2006’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ succeeded thanks to the sheer star power of its cast and a sharp script from Aline Brosh McKenna that spotlighted workplace comedy in the rarified air of a luxury fashion magazine. So what does that world look like these days? As you might expect, struggling legacy media, the rise of AI and our main characters reflecting on changed circumstances in their lives. But can it channel the charisma of the original?
With McKenna once again drawing (even more loosely this time from Lauren Weisberger’s original source novel), the screenplay has plenty of Miranda Priestly Zingers and some –– pun entirely intended –– blunt putdowns. And while the story feels rushed in places, it at least has something on its mind beyond the fashion world.
David Frankel, meanwhile, does a workmanlike job on keeping things (mostly) light and fun, and the new movie feels of a piece with the original.
Though Hathaway’s Andy can still come across a little bland, the actor’s innate charm helps keep her watchable. But we all know we’re here for Streep, Tucci and Blunt, and they certainly deliver.
Around the main foursome, the supporting cast is solid –– Rachel Bloom steals scenes as Andy’s book publisher pal, while Justin Theroux is good value as billionaire, Benji Barnes, Emily’s current beau.
Though it occasionally falls into the trap of rehashing old storylines (perhaps that’s a nod to the cycling of fashion trends) and rarely rises above the level of serviceable sequel, this second visit with Miranda, Andy and the rest still offers plenty for fans who have wanted to see these characters back on screens.
Twenty years on, Miranda (Meryl Streep), Andy (Anne Hathaway), Emily (Emily Blunt) and Nigel (Stanley Tucci) return to the fashionable streets of New York City and the sleek offices of Runway Magazine.
With David Frankel back as director and writer Aline Brosh McKenna once again working from Lauren Weisberger’s novel source, it’ll be interesting to see how the characters have moved forward in the (gulp) 20 years since the first film.
The first movie saw the ambitious yet occasionally overwhelmed Andy Sachs (Hathaway) taking on the role of junior assistant to the powerful Miranda Priestly (Streep), editor-in-chief of a high-profile fashion magazine.
The sequel follows Priestly as she navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing and as she faces off against Blunt’s character, now a high-powered executive for a luxury group with advertising dollars that Priestly desperately needs.
From the looks of the trailer, Priestly is just as imperious as ever –– but is her attitude towards everyone just her usual shade or is she struggling with memory issues?
When will ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ be in cinemas?
Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh in ‘Office Space.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.
But its also a three-day weekend, and many movie fans spend the last official weekend of summer relaxing and watching a movie!
In honor of Labor Day, Moviefone has assembled a list of the 30 best movies ever made set in the workplace.
(L to R) Robert De Niro as Ben and Anne Hathaway as Jules in 2015’s ‘The Intern.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway).
Two recently laid-off men in their 40s (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) try to make it as interns at a successful Internet company where their managers are in their 20s.
The owner of a factory that produces flavor extracts, Joel Reynold (Jason Bateman) seems to have it all, but really doesn’t. What’s missing is sexual attention from his wife, Suzie (Kristen Wiig). Joel hatches a convoluted plan to get Suzie to cheat on him, thereby clearing the way for Joel to have an affair with Cindy (Mila Kunis), an employee. But what Joel doesn’t know is that Cindy is a sociopathic con artist, and a freak workplace accident clears the way for her to ruin Joel forever.
A young woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal), recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer (James Spader), where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.
A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States — Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman (Charlize Theron) who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
Christian Bale in ‘Newsies’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York including Jack “Cowboy” Kelly (Christian Bale). When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall), tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labors, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer’s hard-ball tactics.
When she learns she’s in danger of losing her visa status and being deported, overbearing book editor Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) forces her put-upon assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her.
Convenience and video store clerks Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are sharp-witted, potty-mouthed and bored out of their minds. So in between needling customers, the counter jockeys play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home and deal with their love lives.
Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) is the workaholic editor of a New York City tabloid. He loves his job, but the long hours and low pay are leading to discontent. Also, publisher Bernie White (Robert Duvall) faces financial straits, and has hatchet-man Alicia Clark (Glenn Close)—Henry’s nemesis—impose unpopular cutbacks.
When a western Pennsylvania auto plant is acquired by a Japanese company, brokering auto worker Hunt Stevenson (Michael Keaton) faces the tricky challenge of mediating the assimilation of two clashing corporate cultures. At one end is the Japanese plant manager (Gedde Watanabe) and the sycophant who is angling for his position. At the other, a number of disgruntled long-time union members (George Wendt and John Turturro) struggle with the new exigencies of Japanese quality control.
Sally Field as Norma Rae Webster in ‘Norma Rae.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Norma Rae (Sally Field) is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer (Ron Leibman). Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.
A nebbish of a morgue attendant (Henry Winkler) gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner (Michael Keaton) who dreams of the “one great idea” for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor (Shelly Long) complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night .
When Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Aniston), CEO of the technology company Zenotek, expresses her intention to close the Chicago branch, run by her brother Clay (T.J. Miller), he and his co-workers organize a Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and save their jobs. But the party gets out of control…
A law firm brings in its “fixer” (George Clooney) to remedy the situation after a lawyer (Tom Wilkinson) has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit. Actress Tilda Swinton received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, and James Hong in A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes.
New York City, 1954: Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) is the junior writer on the top rated variety/comedy show. His idol Alan Swann (Peter O’Toole), an actor with a drinking problem, is to be that week’s guest star.
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
For Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day), the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con (Jamie Foxx), the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers… permanently.
Andy (Anne Hathaway) moves to New York to work in the fashion industry. Her boss (Meryl Streep) is extremely demanding, cruel and won’t let her succeed if she doesn’t fit into the high class elegant look of their magazine.
(L to R) Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy in ‘Trading Places.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
A snobbish investor (Dan Aykroyd) and a wily street con-artist (Eddie Murphy) find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Corporate downsizing expert Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) spends his life in planes, airports, and hotels, but just as he’s about to reach a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles, he meets a woman (Vera Farmiga) who causes him to rethink his transient life.
Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is an ambitious secretary with a unique approach for climbing the ladder to success. When her classy, but villainous boss (Sigourney Weaver) breaks a leg skiing, Tess takes over her office, her apartment and even her wardrobe. She creates a deal with a handsome investment banker (Harrison Ford) that will either take her to the top, or finish her off for good.
The tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius (Jesse Eisenberg) who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever.
(L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio is Jordan Belfort and Matthew McConaughey is Mark Hanna in “The Wolf of Wall Street,’ from Paramount Pictures and Red Granite Pictures.
A New York stockbroker (Leonardo DiCaprio) refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort’s autobiography.
When an office full of Chicago real estate salesmen is given the news that all but the top two will be fired at the end of the week, the atmosphere begins to heat up. Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon), who has a sick daughter, does everything in his power to get better leads from his boss, John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), but to no avail. When his coworker Dave Moss (Ed Harris) comes up with a plan to steal the leads, things get complicated for the tough-talking salesmen. The cast also includes Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin and Jonathan Pryce.
When veteran anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives (Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall, and Ned Beatty) rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.
A depressed white-collar worker (Ron Livingston) tries hypnotherapy, only to find himself in a perpetual state of devil-may-care bliss that prompts him to start living by his own rules, and hatch a hapless attempt to embezzle money from his soul-killing employers. The cast also includes Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, and John C. McGinley.
(L to R) Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda in ‘Nine to Five.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Frank Hart (Dabney Coleman) is a pig. He takes advantage in the grossest manner of the women who work with him. When his three assistants (Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton) manage to trap him in his own house they assume control of his department and productivity leaps, but just how long can they keep Hart tied up?
And on the returning side of things, two more cast members from the original movie will be back: Tracie Thoms, will reprise her part as Lily, the handbag-loving best friend of Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, and Tibor Feldman is on to once again play Irv Ravitz, the chairman of Runway’s parent company Elias-Clark.
