinee.  Thank God The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! are coming.

On another entertainment note, did you know that Hulk Hogan still loves Linda?

Well, Hulk seems to think their marital woes were amplified by their reality TV show Hogan Knows Best which was another fave of mine to fold laundry by. Personally, I think it has more to do with Hulk getting busy with his daughter Brooke’s gal pal — but what do I know? I have never withstood the pressures of reality television. It could be all that peroxide too. It does funny things to the brain chemistry.

Goodbye to the thinking funnyman: George Carlin

As we sang Happy Birthday yesterday to one of our screen greats Meryl Streep, we also said a sad farewell to a master of comedy George Carlin.  Carlin had had a history of heart trouble — he checked into the hospital yesterday, June 22 and then checked out. He was 71. He will be sorely missed.

Like Meryl, George didn’t think he was all that and a bag of chips.  But the fact is, he really was, changing the face of comedy as we knew it. Influenced by the controversial and tormented Lenny Bruce,  Carlin went from doing mother-in-law jokes to performing edgier, explicit commentary that focused on our society’s absurdities.

Lenny Bruce

In 1972, he brought us the groundbreaking “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” that resulted in an indecency debate that traveled all the way to the Supreme Court.

Larry King, who knew the comedian for more than 50 years said of Carlin’s routine, “It’s one of the classic comedy bits of all time. It was great conception and a great idea. It pointed up the hypocrisy of society. People take words too seriously. Violence is a lot worse than words. All those words, while not used on air, are used in society. George once said, if a word shocks you, you must have heard it somewhere else.

Read more of Larry King’s comments 

And…for a more in-depth look at how he changed comedy read this Time piece.

A great social monologist, Carlin made us think, really think about ourselves.  I grew up listening to Bruce, Carlin and Richard Pryor — three of my father’s favorite comedians. My father always thought of himself as a maverick, when in fact, he was anything but. He was an average guy who sold insurance and tried to take care of his family.  But people like Carlin echoed the things he thought in his head and made him laugh and know that he wasn’t crazy after all. I think George Carlin set the bar higher than most ever could and kept it there for many, many years.

Throughout his career Carlin garnered four Grammy awards, five Emmy nominations and the 2008 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. And who can forget him as Rufus in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure? The fact is he was fun to watch on film.

Goodbye George and our condolences to his family.

Happy Birthday Meryl

She is an actor’s actor, and according to my friends at IMDB considered by many movie reviewers to be the greatest living film actress.

Come awards time, she’s always the performer everyone pays tribute to.  An inspiration, a legend – and at the end of the day, just a cool, cool chick.  I guess it’s because you know she has a life outside the business they call show, and that’s what makes her even better. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, even though we all do.

Happy Birthday to lovely Meryl Streep on this day…June 22.

I’ve been off the grid for a few days, traveling, thinking — not even checking my Crackberry for information about our world. As I was watching nature explode, I was contemplating the art of blogging and the things I really want to say, the things I really want to write, how I’m going to get my novel published, why haven’t I written my synopsis or my agent’s query letter…and on and on and on…And then today, I saw that it was Meryl’s birthday. She is 59 — born June 22, 1949.

Ssometimes you just gotta stop and pay homage to a great one.

IMDB’s Trivia Section on Meryl is fascinating. Here it is:

Trivia

Named Best Modern Actress in an Entertainment Weekly on-line poll, substantially beating out runner-up Michelle Pfeiffer. [September 1999]

Learned to play the violin, by practicing 6 hours a day for 8 weeks, for her role in Music of the Heart (1999).

Has a fear of helicopters.

Listed as one of twelve “Promising New Actors of 1977″ in John Willis’ Screen World, Vol. 29.

Ranked #24 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. [October 1997]

Educated at Yale University. Studied Drama.

Graduated from Vassar College in 1971.

Once engaged to actor John Cazale.

Graduated from Bernards High School.

Before making it big, she was a waitress at The Hotel Somerset in Somerville, New Jersey, USA.

