Meryl Streep

At night after she finished the day's shooting of "The Iron Lady" in London, Meryl Streep would undergo a kind of ritual. Makeup artists painstakingly removed the prosthetics that enabled Streep to play the former British prime minister in her senescent 80s, and the actress unbent her dowager's body and returned to her upright, lighthearted self. "I'd come home and lean against a doorjamb and stand up straight, you know, bend that way instead of this way," Streep said, throwing back her shoulders during an interview in her suite at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel in December.

The Iron Lady/Albert Nobbs Available on VOD April 10 Oscar veterans Meryl Streep and Glenn Close squared off in the lead actress category this year, both nominated for roles that saw them radically altering their appearances and voices. Streep won the statuette for "The Iron Lady," a biography of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that skips through decades of the stateswoman's life in breezy flashbacks. Given how controversial Thatcher's administration was — and how much the conservative-liberal divide continues to be a major story around the world — "The Iron Lady" is something of a missed opportunity by director Phyllida Lloyd and screenwriter Abi Morgan, as they take more of a Wikipedia approach to their subject than one that's relevant to today's headlines.

Meryl Streep shuffles down a London street wearing a kerchief, a drab beige overcoat and enough prosthetic wrinkles to pass as an octogenarian in the opening scene of her new movie about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, "The Iron Lady. " For Streep, shooting the sequence provided a jarring taste of a specific kind of invisibility. "There is no more dismissible figure on the street than an old woman," Streep said over a mid-December lunch with her "Iron Lady" director, Phyllida Lloyd, in a cavernous suite at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

In the end, it was Meryl Streep's turn as a world leader that finally earned her a lead actress statuette after 12 years of losing to her competitors. Streep's third career Oscar win provided one of the evening's few surprises when the 62-year-old actress bested "The Help" star Viola Davis for her role as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady. " "I really understand that I'll never be up here again," said Streep with a laugh during her acceptance speech. The acclaimed actress has been nominated a record-setting 17 times -- 14 times in the lead actress category -- though she hasn't won since she took the statue in 1983 for her lead role in "Sophie's Choice.

Regarding "Postcards From the Edge": I thought, "Great, here's a movie where the lead actress, Meryl Streep, has my name--now maybe people will start to say Suzanne instead of Susan." But no. In an article where Meryl Streep is trying to set better standards for women, you don't even spell the main character's name right. Hello! Hello! SUZANNE PECK Los Angeles

Backstage at the Academy Awards was a place for unscripted moments of jitters, jubilation -- and doggy treats. "We're so old and we're so happening!" Meryl Streep shouted, throwing her arms around her longtime makeup artist J. Roy Helland when the two Oscar winners converged in the scrum outside the press room. Behind Streep and Helland clutching their statuettes, Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier from"The Artist,"was collecting rewards for his performance as well -- some treats delivered by trainer Omar Von Muller.

The movie of the fewest words spoke the loudest at the Oscars this year. On an evening suffused with nostalgia, "The Artist," a nearly wordless, black-and-white romance celebrating Hollywood's formative era, won five Academy Awards, including best picture, on Sunday night. The French production also took home directing honors for Michel Hazanavicius, the lead actor award for Jean Dujardin and trophies for costume design and score. Producer Thomas Langmann dedicated his best picture Oscar to his filmmaker father, who died in 2009.

"The Artist," the black-and-white silent film about Hollywood's rocky transition to the “talkies,” took the biggest honors at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday night, including best picture, director and lead actor. It was a night filled with firsts - and an especially good night for the French. “The Artist” was the first silent film to nab best picture honors since the first Academy Awards were held in 1929, when “Wings” took the top prize. And for the first time in Academy Awards history, a French actor (Jean Dujardin)

A funny thing happened whenever I set out to see Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady.” I'd invite one of my moviegoing pals to join me and then find myself later that evening at “Shame,” “My Week With Marilyn” or the glorious “Pina.” The reviews for “The Iron Lady” weren't all that glowing, but Streep came in for her usual chorus of hosannas. For some reason, this wasn't proving to be much of a lure. Even after the Oscar nominations came out, with two-time winner Streep making history with her 17th nomination, “The Iron Lady” was still a no-go with them.

Whitney Houston's funeral will be held Saturday in the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child, her family choosing to remember her in a private service rather than in a large event at an arena. The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home said Tuesday that the funeral will be held at noon at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church, which seats up to 1,500. Gospel singer Marvin Winans, a Grammy Award winner and longtime family friend, has been chosen to give the eulogy, his son said.

— The breakout silent movie "The Artist" continued its unscripted run of awards glory Sunday when it was named best film and claimed six other trophies at the British film awards, including director and lead actor. Frenchman Michel Hazanavicius, who shot the movie in black and white, added to his growing pile of laurels by beating Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese, who directed "Hugo. " Hazanavicius also won for his original screenplay, a less expected honor for a film of few words.

This year's lead actor and actress nominees all turned in stellar performances, but each also had one key moment in which their character crystallized and made Oscar voters sit up and take notice. ACTOR Demian Bichir ("A Better Life") Gardener Carlos Galindo is doing the best he can to make a life for himself and his son, but hardship surrounds him at every turn, from his son's interest in joining a gang to looming immigration officials. Key scene: "I used to joke with Demian, saying, 'We have the Oscar scene coming up on Day 38,'" says director-producer Chris Weitz.

At night after she finished the day's shooting of "The Iron Lady" in London, Meryl Streep would undergo a kind of ritual. Makeup artists painstakingly removed the prosthetics that enabled Streep to play the former British prime minister in her senescent 80s, and the actress unbent her dowager's body and returned to her upright, lighthearted self. "I'd come home and lean against a doorjamb and stand up straight, you know, bend that way instead of this way," Streep said, throwing back her shoulders during an interview in her suite at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel in December.