Written by Joy Silman, Staff Writer.

After Sunday’s Academy Awards Ceremony there was much talk among the Oscar community of next year’s projections.  Although still early in the voting process, with the majority of the year’s films having not yet graced the silver screen,  a clear front-runner in the Best Actress category has emerged: Meryl Streep.

Yes, the 19-times nominated actress is once again being considered for her twentieth nomination next year for her performance as a fed-up actress seeking a good deal on Ramen Noodles in one fan’s brilliant smart phone clip titled Streep Heads to Walmart.  The fan, George Johnson, who appears to have his own “impressive history” in showbiz told us in a brief interview his reaction to the hype:

“I think it’ll be great if she gets recognized!  I mean… she’s Meryl.  She’s a peach.”

Johnson, it seems, has filmed multiple A-list actors over the years in various non-screen roles including Jake Gyllenhaal in Height?, Michael Fassbender in He really is a sex addict, and Rooney Mara in On the Toilet… Yeah… He says his inspiration for his most recent works is Sean Baker’s film Tangerine (2015), which was shot entirely on an iPhone.

“It’s great the average person can finally contribute to the movie industry through these new technologies,” Johnson said, his smile a little too genuine and childish.

Regardless of Johnson’s over-enthusiasm and the rudimentary method in which his short was shot, critics everywhere have praised the film’s ability to capture Streep at her most real and unabashedly raw.  One seasoned staff writer at RogerEbert.com called her performance “subtle and brave… a gut-wrenching embrace of the mundane.”  Newsweek noted “Even Streep off-set is a powerhouse… truly majestic acting.”  Time Magazine emphasized that “more performances should seek the simple, yet inspiring energy Streep emanates in every proud, defiant step.  There has never been a performance more willing than her’s to embrace the post-modernity of our time.”  TTT’s own Film Editor, Monsieur Montage commented that though he questions the validity in labeling real-world living as performance, he still enjoys “her poignant display of aristocracy wedded with the drab and ugly.”  Even Joaquin Phoenix, a life-time admirer of Streep, tweeted: “My my Meryl.  Beating those streets to powder. #merylstreepisking.”

Upon learning of her most current bout in fame, Streep commented full-heartedly on her efforts to elevate her performance to new, unheard of extremes:

“Every breath is a performance.  Every step a journey into the beauty of the moment.  I remember distinctly that day, that moment leaving my cab and making my way toward the automatic gates of that blue-beige heaven.  Ah!  The glory of walking to Walmart!”

Streep further noted that in order to best adapt to her own passionate feelings on that particular day, she purposefully refused to shower that morning and indulged herself with a breakfast of Hostess Ding Dongs and Starbucks coffee instead of her usual black tea and crumpets.

“I even swore at my cab driver for dropping me off two hundred feet from the entrance,” Streep said, fanning her face in embarrassment.   “I never do that!”

Upon questioning her on her potential Oscar nomination, Streep chuckled and tossed her hair in a display of sheer confidence.  “I wouldn’t say it was all that great.  I mean, I  just went with the crowd.  Then again, maybe this is why the Academy loves me so… I have never tried to please them, although they are a brilliant, charming bunch of people.  I wouldn’t mind another nomination, all in all.  Oh!  I love the shimmer and glitter of Oscar night!”

For anyone interested in viewing Meryl in her newest role, Streep Heads to Walmart is set to debut in theaters along with a collection of other short films later this month.

– J.S.

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Joy Silman has been an eager and illustrious staff writer for TTT since its founding.  As a makeup, tattoo, piercing, and body-art aficionado, much of her work surrounds the art scene and the influences its major figures have on the development of new and crucial cultural trends.  Silman earned her B.A. from Emerson College in Boston, where she was also first exposed to the power and influence of journalism.  She has contributed to major newspapers including the Boston Globe, the Times, and many local venues, as well as wrote periodically for arts journals including Zeroland.