Well, this morning we learned that Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Co. spent a whole lot of marketing money for not a lot of return, with most of the studio's films falling way short of Oscar nominations. But one Harvey was able to count on was the reliable Meryl Streep, who made the Best Actress field for August: Osage County. And it's a partnership that will continue in a project that's guaranteed to generate a lot of heat.
Weinstein confirmed to Deadline that Streep will star in The Senator's Wife for the studio, and it's going to get the gun enthusiasts of the NRA all riled up for sure. Here's what Weinstein said on The Howard Stern Show about it...
"I’m going to make a movie with Meryl Streep, and we’re going to take [gun rights] head-on. And [the NRA is] going to wish they weren’t alive after I’m done with them.”
Dude, they have guns. Lots of them. Might want to chill on that tough talk. Anyway, he also described it as the new Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and it will chronicle the NRA's under-handed lobbying efforts to kill any gun legislation after the Aurora and Newtown shootings.
Whatever your thoughts on gun rights there's no doubt that the NRA embarked on a coordinated (and successful) smear campaign of misinformation to kill the bill, and it sounds as if Weinstein is pumped to make sure everybody knows about it.
With all of the Weinstein muscle behind it, and Harvey's obvious enthusiasm to kick up some controversy, this one's going to be huge and extremely divisive. No word on a director or writer but hopefully we'll hear more soon. Speaking personally as someone who has been disgusted by the NRA's tactics for a long time, especially since they don't truly represent their members, I'm excited to see where this goes.
