Meryl Streep to Play Callas

[Epigonos]

I recently read that Merle Streep will be playing Maria Callas in a film to be released sometime after the first of the year. First she plays Julia Childs then she plays Margaret Thatcher and now Maria Callas. Enough already – I realize she is an excellent actress but who the hell is next Eleanor Roosevelt, Madam Chang Kai-shek or possibly Indira Gandhi. Why is she the only actress being cast in these roles? Certainly there are other talented actresses available. I for one am becoming more than just a little weary of her over exposure

[Andy2]

In Praise of Meryl Streep

 

I am sympathetic to the idea that great roles should be spread around; there are many talented actresses, many of whom are indeed underemployed. Elizabeth McGovern, for example, is a very fine actress who was a sensation in the early 1980s, left the scene to have a family (in the UK I believe) and now has returned to warm notices in Downton Abbey (as well as other performances). I'd like to see more of her--though not as Maria Callas.

 

Having said that, there is much to be said on the other side.

 

Probably the reason Meryl Streep secures all these roles is that she is not just a "talented actress"--she is an amazing actress, with a virtually unprecedented ability to recreate (not just impersonate) an historical character as a human being with depth and complexity. Her Julia Childs not only brought back my childhood memories of that Cooking Celebrity, but also deepened the amusing, oddball, and charismatic features of Childs. And of course Streep gave us a good story as well. I did not see the Maggie Thatcher film, but apparently Streep was excellent in that as well.

 

Here is a question: Which other actress would have done such a great job with Julia Childs? Is there anyone else who would have done as good a job as Streep did?

 

And finally: Maria Callas is a very difficult role. Several actresses did Callas for the play "Master Class." I saw it twice on B'way, with the second time being Dixie Carter. She was great in the role--but now I wonder what Meryl Streep would have done with that role??? This is a the reason she gets so many offers: Streep will, probably, transform our understanding of Maria Callas, or at least of the persona Maria Callas. She will surprise us with virtuosity, depth of characterization, perhaps even charm?

[Frankly Rich]

I am with Epigonos on this. Streep has become tiresome.

[foxy]

I would really like to see NPH in the role. I think after Hedwig he could really show us sides of Callas we never thought possible.

[Frankly Rich]

Foxy, that's perfect!

[MrMiniver]

Merle Streep? Is that the Honey Boo Boo version?

 

I love Meryl Streep but she is FAR too old for the part. The best person for the part would have been Anne Bancroft when she was still alive.

 

Currently, I think Angelina Jolie is an intriguing choice and maybe a few others.

[whipped guy]

Steep could be interesting in the part, but I agree with Mr. M... she is way too old for the part. Callas had a very distinctive manner of speaking... certain inflections and speech patterns... and I would guess that she would nail those. When Tyne Daly did Master Class on Broadway she got the speach patters down, but she she looked just a bit over the hill for the role as well. Years ago for one of the Onassus "made for TV mini-series" a young Jane Seymour played the part reasonably effectively, though I don't recall if she got the speech patterns down pat... She certainly studied the visual mannerisms and with no challenges for the makeup artists!!!

[TruHart1]

...

 

Probably the reason Meryl Streep secures all these roles is that she is not just a "talented actress"--she is an amazing actress, with a virtually unprecedented ability to recreate (not just impersonate) an historical character as a human being with depth and complexity. Her Julia Childs not only brought back my childhood memories of that Cooking Celebrity, but also deepened the amusing, oddball, and charismatic features of Childs. And of course Streep gave us a good story as well. I did not see the Maggie Thatcher film, but apparently Streep was excellent in that as well.

 

Here is a question: Which other actress would have done such a great job with Julia Childs? Is there anyone else who would have done as good a job as Streep did?...

 

 

I’m sorry. I don’t usually contribute to threads that start this negatively. I just have to say that the reason Meryl Streep continues to do these great plum roles is because she does not play them as Meryl Streep playing (for instance) Margaret Thatcher but actually inhabits each part. The bottom line figures into it too. People shell out the bucks to see movies with Meryl Streep. She is also very careful to portray personae with whom she identifies in some important way.

