celebrity gossip, academic style

Today’s post comes courtesy of the very talented Courtney Brannon Donoghue, a fellow Ph.D. student in the RTF Department. While her research deals primarily with media industry, industry and stars are by no means exclusive, as my own work endeavors to make clear. I’m so excited to have her work on the blog (she even has footnotes!) — remember, if any of you would like to guest post, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to have your ideas on the blog.

The term “reboot” has come to signify a commercial strategy for reinventing/remaking/reviving content in Hollywood, whether it be a film franchise, comic book character, a television series or toy. While far from a new phenomenon, everywhere we look it seems “reboots” are all around us—this summer’s Star Trek, the Transformers sequel or even the CW’s recent remaking the series 90210 and Melrose Place. In an industry where “everything old is new again”, concepts are not the only material to be reinvented. What about rebooting a star? A star with a household name and a string of awards? This is the best way to situate the recent resurgence of Meryl Streep’s career. In what Independent columnist Jonathan Romney is calling the “Streep Effect”, the actress has had a busy and profitable couple of years with seven projects and three hits summers in a row.[1]

• The Devil Wears Prada (2007, dir. David Frankel); estimated $124.7M domestic gross / $326.5M worldwide
• Mamma Mia! (2008, Phyllida Lloyd); estimated $144 M domestic/$465.5 worldwide
• Julie & Julia (2009, Nora Ephron); btw August 7-19 estimated $45M domestic; not yet released worldwide

A couple of important things to mention about this these projects—they are all produced by major studios (Fox, Universal and Sony, respectively), the latter two by female directors and all targeting a broad female demographic. Each film is adapted from a complicated convergence of various pre-sold premises (bestselling book loosely based on Vogue editor Anna Wintour’; long running Broadway musical based on ABBA songs; blog/bestselling books based on Julia Child and her cooking). However, if we were to ask the old question of “whose pictures is this anyways?”, the answer is unabashedly Meryl. She is the top-billed star and the one whom is benefiting from the boffo.

The most interesting (and perhaps puzzling) aspect to many in the industry is how a line of mid-range budget female fare has transformed Streep in a consistent box office earner for the first time in decades. However, this recent popularity is only another refashioning of a career that spans more than three decades.

1970s/early ‘80s – After years on the stage, Meryl earns critical acclaim and her first Oscar nods and wins in projects such as The Deer Hunter (1978), Manhattan (1979), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Sophie’s Choice (1982).

On a personal note, this is the first “Meryl” I experienced, watching these heart-wrenching characters on cable with my mom in the 1980s. As my mom remarked about how talented, capable and strong this woman was (only two years younger than her), I first learned how discourse surrounding Streep’s emotionally raw performance in Sophie’s Choice was different than the tone of another actress at that time, Dolly Parton. Notably, the marker of critical acclaim arrives early in Streep’s career and still shapes it today.

1980s – Through a variety of romantic and dramatic roles, most notably the commercial success of Out of Africa (1985), Meryl moved into leading roles along such “quality” actors such as Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson and Robert DeNiro. Her stardom seemingly reaches a popular high in her press coverage and awards, exemplified by her winning the People’s Choice Award for best actress six years in a row (1982-88). H

Meryl Streep on the cover of Rolling Stone, circa 1986

1990s – At this point, Streep reaches the industry’s dreaded “middle age” 40s+ and the roles began to slow down. Besides a few dark comedies (She-Devil, 1989 and Death Becomes Her, 1992), studio genre films (The River Wild, 1992) or period pieces (House of Spirits), none of which fare well critically or commercially. The highlight of the 1990s appears to be The Bridges of Madison County with Clint Eastwood, based on the bestselling novel. Note how drastically the roles changed from the ‘80s to the ‘90s.

2000 – 2007 – Despite a few smaller scale successes with The Hours (2002), Adaptation (2002) and Angels in America (2003), the majority of the projects Streep is involved are commercial flops, particularly the political dramas The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Lions for Lambs (2007) and Rendition (2007).

Only by moving away from her characteristic intensity and dramatic works into lighter, comedic roles does Streep once again reboot her star image. While it is not uncommon for long career trajectories to function cyclically (emulating the industry’s boom and bust mentality), Meryl’s ability to consistently work and still find success within Hollywood should not merely be understood in terms of the projects she is offered (note that she claims to only have turned down a couple of projects) or the commercial success that may or may not follow. What I think is important is how her carefully managed and constructed star persona fits into this narrative of her recent reboot. A couple of themes have shaped and continue to shape her discursively as a unique brand:

1) A “classically” trained actress widely associated with her method (not THE Method)

Having studied first as Vassar and later earning a MFA from the prestigious Yale Drama School, Streep spent years in New York Shakespeare Festival productions and on Broadway. This “classical” theater training allows her an aura of authenticity and legitimacy akin to what certain actors (many times British) receive through an ability to immerse themselves within a role. I feel this is an important part of her reputation and the meticulous method that is always associated with her (another note: Meryl repeatly claims to not practice method acting). Anne Hathaway and Shirley MacLaine have both told stories of how the strained or tense relationships between their characters onscreen often travel offscreen in order for Meryl to remain in character and pull the best performance out of the cast.

