Academy honor reduces Streep to tears
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2010, Tuesday
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MERYL Streep, star of films such as "Sophie's Choice" and "Julie & Julia," has been named an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an elite club that includes Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim and Jasper Johns.
Not even two Oscars, seven Golden Globes and a lifetime achievement prize from the American Film Institute prepared Streep for the honor.
"I have to say that I was stunned, and when they sent me the roster of people in the academy I just burst into tears," Streep said. "I couldn't believe that I'd be even allowed in the kitchen."
The 112-year-old academy said yesterday that Streep and conductor James Levine had been elected to a special category, established in 1983, for "Americans of great distinction in the arts whose work falls outside the traditional departments" of music (composition), literature and art.
Architects Fumihiko Maki of Japan and Alvaro Siza of Portugal were added to the academy's honorary category for foreign artists.
Directors Woody Allen (with whom Streep worked in "Manhattan") and Martin Scorsese and choreographers Twyla Tharp and Paul Taylor are among the current members. While Allen and former member Orson Welles both worked extensively on screen, Streep is the first to be chosen solely for acting.
"Both of this year's inductees are performing artists, and both are at the peak of their careers," said poet and Academy President J.D. McClatchy. "James Levine's conducting and Meryl Streep's acting are extraordinary examples of insight, depth and virtuosity."
Inductees into the main body include authors Marilynne Robinson, Francine Prose, Thomas McGuane and Richard Powers, composers Tania Leon and Fred Lerdahl, architect Thom Mayne and painters Thomas Nozknowski and Peter Saul.
The inductees demonstrate how far the academy has come from its frankly snobbish roots, when women, non-whites and Jews were not welcome and the presence of a "lowly" actress might have set off mass resignations.
Not even two Oscars, seven Golden Globes and a lifetime achievement prize from the American Film Institute prepared Streep for the honor.
"I have to say that I was stunned, and when they sent me the roster of people in the academy I just burst into tears," Streep said. "I couldn't believe that I'd be even allowed in the kitchen."
The 112-year-old academy said yesterday that Streep and conductor James Levine had been elected to a special category, established in 1983, for "Americans of great distinction in the arts whose work falls outside the traditional departments" of music (composition), literature and art.
Architects Fumihiko Maki of Japan and Alvaro Siza of Portugal were added to the academy's honorary category for foreign artists.
Directors Woody Allen (with whom Streep worked in "Manhattan") and Martin Scorsese and choreographers Twyla Tharp and Paul Taylor are among the current members. While Allen and former member Orson Welles both worked extensively on screen, Streep is the first to be chosen solely for acting.
"Both of this year's inductees are performing artists, and both are at the peak of their careers," said poet and Academy President J.D. McClatchy. "James Levine's conducting and Meryl Streep's acting are extraordinary examples of insight, depth and virtuosity."
Inductees into the main body include authors Marilynne Robinson, Francine Prose, Thomas McGuane and Richard Powers, composers Tania Leon and Fred Lerdahl, architect Thom Mayne and painters Thomas Nozknowski and Peter Saul.
The inductees demonstrate how far the academy has come from its frankly snobbish roots, when women, non-whites and Jews were not welcome and the presence of a "lowly" actress might have set off mass resignations.
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