(L to R) Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Adapted by Aline Brosh McKenna from Lauren Weisberger’s novel and directed by David Frankel, the original follows Andy Sachs (Hathaway), a recent journalism graduate who moves to New York City and lands a job as a junior assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the powerful and demanding editor-in-chief of high-fashion magazine Runway, with Blunt as Emily, Priestly’s primary aide.
Andy initially struggles with the high-pressure environment and Miranda’s relentless demands but gradually adapts, gaining confidence and style. As she becomes more involved in her work, she faces personal challenges, including a strained relationship with her boyfriend, Nate (Adrian Grenier), and ethical dilemmas about the fashion industry’s values.
The movie was a hit, earning close to $125 million in the US and more than $326 million worldwide. Streep was nominated for an Oscar along with costume designer Patricia Field.
What would the new movie be about?
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in 2006’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada .’
With the cast all back for this one, the sequel’s plot would reportedly pick up the story with Priestly 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.
Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Grenier won’t be back, but we do know that Branagh will be playing Miranda Priestly’s husband, which as anyone who has seen the first film knows, is not an easy gig given the hard-charging, perfectionist character’s style.
Behind the scenes, McKenna has written the new script and Frankel is once again calling the shots.
What else is happening in the ‘Devil Wears Prada’ world?
Anne Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
In addition to the sequel, a musical adaptation with an original score by Elton John, is playing in London’s West End.
Novak’s work has been more behind the scenes of late, though he did have a role in TV series ‘Poker Face’ this year, and he’s a contributor to a documentary about comedian Mitch Hedberg.
Kenneth Branagh is the first new addition to the cast of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’.
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are all back for the sequel.
Writer Aline Brosh McKenna and director David Frankel are also returning.
The last time we reported on the sequel to 2006 comedy drama ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ it was still lurking in development, without a full commitment from the cast to return.
As per the Instagram post below, the sequel is now in production, meaning that it’ll be on screens next year, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the original.
(L to R) Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Adapted by Aline Brosh McKenna from Lauren Weisberger’s novel and directed by David Frankel, the original follows Andy Sachs (Hathaway), a recent journalism graduate who moves to New York City and lands a job as a junior assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the powerful and demanding editor-in-chief of high-fashion magazine Runway, with Blunt as Emily, Priestly’s primary aide.
Andy initially struggles with the high-pressure environment and Miranda’s relentless demands but gradually adapts, gaining confidence and style. As she becomes more involved in her work, she faces personal challenges, including a strained relationship with her boyfriend, Nate (Adrian Grenier), and ethical dilemmas about the fashion industry’s values.
The movie was a hit, earning close to $125 million in the US and more than $326 million worldwide. Streep was nominated for an Oscar along with costume designer Patricia Field.
What would the new movie be about?
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in 2006’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada .’
With the cast all back for this one, the sequel’s plot would reportedly pick up the story with Priestly 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.
Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Grenier won’t be back, but we do know that Branagh will be playing Miranda Priestly’s husband, which as anyone who has seen the first film knows, is not an easy gig given the hard-charging, perfectionist character’s style.
Behind the scenes, McKenna has written the new script and Frankel is once again calling the shots.
What else is happening in the ‘Devil Wears Prada’ world?
Anne Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
In addition to the sequel, a musical adaptation with an original score by Elton John, is playing in London’s West End.
That one follows an airman whose reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory goes awry, forcing him to crash-land and survive in Russian wilderness while evading capture or rescue.
It also stars Ryan Reynolds and Maria Bakalova, and is reportedly going to be released in September, though there has been little promotion for it so far.
Finally, there is a movie, currently called ‘Atonement’ (which may change given the slightly well known 2008 drama), which sees a troubled marine seeking to reconcile with the survivors of an Iraqi family he and his unit fired on back in 2003, that one, with Reed Van Dyk in the director’s chair, is in pre-production.