Was a cheerleader and homecoming queen in high school.

She left her just-claimed Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) on the back of a toilet during the 1979 festivities.

Replaced Madonna for the lead in Music of the Heart (1999).

Her son, Henry W. Gummer (“Hank”), is a student at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. [2001]

Sister-in-law of Maeve Kinkead.

Named an Officer of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. [2000]

Born at 8:05 a.m. EDT.

Tennessee Williams wanted her for a film version of “A Streetcar Named Desire” in the 1980s. When Streep proved unavailable, the project was refashioned for television and the role of Blanche given to Ann-Margret.

Has a deviated septum, which she refuses to have fixed. Directors work around it by avoiding straight-on close-ups.

Has 4 children; Henry Gummer (aka Harry Gummer) (b. 1979), Mary Willa Gummer (aka Mamie Gummer) (b. 1983), Grace Jane Gummer (b. 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (b. 12 June, 1991).

Measurements: 34B-26-36 (from film SFX torso mold done in 1982) (source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

The children’s TV series “Sesame Street” (1969) has featured a character named “Meryl Sheep” in her honor.

Was originally supposed to play the role of Iris Hineman is the film Minority Report (2002), but had to back out. She was replaced by Lois Smith.

Her character Karen Silkwood from her 1983 film Silkwood (1983) was ranked #47 on the American Film Institute Heroes list of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villians.

Presented Paul McCartney with the 1990 Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. Attended the Beatles concert at Shea Stadium in 1965 with an “I love Paul” sign, which she mentioned when presenting the award to McCartney.

Sister of Harry Streep.

Spent a year as a transfer student at Dartmouth College where she participated in theater.

Originally applied to Law School but slept in on the morning of her interview and took it as a sign she was destined for other things.

Sigourney Weaver was a fellow classmate at Yale Drama School.

Back at the Drama school, she and Sigourney Weaver appeared in a play staged in a swimming pool together. The play is called ‘The Frogs.’

Diane Keaton calls her “my generation’s genius.”

May 27, 2004 was proclaimed “Meryl Streep Day” by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields. [May 2004]

She was voted the 37th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

As a young actor, she performed at the Yale Repertory Theater with Christopher Lloyd.

According to Katharine Hepburn’s official biographer A. Scott Berg, Meryl Streep was her least favorite modern actress on screen: “Click, click, click,” she said, referring to the wheels turning inside Streep’s head.

Has only been turned down for three roles: Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams (1985), Miss Kenton in The Remains of the Day (1993), and Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998).

Christine Estabrook was a fellow classmate at Yale Drama School.

She often works with Academy award-winning director Mike Nichols.

Mentioned by first name only (with two-time co-star Jack Nicholson) in Michael Crichton’s 2004 novel “State of Fear.”.

Tony Nominee in 1976 as Best Actress (Featured Role – Play) for Tennessee Williams‘ “27 Wagons Full of Cotton.”.

Premiere Magazine ranked her as #46 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).

Born and raised in suburban New Jersey.

Took serious singing lessons. At age 12, she studied to become an opera singer.

Acting career began on the stage.

Is the second of 4 consecutive winners of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to have the initials “M.S.”. The others are: Maggie Smith – California Suite (1978), Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard (1980), and Maureen Stapleton – Reds (1981).

Received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Middlebury College during her nephew’s graduation in 2004.

She attended Harding Township Middle School, in Harding, New Jersey for 1 or 2 years

Sold her New York City townhouse for $9.1 million in February 2006. She was forced to slash the asking price for the eight-bedroom Manhattan property from $12 million to secure a sale. Streep bought the house for $2.2 million in 1995, according to the New York Post.

