Readers' Ranking: Our Streep Fixation
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 11:17AM It's our first "Reader Ranking" project. The subject was the one and only Meryl Streep. Recently I gave you a little bit of a statistical tease about reader ballots including little tidbits like Ironweed (1987) being the least seen and Prada (2006) the most. Since it's too early to know where The Iron Lady (her 17th Oscar nomination) will fall in long term evaluations of her career, I asked readers to rank all 16 of her previous Oscar nominations (only the ones they'd seen) and I weighted the ballots so that the more you'd seen the stronger your voice in the final tally. This would give the little seen movies a fighting chance if the people who'd seen them loved them. For the readers who had seen everything, I contacted them to hear more about their Streep fixation.
Wanna hear some of their stories?
I thought so.
We'll start the countdown tomorrow with #16-#11 but here is a prologue to get you in the mood. Not that you need a mood setter for Streep. You're always in that mood. I'm saving some of the quotes for the countdown but here are a baker's dozen discovery stories...
__________________________
ERIK
When did you first discover Streep?
"Kramer vs. Kramer, 1979. It opened on my birthday and at the time my parents were on the verge of divorce. I didn't know anything about Streep at the time but I was transfixed immediately. It was amazing that I could be watching something about a situation I was actually going through but instead of dwelling on that I was so absorbed by her and her performance."
Top of his ballot?
Bridges of Madison County. "I could have a different 1st place almost any day of the week."
Hey, couldn't we all?
__________________________
BEAU
When did you first discover Streep?
"My first memory of watching Meryl is Death Becomes Her (1992). I was 11 when it came out and my mom and I watched it in the theatre. It was just so much fun. My fascination with her and her career came a few years later when I was shown Holocaust (1978) at school. I will never forget how I felt watching her dedication to James Woods and her eyes telling such a heartbreaking story. It was after that, at age 13 or 14, that I became a Streep devotee."
Top of his ballot
Sophie's Choice. (I always forget that it was her second Holocaust related movie. I've never seen Holocaust!)
__________________________
MARTIN
When did you discover Streep?
"Silkwood, blown away immediately buy her performance. Movie poster was up on my wall next to Duran Duran. I was always addicted to the Oscars and Meryl quickly became one off my favorites next to Katherine Hepburn, Jodie Foster & Doris Day (yeahh I know, but I still think she delivered some great performances - she's my Sandra). I love the way her acting mind works...