When will ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ be in theaters?
The sequel is currently scheduled for a May 1st, 2026 release, which should make fans of the original, who have anticipated a follow-up, happy.
(L to R) Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Disney and Marvel have shifted the release dates for the next two ‘Avengers’ movies.
‘Doomsday’ and ‘Secret Wars’ are moving from their May slots to December premieres.
Dates for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ and ‘The Dog Stars’ were also confirmed.
Turns out, making two giant ‘Avengers’ movies back to back is going to take a little longer than originally thought.
Disney and Marvel have announced that the next two team-up films from the comic book behemoth are now set to arrive a little later in theaters than originally planned –– ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is shifting from a planned May 5th, 2026 slot to December 18th, 2026.
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Likewise, ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ will now decamp from a May 5th, 2027 release date to –– you guessed it! –– December 18th that year.
Clearly, directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have decided the new movies will require some more work than they figured. Which honestly, is no bad thing –– better to wait and get it right in the hopes of an ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’-level success, than pump out something quickly.
The sprawling cast for at least the first movie (we’re expecting several to appear in both) was first announced in a viral video Marvel put online showing director’s chairs with the actor’s names on them.
Simu Liu will return as Shang-Chi, a character who really has deserved a sequel before now. And Danny Ramirez, who was introduced as Joaquim Torres in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ and reprised the role in February’s ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ will show up as the new Falcon.
Finally, because you can’t really have ‘Doomsday’ without Doom, Robert Downey Jr. is making his big MCU return, this time playing classic ‘Fantastic Four’ villain Doctor Doom.
We’re sure more cast will be announced before ‘Doomsday’ arrives, but Disney has more time to get the message out.
“We’re very close with Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D’Esposito, Marvel Studios’ Co-President] and the entire Marvel team and we’ve had conversations through the years. We’ve talked about a lot of ideas. Really what happened was, we ended up stumbling upon a [‘Secret Wars’] idea that activated all of us, you couldn’t see it coming until it came, and once it came it was like, ‘Well, that’s a story we need to tell.’”
And that creative spark extended to regular collaborator Stephen McFeely, who is also back writing the new movies.
While other co-writer Christopher Markus is so far sticking with the Russos’ AGBO company to keep it running, McFeely was tempted back into the MCU machine.
Here’s what Joe told Empire:
“There were ideas that we were trying to wrap our heads around that preceded this one, and we just never found the story. I remember calling Steve and said, ‘Hey, crazy idea. What do you think if we all go back and do Secret Wars?’ He was like, ‘F*** no. Absolutely not.’ And then he hung up. And the next morning at 7.30 he called and were like, ‘Alright, I have an idea…’ ”
‘Secret Wars’ would draw from (through the usual Marvel movie filter where changes will be made) a pair of 1980s comic book series focused on an all-powerful antagonist known as the Beyonder, who in the first installment pitted Marvel’s heroes and villains against each other on a planet known as Battleworld.
In a 2015 revival by Jonathan Hickman, the resulting conflict left the multiverse collapsed, the survivors living on a single planet ruled by classic villain Doctor Doom.
The Russos have previously talked about their enthusiasm for ‘Secret Wars,’ so this one made sense.
What other movie release dates were announced?
Director James Cameron at D23 2024 presenting ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. Photo: Disney.
In a Thanos-like snap, three Marvel dates have disappeared from the calendar completely. The place holders for February 13th, 2026, November 6th, 2026, and November 5, 2027, have all been removed from Disney’s calendar, pointing towards the result of Marvel’s commitment to quality over quantity.
It wasn’t all Marvel changes –– Disney also confirmed the dates for some of the movies headed our way via its 20th Century Studios, including Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller ‘The Dog Stars,’ starring Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin. That one will be released on March 27th, 2026.
Then there is sequel ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ which will see the return of Meryl Streep‘s imperious magazine editor Miranda Priestly as she navigates the challenges of the declining print industry. The comedy drama sequel is due on May 1st, 2026.