 

Another actress who has this talent is Helen Mirren. Her Queen Elizabeth II was a revelation. Check out a film based on another play: August, Osage County, or even go back to something as light as The Devil Wears Prada and tell me that Meryl Streep is over-exposed onscreen. If you are tired of watching Ms. Streep, then don’t watch her. For myself, I look forward to many, many more memorable portrayals from this actor!!!

 

All JMHO!

 

TruHart1

[Epigonos]

TruHart1 as far as I'm concerned Streep was outstanding in The Devil Wears Prada but for my money she was god awful in Mama Mia. Talk about being miscast and being way too old.

 

I actually believe that the Academy Awards should have awards for the best actor and best actress impersonating an individual living or recently dead. I really believe it takes far more talent to create a believable role without a model. One can sit in a viewing room and watch films of an individual living or recently dead hour after hour until one has their mannerisms and their speech patterns down pat.

 

A number of years ago I saw Helen Mirren in London playing Christine Mannon in Eugene O’Neill’s “Mourning Becomes Electra”. The play was, as always, way too long but Mirren was riveting. Her portrayal of Queen Charlotte in “The Madness of King George” was wonderful. In these two roles she, with the assistance of her director, created a vision of these two fascinating women using only their brains and their imagination and her talent. In “The Queen” she spent hours studying films of Queen Elizabeth and her make-up artists created the image.

 

Interestingly enough an “actress” I personally don’t consider particularly talented Madonna absolutely nailed the mannerisms and expressions of Evita Peron in the musical Evita. Anybody who ever saw Peron on film in in newsreels had to be fascinated.

 

In all of these roles I will agree that the individual actor or actress is a great mimic – great actor or great actress I just don’t know.

[Bart]

I am a bit puzzled by the tone of the thread. I don't see why we need a referendum on Meryl Streep. If a writer/director/producer has the option of having Meryl Streep in your movie you will probably jump at the chance. She was brilliant as Julia Child and actually liked that role more than Margaret Thatcher but she was spot on for that role as well. She is actress who never mails in a performance. She usually likes to be a movie each year, I don't know how that is over exposed. In the old days actors/actresses sometimes had 3-4 films a year. The question here is the producers want to take a chance with a lesser known actress to play a role of a person who public knows quite well. I do agree there are lots of actresses who sometimes don't get a chance at a plum role unfairly, but is up to Meryl to turn the role down if they come calling.

 

If you want over-exposed and lousy projects how about Melissa McCarthy in another awful film worse than last year's Identity Thief, now as Tammy. Hardly the role that Debbie Reynolds and Sandra Dee made famous.

Playing a real person is difficult, you can take a chance and have the person play the role but not be a perfect physical match but in today's day and age where you can look up a person directly. Now Emma Thompson is Saving Mr. Banks, I don't think she tried to imitate PL Travers, but I thought she was sensational and really was dumbfounded when she was not nominated. So I might have given her a shot at the role, plenty of Brits can get rid of their accent. Anyway I realize you are frustrated that Meryl got the part but unless we know what went on behind the scenes certainly not Meryl's fault if she accepts the part. I am sure she will do a great job at it.

[whipped guy]

I really don't see anything wrong with the tone of this thread. It is healthy to get the opinions of others. One may even learn something from them. Now if someone really wanted to start a bit of controversy... how about a discussion of the Callas voice per se... Somehow I would bet that the "controversy" over Ms. Streep would fade away quite quickly... At least nobody made a comment regarding the typos in my posting above... Done "on the fly" from my phone as was this posting.

[MrMiniver]

When someone like Streep misses it's usually a big miss. Like Mamma Mia which I forced myself to sit through even though I hate the material. I also, frankly, thought she was awful in August Osage County but then I thought the whole movie version (save for Margo Martindale who is always fabulous) was a disaster that I hated.

 

No matter what one thinks of someone like Streep as a talent she simply cannot pull off playing a character 20 years younger than herself.

 

As for Madonna ... just being able to do a historical characters "mannerisms" doesn't make you a good actor. A parrot can do it. Or a monkey. You have to inhabit the character from the inside out ... that Madonna could never do.

