Meryl Streep: It Isn’t Easy Being Queen

by Roger Friedman - December 10, 2009 12:00 am

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Meryl Streep is just as endearing and funny in real life as she is on stage. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.

Readers of this column may recall a recent entry in which La Streep took two sips of a Tanqueray martini at a premiere, and then backed off.

When I ran into her last night at the Museum of Modern Art, just following the screening of “It’s Complicated,” she’d had a whole martini.

“I had to,” she laughed, “to get through this.” She is not crazy about big premieres, but there she was, meeting and greeting her fans for the third time this month. Nevertheless, Meryl is a sport. She even sat through the last half hour of the movie ‘ something she never does.”It’s hard to be Queen,” someone said to Streep as she entered the party. Meryl shot back, “I wouldn’t want her problems, believe me!”

(Folks, she’s going to get the Academy Award for “Julie & Julia.” I’m just sayin’.)

Co-star Alec Baldwin, on the other hand, did not see the movie. He went off to have dinner with sometime girlfriend Nicole Seidel. At the very swanky MoMA party ‘ which featured a tremendous recreated dessert bakery just like the one Meryl’s character owns in the movie ‘ Baldwin was sweating so hard perspiration ran down his face. He kept trying to mop it up with a handkerchief.

Around the MoMA lobby, there were plenty of celebs eating the delicious food and talking about the fantasy life presented in “It’s Complicated.” Among them: Universal chief Ron Meyer and NBC’s Jeff Zucker, who may be bonding now that the company has been sold. Also, Tina Fey ‘‘sans glasses ‘ who promised me she’s coming up with more ways to zetz the NBC folks on “30 Rock.”’ Plus there was the movie’s costar John Krasinski (who’s very good in this movie) and fiancee Emily Blunt (about to oppen in “Young Victoria“), Steve Martin (and doppelganger pal art dealer Larry Gagosian), Rita Wilson, Alexandra Wentworth, Oliver Stone, Marisa Hargitay and Peter Hermann, Bob and Lynne Balaban, Barry and Diana Levinson, Bob Dishy and Judy Graubart.