(L to R) Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Preview:
Disney is in early development on a ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ sequel.
Writer Aline Brosh McKenna is scripting the new movie.
Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt may return, but Anne Hathaway is yet to be confirmed.
One of the movies where there is lot of chatter about a potential sequel, but little actual forward movement, has just shifted into more likely territory.
According to Puck (and since confirmed by the likes of Deadline), original screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna is writing the script, with producer Wendy Finerman aboard and director David Frankel in talks.
While Streep and Blunt, are reportedly close to a potential deal to return, Hathaway (who has been outspoken about not being convinced it could work) is not yet, But the trio recently reunited at the SAG awards and made plenty of references to the original.
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What was the story of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’?
(L to R) Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Adapted by McKenna from Lauren Weisberger’s novel and directed by Frankel, the 2006 original follows Andy Sachs (Hathaway), a recent journalism graduate who moves to New York City and lands a job as a junior assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the powerful and demanding editor-in-chief of high-fashion magazine Runway, with Blunt as Emily, Priestly’s primary aide.
Andy initially struggles with the high-pressure environment and Miranda’s relentless demands but gradually adapts, gaining confidence and style. As she becomes more involved in her work, she faces personal challenges, including a strained relationship with her boyfriend, Nate (Adrian Grenier), and ethical dilemmas about the fashion industry’s values.
What would the new movie be about?
Anne Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Assuming the cast can be all be convinced to return (is that truckloads of cash being driven to their respective homes we hear?), the sequel’s plot would reportedly pick up the story with Priestly 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.
We’ll have to see if this one actually makes it out of the development phase, but Disney is rarely one to let an opportunity like this go to waste.
What else is happening in the ‘Devil Wears Prada’ world?
Vanessa Williams in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ musical. Photo: Prada West End Instagram Account.
In addition to the sequel, a musical adaptation with an original score by Elton John, has just launched previews in the UK, kicking off in Plymouth ahead of a planned West End run.
Vanessa Williams is playing the Miranda Priestly role, and a first look at her on stage (well, rising on to it) is online via the production’s Instagram page.
Meryl Steep, the most Oscar-nominated actor in history, turns 70 on June 22. With an Emmy-worthy turn on the second season of “Big Little Lies” and a role in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming “Little Women,” that awards tally will likely get even bigger.
In celebration of the legendary star, we’re ranking all 21 of her Oscar-nominated roles. It’s a tough job, but if Meryl can master 8,000 accents, we thought we’d give it a go.
Meryl makes a memorably menacing witch in this adaptation of the Sondheim musical, but is this role really Oscar-worthy? Best Supporting Actress that year went to Patricia Arquette for her role that spanned 12 years in “Boyhood,” and we’re good with that.
There are no bad Meryl performances here, just ones that are slightly less amazing. This comedy, based on the real woman who became a media sensation despite being a terrible singer, is very much Meryl Lite. Singing badly is work for Meryl (who sings wonderfully in several films) and her character is dying of syphilis, but it’s just not her best film.
While Meryl does a brilliant Australian accent in this true story, our biggest takeaway from this film is the infamous (and inaccurately quoted) line “a dingo ate my baby.” It’s also probably one of her least seen films, particularly since its original Australian title was “Evil Angels,” which sounds like a low-budget horror movie.
As Washington Post publisher Kay Graham (the first woman to hold that title), Meryl has a number of great moments in this deft Steven Spielberg film as she makes the weighty decision whether to publish the explosive Pentagon Papers. But this is really more of a supporting role in an ensemble piece than the Best Actress category she was nominated in. The caftan, however, was everything.
Meryl playing the violin? Sure. Nailing another very specific accent? Easy peasy. This is probably most notable (from an awards standpoint) for being the only Oscar nomination earned in a film directed by Wes Craven, who took a break from horror to direct this inspirational biopic about a violin teacher in Harlem.
