The Circuit

by John Hopewell
Believe it or not -- you might not believe from many of her films -- Meryl Steep has a sense of humor. And a pronounced one at that.  It was in large evidence at San Sebastian.

Streep was there to pick up a career achievement Donostia Prize. Before, she had to run the gauntlet of a press conference. She dazzled, and made people laugh.

Sweet Latin American femme journalist, simpering: "Bet Davies wrote a letter saying you would be her successor. If you could write a letter who world you send it to?"

Streep (imitating Davis): "I'm not dead yet, babe."

Journalist: "What happens if things change and the new president of the United States becomes a Democrat?"

Streep puts her hands above her head and squeals with delight to long applause, then replying:  "If it doesn't happen….I'm looking at real estate in San Sebastian (laughter)."

Streep said other interesting and intelligent things: “There are more women working in my industry at the money end and they're willing to put money into projects” with roles for women over 40.

What keeps her going?

“Appetite. No matter how good the dinner was the night before, around seven o'clock the next night, I'm want to go out and eat dinner.”

The best question, she said, to be asked at a press conference is “Does fiction film matter any more?”

"Now that there's so much appetite for documentary, the real events are somehow so much more bizarre."

Streep disagreed just once with a journalist, who observed that since she’s such a great actress that it’s impossible to know who she really is.

“You always bring something personal to your work,” she countered.

If Streep came over as anything, she came over as a mother. 

She's frustrated by the time and attention needed for film marketing these days:  “Sometimes I think that making a film is this much effort, and marketing a film (spreads her hands more) is this much. That make's it harder on the young ones.”

Hasn’t she thought about directing?

Directing's a 24-hour task, she said. But now that her youngest daughter is 17-years-old and (imitating pushing) nearly out of the house, well, she’d now think about it.

But even here, she made a joke: “Most of the directors with whom I’ve worked would say that I have directed before.”