‚ÄúIt’s so beautifully arranged on the plate – you know someone’s fingers have been all over it.‚Äù ~ Julia Child
USA Today makes an interesting point:
The Streep-inator is about to strike again. Action hero Harrison Ford was once the superstar staple of the summer blockbuster season, but now Oscar’s favorite leading lady, Meryl Streep, is making a habit out of cashing in on the busiest moviegoing period of the year with female-oriented counterprogramming.
First, it was her fashionatrix in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada. Then came last year’s disco diva in Mamma Mia! Combined ticket sales: a solid $268.8 million in the USA and Canada and $929.2 million worldwide. Next, Streep juggles pots, pans and p√¢t√© in what promises to be a deliciously rich portrait of Julia Child during the decade-long span when she evolved into America’s queen of French cuisine in Julie & Julia.
Amy Adams as Julie Powell, after the cut.
Director Nora Ephron tells how easy it can be to cast a movie, if you hang out with the right people:
[Ephron] says the actress basically did an informal audition for her a couple of Junes ago when they bumped into each other at New York’s Shakespeare in the Park.
“It was before I even started writing the script,” the filmmaker says. “She asked, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Blah, blah, Julie Powell, Julia Child, 524 recipes.’ She went into Julia as we were walking out of the theater. She did her for a full 10 seconds. I think she even said, ‘Bon app√©tit,’ ” the late chef’s famous sign-off from her PBS cooking show. “I thought, ‘OK, look no further.’ ”
Once Prada opened, Ephron says, “I knew if I could get her, not only would she be the best person for it, but she would also force the studio to make the film. She was a movie star at age 57 or whatever she is.”