As a terminally ill homeless woman who used to be a concert pianist and singer, Meryl turns in one of her most striking performances opposite an equally terrific Jack Nicholson. Too bad it’s in one of the bleakest films ever made. Yes, arguably even bleaker than “Sophie’s Choice.” Both she and Nicholson were nominated.
Meryl is a Pre-Raphaelite painting come to life in this epic romance — and the contemporary actress playing her in a dual role. In both, she’s carrying on a forbidden love affair with costar Jeremy Irons. The film received 5 Oscar nominations, including Meryl’s first Best Actress nomination. (She lost to Katharine Hepburn, who won her fourth Oscar for “On Golden Pond.” Meryl has since eclipsed Hepburn’s then-record 12 nominations, although Hepburn still has the most wins.)
Chris Cooper won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the title character from the nonfiction book “The Orchid Thief” by Susan Orlean. As a highly fictitious version of the author, Meryl snorts orchid dust and falls in love with her toes (and Cooper’s character). We love seeing her having so much fun in this meta-movie directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman.
Meryl leads the cast of this star-studded adaptation as the bitter, pill-popping matriarch of a family gathered to mourn the sudden death of her husband. She and Julia Roberts (who was also nominated) sink their teeth into the fight scenes… and how.
Bring all the Kleenex to this tearjerker about a mother dying of cancer and the daughter (Renée Zellweger) who reluctantly agrees to put her career on hold to be a caretaker. It’s prime Meryl as the seemingly ditzy, over-the-top housewife who has far more depth to her than her daughter realizes.
Watching Meryl and Shirley MacLaine spar as complicated mother and daughter is comedy (and drama) gold. One of Meryl’s most enjoyable and underrated movies: She gets to play an actress in a career slump who’s stuck in a low-budget disaster that looks like “T.J. Hooker: The Movie.” Based on Carrie Fisher‘s novel, which is not so loosely based on her own relationship with mom Debbie Reynolds. We’re still surprised Shirley wasn’t also nominated.
The focus in this Best Picture winner is on the horrors faced by childhood friends during and after the Vietnam war: Christopher Walken deservedly won Best Supporting Actor for his role as shattered vet Nick. But the war takes its toll on his hometown sweetheart, Linda, as well, who tries to find comfort with Nick’s friend Mike (Robert De Niro). In her first major film role, Meryl proved she could go toe to toe with the best of them (and reportedly wrote much of her own dialogue for the underwritten character). It earned her her first Oscar nomination.
Meryl is at her most formidable as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the steely school principal of a Catholic school in 1960s New York who believes that Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman)’s relationship with an altar boy has crossed a line. Seeing these two Oscar-winning powerhouses face off is like the acting Olympics. She, Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis were all nominated, as was director-playwright John Patrick Shanley‘s screenplay.
Very much like Helen Mirren in “The Queen,” Meryl almost disappears as one of the most famous women in history. At times, we have to blink twice to make sure it’s still her. She brings the late (and much hated) British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to life so vividly and with such ferocity, it’s bracing. She collected her third Oscar for her performance. The makeup team also took home an Oscar.
Imperious fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly is arguably Meryl’s most iconic (and most memed) role. Watching her destroy her underlings with a dismissive glance or a harsh word is pure joy. When Miranda proclaims, “There’s no one that can do what I do,” you could say she’s talking about Meryl the actress as well.
In one of her most subtle (and heartbreaking) performances, Meryl plays Francesca, an Italian war bride in 1965 rural Iowa who unexpectedly meets the love of her life while her husband and kids are out of town. Who knew Clint Eastwood (who costars and directed) had so much romance in him? And who knew we could cry that hard in the scene where she watches Eastwood’s character drive out of her life forever as she fights the urge to follow him.
As a mother who walks out on her son and husband, and then returns for a bitter custody battle, Meryl’s conflicted character is like an exposed nerve. She won her first Oscar for this raw performance and there’s a reason we still rate it this highly, 40 years later.
