With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, we're thinking about beloved movie moms, particularly the actresses who time and time again have taken maternal roles and made them memorable. The first person who comes to mind? Meryl Streep. She's been a mom who sings, a mom who psychoanalyzes, and of course, a complicated mom. Here are my five top mom parts from her acting arsenal.
Angelina Jolie showed her support for Malala Yousafzai at the Women in the World Summit, organized by Newsweek/The Daily Beast, in NYC last night. She wore a Saint Laurent maxi dress and coat as she introduced a video message from the Pakistani schoolgirl who got international attention after she was shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education. Angie said, "Here's what the gunman and the Taliban accomplished on that day. They shot her at point-blank range in the head — and made her stronger." Angelina has also donated $200,000 to the Malala Fund, a new charity set up by Vital Voices to encourage girls' education. Other stars who attended the Women in the World Summit included America Ferrera, Daily Beast editor Tina Brown, and Meryl Streep.
Angelina has been busy with philanthropic work over the past few weeks. She recently traveled to Africa with Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague to raise awareness about rape in war zones.
Last night's annual Crystal + Lucy Women in Film Awards brought out many of Hollywood's most famous leading ladies. Meryl Streep was on hand to award her good friend, The Help star Viola Davis, with the Excellence in Film statue. The 2012 award season saw no rivalry between Viola and The Iron Lady's Meryl — though Meryl won the Oscar, Viola took home a SAG Award. There's only love between the former Doubt costars, and Meryl praised Viola last night by calling her "a lion-hearted woman." Other ladies picking up honors were Christina Applegate and Chloe Moretz, who donned Max Mara for a Crystal + Lucy kickoff party on Sunday evening. Max Mara, a sponsor of the awards, outfitted many of the women on the carpet, including Viola, Meryl, Christina, and How I Met Your Mother's Cobie Smulders. Jenna Dewan-Tatum added more color to the proceedings in a teal jumpsuit.
As she's proved time and time again, Meryl Streep is a pro. Just ask her cabinet of Oscars, Emmys, and Golden Globes. But in the new trailer for Hope Springs it appears her character Maeve has lost her touch, or at least she has with Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones), her hubby of 31 years. After concluding that their marriage has lost its spark, Maeve and Arnold head to Great Hope Springs for an intensive couples therapy retreat, led by Dr. Bernie Field (Steve Carell). Along the road to reconciliation, the two encounter roadblocks, hijinks, and a banana.
Many Meryl Streep fans might be excited about this movie, but if this trailer were a person, I would be like "TMI, man." I know Jones was hot back in the day, but I do not want to picture him having a threesome with Streep and their neighbor. Having said that, the non-sexy stuff does look pretty cute, and given that it's being directed by David Frankel, who was behind 2006's The Devil Wears Prada and 2008's Marley & Me, it might be one of the feel-good movies of the Summer. Hope Springs comes out August 10, so watch the preview after the jump.
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan stole the show at last night's concert for the Rainforest Fund, held inside NYC's Carnegie Hall. The hot couple took the stage for a dance routine, with Jenna looking hot in a red wrap dress and Channing dapper in a porkpie hat. They shared the stage with singing legends like Elton John, Sting, Jennifer Hudson, and James Taylor. There was another special duet in store for Channing — Channing and Elton gyrated together for a rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend."
Meryl Streep also lent her voice to the show, teaming up with Sting and Elton for The Wizard of Oz's "If I Only Had a Brain." President Bill Clinton even emerged to say a few words. The Rainforest concert is an annual event organized by Sting and his wife Trudie Styler. Sting and Trudie led the celebrity guests to an afterparty at the Pierre Hotel that featured an auction, where someone paid $26,000 to have Tom Hanks record their voice mail message.
Andrew Garfield took the Broadway stage of Death of a Salesman with his costars, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, in NYC yesterday. It was a big opening night for the play with plenty of famous faces stepping out to show their support. Meryl Streep and her husband Don Gummer held hands on their way into the theater while Julianna Margulies and Julianne Moore both posed with their men before heading inside. Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is pregnant with her second child, covered her bump in a cape for the occasion with Peter Sarsgaard by her side. Andrew's girlfriend Emma Stone, in Lanvin, arrived solo to watch him perform after the duo were seen arm in arm on the NYC streets over the weekend. Andrew even got a nod in the form of flowers from Reeve Carney, who plays Spider-Man in the Broadway adaptation, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, with a note reading, “Happy opening, from one Spidey to another.” We'll get to see Andrew's turn in the superhero role when The Amazing Spider-Man, which also stars Emma, hits theaters this Summer.
Jake Gyllenhaal presented his friend Meryl Streep with the Berlin Film Festival's Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement last night during a Valentine's Day presentation. The pair worked together on 2007's Rendition, though Jake joked that he first became acquainted with Meryl as "Hank's mom" when he struck up a grade school friendship with her son, Henry Gummer.
Meryl's in Germany screening The Iron Lady, which earned her a best actress statue at the Golden Globes and, most recently, the BAFTAs. Meryl is also nominated for an Academy Award thanks to her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher; however, our editors think The Help's Viola Davis will win the Oscar. The Academy Awards are less than two weeks away, so make your Oscar predictions and enter to win an iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi and a luxurious Prada case.
The Beverly Hilton was host to many of this year's Oscar nominees at a luncheon thrown by the Academy in LA today. Brad Pitt started his morning with an appearance on CBS before meeting up with pal George Clooney and Moneyball costar Jonah Hill for the afternoon. Best actress nominee Michelle Williams wore a quirky Victoria Beckham dress for the occasion, though she admitted she's still on the hunt for an Oscars red-carpet gown, while Viola Davis stepped out in hot pink. Bridesmaids's Melissa McCarthy posed in front of a golden Oscar statue as did Rooney Mara, who wore simple black and white and talked about the racy piercings she got for her The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo character. Octavia Spencer, Jean Dujardin, Meryl Streep, and others came out to be honored and chat about being recognized by the Academy. Make sure to check out the best quotes from the Oscars luncheon to see what Brad, George, Michelle, and others had to say.
The 2012 Oscar nominations were announced by Jennifer Lawrence in LA this morning! Michelle Williams, Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, Jonah Hill, and Melissa McCarthy were just a few of the lucky stars to be named, and they shared their excitement after finding out the big news. Click through to see how all the nominees reacted including Brad's plan for a pancake breakfast and Jessica Chastain's front-row surprise.
