Meryl Streep has been confirmed to be playing Joni Mitchell in Cameron Crowe's upcoming biopic of the iconic singer-songwriter.
Ad
The announcement was made by record producer Clive Davis during a pre-Grammy's party at which Mitchell herself was present, with Crowe then confirming its accuracy in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Streep had long been rumoured to be taking on the role in the project, which has been in development for a number of years, with Anya Taylor-Joy previously reported to be playing a younger version of Mitchell – although that is still unconfirmed.
It's not clear exactly what aspects of Mitchell's career will be focused on in the film, but Crowe – who is best known for his films Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous – is a long-term friend of the musician.
Want to see this content?
We're not able to show you this content from Google reCAPTCHA. Please sign out of Contentpass to view this content.
They first met in 1979, when Crowe interviewed her in his previous career as a prominent music journalist, and the film is being developed in close collaboration with her.
"We’ve been working on it for about four years," Crowe explained during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in October last year.
"We have regular meetings where I can ask her anything and she speaks with her heart about all kinds of stuff. It’s a movie that will be not from a distance… This is from her perspective, her life, looking out."
Meryl Streep. Mike Marsland/WireImage
He added that Mitchell had kept all of her costumes, clothes, and instruments and was even still the landlady of her famous house in Laurel Canyon.
"So this is a really personal, wonderful look at her life and music," he said.
Mitchell will be the latest in a long line of real figures played by Streep throughout her decorated career, following previous roles including Julia Child, Margaret Thatcher and Emmeline Pankhurst.
The 21-time Oscar nominee will next be seen reprising her role as Miranda Priestly in the hotly-anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2 – set for release in May – while she also has a voice role in upcoming Pixar animation Hoppers.
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
