Meryl Streep Wants Another Oscar

Although it is only July 2011, the leading contender for the 2012 Oscar Best Actress category is Meryl Streep for the upcoming biopic The Iron Lady. In Iron Lady, front-runner Streep brings to life the first woman and former Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who served from 1979 to 1990, Margaret Thatcher.

Here is a first look Ms. Streep as Margaret Thatcher in the Weinstein Company's The Iron Lady, which is due out December 16th in a Oscar Hollywoodteur Weinstein generating release before opening nationwide in 2012.

Today, Thatcher remains a figure who revitalized Britain's economy, impacted the trade unions, re-established the nation as a world power, increased personal wealth, achieved victory in the Falklands Islands conflict and forged alliance with the Reagan's 1980s glamocratic United States.">
On the flipside, Thatcher's premiership was also marked by high unemployment, social unrest, drug abuse and family breakdown. Speaking in Scotland in April 2009, before the 30th anniversary of her history election as Prime Minister, Thatcher insisted she had no regrets and despite being Britain's first woman Prime Minister, some critics contend Thatcher did little to advance the political cause of women, within her party or the government, and some British feminists regarded her as "an enemy."

Sounds like Oscar fodder.

Madonna's Directorial Debut Lands a Distributor

W.E., the feature film directorial debut from multi-hyphenate Madonna has been acquired by The Weinstein Company (TWC) for U.S. distribution. A romantic drama co-written by Madonna and Alek Keshishian, W.E. was produced by Madonna and Kris Thykier and executive produced by Scott Franklin (Black Swan).

Starring Abbie Cornish (Limitless) and Oscar Isaac (Drive), W.E. spans six decades beginning in 1998 with the Sothesby auction of the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor's estate as a device to flash back and forth between pre World War II England and contemporary New York City.

W.E. is a contemporary love story juxtaposed that of King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson. In Interview magazine, Madonna said, "W.E. was fantastic and complicated. It is really about a girl who has this obsession and is going to the auctions." Coming soon.

As everything with Madonna, she reduces the potential sublime to accessibly interesting and pushes only the buttons to get the results she desires.

Meryl Streep Prepares for Another Oscar

Bonjour de Cannes -- The brothers Weinstein are making their hollywoodteur status known. This time closing a deal with Pathe for U.S. rights to the next Meryl Streep Oscar nomination - the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady.

The Weinstein Company is partnering with Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies on the acquistion. It’s their third joint venture this year, following pick-ups of Our Idiot Brothers and The Details. Iron Lady will be completed by September in time for a 4th quarter launch.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein can hardly focus on the gigantic Cannes red carpet on the croisette as they formula plans for their Oscar generating machine and plot mansion and mantle slots for another Oscar trophy. The essential plan is to focus on a major awards run singling out Streep's performance and control and finance - finesse rather, the attention and fall-out for tons of notoriety and ROI (rent-on-investment).

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Streep in Mamma Mia!. The Lady screenplay was penned was by Abi Morgan. The film was produced by Damian Jones with a $13 million production budget financed and produced by Pathe, Film 4 and the U.K. Film Council.

Weinstein Buys World Rights

From Cannes - The Weinstein Company featuring uber Hollywoodteurs Harvey and Bob Weinstein has won a quiet but fevered bidding battle for worldwide distribution rights to the next and still untitled film from Paul Thomas Anderson. With production set for June 13th, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix - the Weinstein are probably already mapping out their Oscar 2012 strategies. This Anderson's first lensing since Oscar winner There Will Be Blood with {talent rather than red carpets, random twits, fb posts, unauthorized sex tape leaks} Daniel Day Lewis.

The project was auctioned off last week at CAA Hollywoodteur headquarters. While Hoffman and Phoenix are locked in, actresses are holding their tresses as Anderson continues to eye femme leads Madisen Beaty (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Amy Adams, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's Lena Endre and the often overlooked yet phenom Laura Dern.

This is "The Master" project that Anderson has been working on for some time now. Hoffman stars as a man who returns after witnessing the horrors of WWII and tries to rediscover who he is in post-war America. In his new journey he creates a belief system that captures and rallies other lost souls.

The film is fully financed by Megan Ellison's Annapurna banner. Ellison is rapidly emerging as a godsend to Hollywoodteur indie auteur projects, as she enables Anderson to make the movie in the $35 million budget range after Universal stepped away.

The King's Speech - Mouth Washed Out With Soap

Please bore somebody else with your PG-13 version of The King's Speech.

Can you believe a film as politically correct and an Oscar winner has to be PG-13-ized for the puritan American multi-mega-cinemaplex sect?

The Weinstein Company is hoping this tamed version will attract families. As the King said, "Fuck, fffuck! fuck. FUCK!"