Early in her career, Streep received a letter from Bette Davis, whom most critics and cinema historians ranks as the greatest American movie actress ever. Davis told Streep that she felt that she was her successor as the premier American actress. Ironically, Katharine Hepburn despised Streep as an actress. Davis, a double winner who was nominated 10 times for an Academy Award, all of them Best Actress nods, set the record for most acting nominations with her tenth in 1963 for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), a record later surpassed by Hepburn with her 11th nomination (and 3rd win) for The Lion in Winter (1968). Hepburn extended her record with her 12th nomination (and fourth win) for On Golden Pond (1981), a record ironically eclipsed by by Streep–the actress anointed Davis’ successor–with her own 13th nod for Adaptation. (2002).

Was nominated 14 times for the Academy Award, eleven times as Best Actress and three times as Best Supporting Actress, winning twice (Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and ‘Best Actress’ for Sophie’s Choice (1982). Her 10 nominations in the top acting category is equaled by Bette Davis (ten Best Actress nominations) and surpassed by the legendary Katharine Hepburn with 12 Best Actress nods.

Her performance as “Sophie Zawistowska” in Sophie’s Choice (1982) is ranked #3 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Her performance as “Karen Silkwood” in Silkwood (1983) is ranked #71 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Her husband, Don Gummer, is a sculptor.

Her father was a drug company exec; her mother, an artist-turned-housewife who kept an art studio behind the house. Her father loved to play the piano and her mother to sing. Meryl was given singing lessons at a young age. Her mother died in 2001 and her father in 2004.

Son Henry Gummer is an actor, filmmaker and co-founder of a rock band. Daughter Mary Willa, whose stage name is Mamie Gummer, is an off-Broadway actress.

Friend of Jill Clayburgh. First met in their roles as mothers.

Drives a Toyota Prius (September 2006).

The longest she has gone without an Oscar nomination is five years, between Postcards from the Edge (1990) and The Bridges of Madison County (1995).

Robert De Niro said she is his favorite actress to work with.

Was nominated for Best Actress in 1987 along with Cher. When Cher was announced, just before the cameras cut away from the other four actresses, Streep could be seen springing to her feet in delight and applauding for Cher. During her acceptance speech, Cher thanked Streep personally, as they had worked together on Cher’s first film, Silkwood (1983). As the camera briefly cut away to Streep sitting in the audience, she blew Cher a kiss. (She’s apparently a very good sport about losing.).

Considered for the role of Evita Peron in Evita (1996).

Holds the record as the female actor with the most Golden Globe wins, with six wins. Jack Nicholson is the male actor with the most wins, also at six.

Donated her wardrobe from The Devil Wears Prada (2006) to a charity auction.

Has named her favorite actresses working today as Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, Dame Helen Mirren, and Nicole Kidman.

Uses music, most often Classical, to get into character.

Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Currently holds the record for most Oscar nominations for acting (14 total), including both actors and actresses.

Nominated for a 2007 Drama Desk Award for her performance in “Mother Courage and Her Children” (Outstanding Actress in a Play).

Daughter of Mary Streep and Harry Streep (a pharmaceutical executive). Sister of Dana Streep.

Her accumulation of 12 Oscar nominations (2 wins) was accomplished over a period of only 21 years, with an additional 2 nominations by 2007 (11 leads/3 support). Bette Davis scored 10 nominations (2 wins) over 28 years (all leading roles). Katharine Hepburn garnered 12 nominations (4 wins) after a relatively lengthy 48 years (all leading roles).

Occasionally mistaken for friend Glenn Close, Streep was pregnant with her fourth child while shopping in a Los Angeles baby store where the staff lavished her with huge amounts of baby paraphernalia. Just as she was about to leave they whispered, “We loved you in Fatal Attraction (1987)”.

Holds the record for most Golden Globe nominations for acting, actresses only (21 total).

Elected to the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2007 for her services to arts and entertainment (inaugural election). Official induction ceremonies held in May 2008.

She and her daughter Mamie Gummer portrayed the same role at different ages in ‘Evening’ (2007).

2007 – Ranked #6 on EW’s The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.

Nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for “The One and Only Shrek” (Best Spoken Word Album For Children).