Director Sydney Pollack didn’t think Meryl was “sexy enough” for this part at first: Thank goodness she convinced him otherwise. Her chemistry with Robert Redford is off the charts. This is maybe her most challenging accent, a Danish-born writer who is slowly picking up new cadences after years in Africa. She didn’t win Best Actress this time, but without her, the film never would have won a Best Picture Oscar.
If winning Oscars gets people to see movies, then it’s a shame that this riveting biopic about nuclear whistle-blower Karen Silkwood didn’t win any of its 5 nominations. It’s not just physically harrowing — she undergoes three harsh decontamination showers on camera — but she creates one of her most indelible characters here. Karen starts off as a free spirit who doesn’t like authority (she flashes her boss at one point), and ends up as a woman who’s willing to risk everything for the truth.
This is, without question, Meryl’s finest, most devastating performance. As a Polish Holocaust survivor who was forced to make an impossible choice in the camps to survive, she is transcendent, fragile and yet not completely broken. She learned Polish and German for the role and lost a significant amount of weight to convincingly portray the concentration camp scenes, but it’s not just her technical mastery or one big scene that stays with us. It’s the haunted look in her eyes that we’ll never forget.
They’re both Oscar-winning actors, so it makes sense, then, that Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep would have no trouble slipping into different personas for the sake of a talk show bit. But watching the pair effortlessly channel some of each other’s iconic onscreen characters makes it clear that Hanks and Streep are truly in a league of their own.
The duo, who star in Steven Spielberg’s new drama “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Tuesday to promote the flick, and Ellen couldn’t help but have some fun with the legendary actors. Asking them to perform line readings from some of the other’s most famous movies, DeGeneres handed out cue cards — and in a couple cases, some props — to help the duo along.
Unsurprisingly, the results were nothing short of wonderful. We’re especially partial to Streep’s over the top enthusiasm playing Woody from “Toy Story,” breaking the news to Buzz Lightyear that he’s just a child’s plaything. And if for some reason Streep cannot reprise her role for a potential sequel to “The Devil Wears Prada,” let’s just say that Hanks is more than capable of performing an amazing Miranda Priestly impression.
Oh, and he definitely needs to keep that fabulous Margaret Thatcher wig. That’s all.
We may never see a sequel to “The Devil Wears Prada,” but fans of the fashion-centric flick are getting the next best thing: A Broadway musical adaptation. And the creative team behind the project is every bit as impressive as the talent it nabbed for the big screen version.
None other than Elton John is adapting “Devil” for the Great White Way, teaming with composer and lyricist Paul Rudnick (who’s also a successful writer and screenwriter, responsible for the scripts for Hollywood flicks like “Addams Family Values” and “In and Out”). John, who wrote previous stage hits such as “The Lion King,” “Billy Elliot,” and “Aida” (for which he won a Tony Award), said in a statement that he was equally inspired by the 2006 Meryl Streep–Anne Hathaway movie and author Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel on which the film was based.
“Re-imagining ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ for the musical theatre is super exciting,” John’s statement said. “I’m a huge fan of both the book and the feature film and a huge aficionado of the fashion world. I can’t wait to sink my musical teeth into this hunk of popular culture.”
“To bring ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ to the stage, we knew we needed to find artists as inimitable as the characters in the story,” added producers Bob Cohen and Kevin McCollum in a joint statement. “We needed artists whose work has run the gamut from music and publishing to drama and fashion. We could think of only two names: Elton John and Paul Rudnick. That’s all!”
It will be hard to top the performances in the “Devil” film adaptation (which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year), particularly Streep’s Oscar-nominated turn as icy magazine editor Miranda Priestly. But we also love the thought of the character getting some show-stopping numbers (one has to be called “That’s all,” right?), and maybe a routine choreographed around her penchant for tossing coats at her assistant.
There’s no production timeline for the musical yet, but we can’t wait to see what John and Rudnick come up with. Stay tuned.
They’re both Oscar-winning actors, so it makes sense, then, that 
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