 

Melissa McCarthy? Does Streep need so much defending that we'd have to bring that disgusting cow into this discussion? I mean, seriously, guys.

 

Streep is a great actress, one of the best of the last 40 years but there are things beyond her range and Maria Callas is one of them.

 

I won't even get into my opinion of Tyne Daly in Master Class ..... I'll get pelted with stones!

[+ WilliamM]

Am I the only person who did not know that the film is "Master Class" for HBO?

 

Or is this project so well know that no one felt they needed to mention HBO?

[Andy2]

On Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia. Because it is such a silly movie (imho), I have never seen it all the way through, but I did watch about 20 minutes of it on TV one night, largely to see a Streep number where she danced all over her sprawling house on that Greek island. At the risk of overgeneralizing from 20 minutes, I would agree that this was not a role that Streep was particularly well-suited to play--but I thought she brought brio, energy, and delight to the performance. Would the movie have been better with a different actress? It would most likely have been far worse . . . .

 

On reflection about the Maria Callas role . . . . I did not realize this was an HBO movie of "Master Class" until I revisited this thread. Well, "Master Class" does not feature the young Maria Callas, but an older Maria Callas circa 1971 (she was born in 1923 and so was about 48 at the time). Callas is reflecting on music, love, life, etc. Objections that Streep is too "old' to play Callas in the twilight of her life (she died 1977) strike me as completely unpersuasive. This is essentially a one-woman play--hard to pull off, and Streep is the kind of actress who can do that.

 

Having said that, it will be interesting to see how well HBO can translate the play to the screen. I am not sure what the best strategy would be; I thought Master Class worked well as a play, but what works as a play usually does not work nearly as well as a movie. Still, HBO greatly improved The Normal Heart by translating (and considerably improving) the Larry Kramer play to the small screen. So I am interested to see what HBO does with Master Class.

[+ purplekow]

I am a Streep fan and if she can convincingly play an elderly rabbi in Angels in America, she can play Callas. The makeup will be challenging, but i, for one, look forward to seeing it.

I personally would love to see Streep as Hillary Clinton in a movie.

[Gar1eth]

When Tyne Daly did Master Class on Broadway she got the speach patters down, but she she looked just a bit over the hill for the role as well.

 

Tyne Daly said this about her role as Callas, "Doing Callas was not my idea. That was Terrence's idea. It seemed entirely inappropriate to me. Have you noticed that I haven't had a lot of glamour requirements in my career? Have you noticed I play blue collar a lot?"

 

I don't think she looks that out of range for playing Maria Callas. But maybe I'd need to see a picture of Maria Callas at 50 side by side with Tyne's Callas to determine for sure.

 

[video=youtube_share;0AIEYgr0LW0]

 

A fun fact- apparently in Meryl Streep's movie on Margaret Thatcher they played some recordings by Maria Callas.

 

Gman

[TruHart1]

Hmmm. Should I bring Audra McDonald into this thread? Since the same people seem to agree on Ms. Streep’s over-exposure on screen as believed in Ms. McDonald’s being awarded too much praise, too many Tonys on a recent thread, and this was a play for which she won a ‘best featured actress in a play’ Tony. It would appear that these particular posters have a certain taste in actors, be it in a live stage performance or in film roles. Not a criticism, just an observation. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion.

 

TruHart1

[whipped guy]

Tyne Daly was in her mid sixties when she portrayed Callas on Broadway. Interestingly Streep will be about the same age when she appears as Callas. The actual Juilliard Master Classes upon which the play is based occurred in 1971 when Callas was 47. Callas passed in 1977 at the age of 53.

 

http://images.betterworldbooks.com/157/Callas-at-Juilliard-9781574670424.jpg

[TruHart1]

Tyne Daly was in her mid sixties when she portrayed Callas on Broadway. Interestingly Streep will be about the same age when she appears as Callas. The actual Julliard Master Classes upon which the play is based occurred in 1971 when Callas was 47. Callas passed in 1977 at the age of 53.

