Cannes Diary: Meryl, Streeped - 10 Anecdotes

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Meryl Streep, photographed by Elisa Giudici

I was fortunate enough to secure a ticket to the much-coveted rendezvous with screen goddess Meryl Streep. She was in town to receive the Honorary Palme d'Or. Herewith 10 of the most memorable moments from her interview panel. 

What did you do after winning the Palme d'Or? 

"I stayed up until three in the morning at Quentin Dupieux's film party, so I'm a bit disoriented. I really enjoyed the opening film and talked a lot about it with Quentin."

How seriously do you take your role as a member of the Academy? 

The Taste of Things

"In January, at the beginning of the year, as the Oscars approach, foreign and French films that don't usually come out in the United States also arrive. For me, it's a stressful time because I want to see all the available films to vote for the Oscars with full knowledge and not feel like a jerk when I meet someone at events and haven't seen their film. How much do I follow international cinema? The answer is 'not as much as I would like,' but you know, I have three children, five grandchildren. I do what I can. I try to see especially films by actors and particularly actresses whom I admire and love, like Juliette Binoche. After seeing The Taste of Things, I went to bed with tears in my eyes, it really moved me."

What do you remember about your first Cannes as an award winner in 1988? 

"The first time I came to Cannes, they told me, 'you'll need bodyguards, at least 9.' I joked, I said 'come on, I won't even need one.' I was very wrong. At that time, there were no barriers, no security. People would come so close, just a few inches from the face of whoever was walking the red carpet. I barely recovered from that, and it's been 35 years and so many things have changed."

On the legend that you forgot your first Oscar shortly after winning it 

"I don't remember, it could have happened, yes. After winning, I went to the bathroom, I had this huge dress, I was very excited. I must have put it down somewhere to wash my hands and left it there when I left the restroom."

On the courtroom speech in Kramer vs Kramer 

"When it came time to film the mother's courtroom speech, we wondered why she left, as it's never clearly specified in the book. Dustin, Robert Benton, and I all wrote a version of the speech and voted on it. Dustin was convinced he understood this woman, knew her motivations. But I won the final vote, and the speech you hear today is mine."

On your contribution to the set of The Deer Hunter 

"Cimino wasn't sure what to do with this girl, what to make her say, and he asked me to integrate the script. It's not often you're asked to write, huh, but that time it happened. That was a period where if you were on set, you were the only woman in the film, people automatically remembered you because... they remembered your hair?"

How do you prepare for emotionally demanding roles like that in Sophie's Choice? 

Sophie's Choice

"When I film a scene of that magnitude, it works like this for me: I don't want to be seen; I become a blank page to write the character on. In acting school, they taught us how to enter this state of detachment in three different ways because they hired a new teacher every year with a different method. The night before a difficult scene, I always say to my husband, 'No, I won't do it, no!' and he says, 'You say that every time,' and I reply, 'No, there's something wrong with this script, no.' In the end, you learn to create pockets to fill with the emotions of the work, to compartmentalize. It's very important to learn to get into that mood because when you're on set and you have to redo a scene for the sixtieth time where you get out of a car and say something banal, and the director isn't satisfied, you end up killing the director if you can't handle it. The difficult thing is to be able to have a certain detachment but at the same time be ready to face the rawest and purest emotions, without protection."

The real danger on the set of Out of Africa 

"The lions had told us they were harmless because they came from a zoo in California. Actually, let me tell you: no. They said especially the hippos could be a problem because they're dangerous if they get in the water and attack, given their swimming speed. They entered the water during the shampoo scene, where Robert Redford washes my hair. Let me tell you: by the fifth take, I wasn't thinking about hippos anymore. It's like a love scene, isn't it? It's such an intimate, relaxing gesture. My hairdresser explained to Robert how to massage my scalp, and he learned immediately. He was excellent. I was practically in love that day on set. We see so many people having sex in movies, but these moments of intimacy are missing."

The importance of costumes

"For an actor, costumes are crucial, even when playing a very ordinary, realistic role. It's part of building the character. I remember on the set of Falling in Love, Robert (De Niro), I'm not exaggerating, had about 40 trench coats to choose from, and he tried them all on one by one, checking the collar and sleeves before choosing which one to wear."

The Devil Wears Prada

The real discrimination experienced on the set of The Devil Wears Prada 

"The real discrimination is how I had to wait until The Devil Wears Prada to hear male colleagues say, 'I identified with your character.' Who identifies instead with the girl in The Deer Hunter? No one. Even I, when I watch the movie again, identify with the male characters. For a long time, it was always like that, for all the movies.”

more soon from Cannes...

Comments

[Cláudio Alves]

This was such a great read. Thank you for bringing us these Meryl anecdotes from the Croisette.

Also, that quote about the importance of costumes and Robert De Niro made me think back to a book I have from the V&A, in which both actors are featured as interviewees on the role costume design plays in their work. DeNiro collects costumes, for instance, and Streep studied costuming techniques while at Vassar and Yale, even considering that as a career instead of acting. Can you imagine?

[Ryan T.]

This was a delight to read! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

[Adrian S-G]

There is such a rich canon of behind-the-scenes stories from Kramer vs. Kramer, and this is a fascinating addition. Thanks for this compilation. Great read.

[Frank Zappa]

The night before a difficult scene, I always say to my husband, 'No, I won't do it, no!' and he says, 'You say that every time,' and I reply, 'No, there's something wrong with this script, no.'

This says so much, especially in light of the fact that the marriage unofficially ended in 2017.

[rdf]

Meryl is such a great actress and a fine human being.

Truly one of a kind for our generation.

[thevoid99]

Meryl Streep. So fun to watch. Now put her in a fucking action-film franchise!