Pathe have just sent me the first look at
Meryl Streep convincingly resembling former U.K. prime minster Margaret Thatcher in the forthcoming biopic
The Iron Lady, which began filming a week ago in London. Streep is on the left, and you could be mistaken for thinking otherwise! Since
the very first day the film was announced, The Iron Lady has been looked upon as Streep's "The Queen" - i.e. the political minded movie biopic of a fascinating and controversial figure, during a tumultuous time, that will see the veteran, almost peerless actress, be dominant on the Awards stage. Streep has been nominated a whopping TWELVE times since her second Oscar win 29 years ago and if I were a bookie, despite filming not yet complete, I would stop taking bets a whole year early on Streep winning her third next year for this, fittingly ending 30 years of being overlooked. The Iron Lady re-teams Streep with her Mamma Mia director
Phyllida Lloyd (thankfully there's no dance numbers in this one) and has been scripted by
Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, Brick Lane). The film focuses on events in the run-up to the Falklands War in 1982 and contains a cast of venerable Brtish Talent including
Jim Broadbent as Maggies husband Dennis,
Richard E. Grant as Michael Heseltine,
Roger Allam as Gordon Reece and
Anthony Head as Geoffrey Howe.
"tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman."
The demonic glowing Red eyes will be added in post. Streep says of the role;
The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own!
A swathe indeed. Trade Union bashing, the destroying and selling of British industry - shes not what you would call a beloved figure by any means it and it will be intersting how Streep chooses to portray her. So what do you think of this. Too kind, not hard enough, or pretty close? First person to mention milk snatching wins a pint of semi skimmed. Pathé will distribute The Iron Lady in France; and Fox in the U.K, probably sometime between October-January, the awards season. You can follow the production of The Iron Lady on Pathe's recently set up
production blog.(Neil Upton contributed to the second half of this piece).