These industrial stories are part of what John Thornton Caldwell terms ‘publicly disclosed deep texts for explicit public consumption.’ In other words, Meryl will do whatever it takes to get the shot/scene.[2] Similar to my mother’s description of Meryl as early as the ‘80s, the actress’ status has branded her in a certain way. Her “method” is constructed similarly to male contemporaries (such as DeNiro), yet Meryl’s performances on- and off-screen status are often described with reverence, mutual esteem and without the craziness or extremes that follows other so-called creative geniuses in the industry (think about scandals and reputations associated with male actors from Christian Bale to Daniel Day-Lewis).

2) This “authenticity” leads into her industry status as an “icon”, “legend”, “role model”, etc.

Meryl is often listed among the rankings of classical Hollywood screen actresses such as Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn. I find this nostalgic take on her career and the current state of the star system fascinating. For example, the celebrity gossip blogger Lainey of laineygossip.com often writes about Meryl in contrast to the ungratefulness and vapid nature of today’s young starlets. In reference to her role as Sister Aloysius in Doubt (2008), Lainey states:

“That makes me worship her even more is her defence of Sister Aloysius. And how far she’s willing to go artistically in that defence. In a new interview with the Telegraph, Meryl describes a scene that she intensely lobbied to have cut – it ended up staying – because she felt it compromised her character’s conviction, or, more appropriately, her “doubt about what she has done,” arguing that if the film hinges on uncertainly, swaying it with what could be interpreted as conclusive evidence inevitably defeats the purpose.”

These are the observations of a studied and superior actor – so articulate, so f-cking smart, so unapologetic, so much more interesting than what we’ll be forced to live with for the next 30 years. In many ways, acting’s reputation in recent years has been raped by the new breed of dumbasses who call it an art without bothering to apply to it an artistic approach. Which is why more often than not when we hear them referring to themselves as “artists”, the most immediate response is to roll our eyes.

Like Audrina f-cking Partridge is now an actress.

But Meryl Streep…well Meryl Steep is an artist.”

Lainey perfectly captures the popular image of Streep as the timeless, classical Hollywood actress. She also differentiates her stardom from contemporary Hollywood through the protection of her personal life, including her role as a wife and mother. While Streep has been notoriously private about her 30-year marriage and compartmentalizes these different factions of her life, she can still play the game, as evidenced in recent giggling interviews with David Letterman and Steven Colbert. To tell the truth, I find her incredibly charming and engaging in these moments, yet it is all part of this approachability from a managed distance that has worked so well for her.

Streep’s honor of earning the most Oscar Nomination is often noted (15 and counting), yet she still remains the humble, gracious and grateful recipient of these acclaims. For instance, watch her exuberant and spontaneous 2009 SAG awards acceptance speech for her role in Doubt. Seriously, isn’t this a woman who loves what she does?

(Annie’s note: Somewhat hilariously, there are no straight up clips of her acceptance speech — just fan vids. Lots of them. Who’d have thought. But this particular fan vid does a nice job of capturing the moment.)

Co-stars, filmmakers, crews and journalists describe her as a team player and someone who consistently gives 150%. Her relationship with actors has been presented as that of a mentor. Recently, working along side a younger generation of female co-stars—Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Amanda Seyfried and Emily Blunt—has allowed Meryl to adopt a new role as the mentor. Particularly, Robert Hosler’s Variety article (“Meryl Streep actor and coach: Legend mentors co-stars behind the scene”) last year solidifies this image through co-star anecdotes including Cher, Amy Adams and Liev Schreiber.[3] Notably, the past three summer films all include a younger female co-star in an effort by the studios to bring in a younger demo. Not only constructed as talented and committed to her craft as evident in her projects but she is willing pass this onto the next generation of little “Meryls” as seen extratextually in publicity photos, side by side at awards ceremonies and so on.

Streep with Adams (Left) and Breslin (Right)

Overall, Meryl Streep is an unusual example of stardom, whereas a number of her boomer female peers have been unable to keep working continually in film and/or moved to television for complex female roles. In order to see how this boffo streak unfolds, we should keep an eye out for Streep’s next two projects in a voice role in Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Nancy Meyers’ It’s Complicated (2009) alongside Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin set for a Christmas release.

Trailer for Fantastic Mr. Fox

Trailer for It’s Complicated

The Meyers’ project is an interesting one, as she plays the romantic lead in a wide release studio picture for the first time in over 15 years. I predict the film will perform at least moderately well, considering the grosses of Meyers’ last two rom-coms, along with the current career reboot high for both Streep and Baldwin. Then again, it may skew to an older and smaller audience, similar to how Julie & Julia appears to be performing. Aside from her individual career, how could this reboot translate to changes within the industry as a whole? Perhaps the commercial success of Meryl may open up other roles and projects directed towards females of a certain age and (speaking for myself) benefit a female-oriented audience in desperate need of smarter and more engaging fare. For now, we can only happily anticipate more Meryl in the future and that sounds just fine to me.

---

[1] Jonathan Romney “The Streep Effect: Why economists love her” The Independent. 16 August 2009.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-streep-effect-1772859.html

[2] John Thornton Caldwell. “Cultures of Production: Studying Industry’s Deep Texts, Reflexive Rituals, and Managed Self-Disclosures” in Media Industries: History, Theory, and Method. eds. Jennifer Holt and Alissa Perren. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

[3] http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983936.html?categoryid=1985&cs=1&query=Meryl+Streep