 

 

An interesting fact about Streep being too old to play Callas: Zoe Caldwell, who created Callas in the original run of the play in 1995, was born in 1933, making her 63 (playing Callas at 47) in 1995 and four months from being 65 (the same age as Streep now) in 1997, when first run of the play closed. Tyne Daly, born in 1946, in the two-month run of the revival in 2011, as WG points out, WAS actually 65 years old!

 

TruHart1

[foxy]

http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/3173/galas

 

Could I be the only one who saw Charles Ludlam's portrayal of Maria Callas in his play "Gallas"? It was beyond brilliant.

[uwsman2]

The point is that this will be a movie based on a play inspired by the actual run of master classes given by Callas at Juilliard. The actress doesn't have to physically resemble Callas. She has to capture the essence of the character and communicate it to the audience. Streep is a master at this. I'm really looking forward to it. (And, yes, I've seen the play a few times. I also have the recordings taken from the masterclasses and released by EMI several years ago.)

[whipped guy]

The problem for many of us who worship at the alter of La Divina concerns the fact that we have listened to, watched, and viewed every scrap of audio, video, and bit of photography that we have been able to get our hands on. Books on the subject of Callas are usually jam packed with photos... and often the selling point concerns the fact that the photos are newly published. Such was and still is the fascination with the woman.

 

Therefore, to the Callas aficionado physical resemblance is important. With Tyne Daly for example, not only was age a factor, but physically she did not resemble Callas. The Callas model year 1952 was a "awkward full figured" woman... Within a couple of years she had transformed herself into the sleek and chic paragon of a staid, elegant, and dignified matron of society... yet she was also a fiery woman who took no prisoners. Indeed, I recently spoke with someone who saw her in Monte Carlo in the 1970's physically smash the camera of an admirer who dared take a photo of her. She had a tough life growing up in NYC and later on during the War in Greece. That aspect was captured by Daly quite well, however refinement and grace coupled with her physical appearance were not the strongest aspects Daly's characterization.

 

Norma was probably Callas' greatest operatic role... and even though Callas came close to perfection, it has been said that the perfect Norma has never existed and probably will never exist... Such are the vocal and dramatic difficulties and intricacies inherent in the part. Being a woman of much complexity, perhaps the same is true regarding the portrayal of Callas. It will be interesting to see how well Streep does...

[+ quoththeraven]

Hmmm. Should I bring Audra McDonald into this thread? Since the same people seem to agree on Ms. Streep’s over-exposure on screen as believed in Ms. McDonald’s being awarded too much praise, too many Tonys on a recent thread, and this was a play for which she won a ‘best featured actress in a play’ Tony. It would appear that these particular posters have a certain taste in actors, be it in a live stage performance or in film roles. Not a criticism, just an observation. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion.

 

TruHart1

 

Although I think the objections made to McDonald and Streep are somewhat different, some people may prefer not to see the same people in starring roles all the time. Yes, Streep is an amazing actress who is good at making a role her own rather than appear as Meryl Streep playing person X and is a bankable name. But there may be others who are less well-known, could use the exposure, and who could do as good or nearly as good a job.

 

That said, I don't really care who plays the role. I like opera, but I don't follow it with the dedication of others here, so a portrayal that looks accurate from the outside -- the elegance, svelte and stylish look, and temper that Whipped Guy speaks of -- would be enough to satisfy me.

 

Angelica Huston might have been a plausible choice a decade or so ago, but at this point I think she has more minuses in the physical resemblance column than Streep.

[Frankly Rich]

The problem for me with Meryl Streep is that I am always aware that I am watching Meryl Streep. She's such a star in her own right that to imagine her playing another star is difficult. I think she does best when she plays a character that we are not otherwise familiar with.

[MrMiniver]

The point is that this will be a movie based on a play inspired by the actual run of master classes given by Callas at Juilliard. The actress doesn't have to physically resemble Callas. She has to capture the essence of the character and communicate it to the audience. Streep is a master at this. I'm really looking forward to it. (And, yes, I've seen the play a few times. I also have the recordings taken from the masterclasses and released by EMI several years ago.)

 

You simply can't be TWENTY years older and do that in a film. Onstage, maybe, in a film NO WAY. There's only so much that CGI can do.