Saturday, December 7, 2024

Exclusive: Meryl Streep Returning for Season 4 of “Only Murders” But Not Dating Martin Short — Just on the Show

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Exclusive: Meryl Streep and all the cast of “Only Murders in the Building” are returning for Season 4 of “Only Murders in the Building.”

I already told a few weeks ago Nathan Lane was coming back. Season 4 will see all the actors — starting with Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez — back for more murder investigations at the Arconia.

I also confirmed with Streep and Short that they are not dating. A rumor popped up after the Golden Globes last Sunday that their fictional relationship had turned into something more.

When I asked each of them about it at Friday’s sensational American Film Institute lunch, they assured me they are just great friends.

The annual AFI lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel ballroom honors 10 movies and 10 TV shows of the last season. AFI director Bob Gazzale runs a smooth operation that’s not televised, but a time for all the filmmakers to have fun and not compete for awards.

“There are no losers here,” Gazzale told the star studded A list crowd that included the casts of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things,” “Maestro” and TV shows like “Succession” and “Abbott Elementary.”

As a bonus, Gazzale always has a surprise honoree. This year was no exception, with Oscar and Tony winner Ellen Burstyn, age 91 and fit as a fiddle, flying in from New York to give her benediction on the whole show. The audience of famous actors and directors — from Bradley Cooper to Leonardo DiCaprio to Julianne Moore and Sarah Snook went wild when Burstyn — elegant, refined, and feisty– took the stage.

There were also plenty of execs and famed Hollywood leaders in the room including the magnificent George Stevens Jr,. Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Daly, Jean Firstenberg, Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy of Warner Bros. celebrating their new deal with Tom Cruise with Warner DIscovery’s David Zaslav.

(Another party — this one celebrating movie channel TCM — followed the luncheon with the Warner’s gang reaffirming their total support for the channel. They announced that Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson had already renewed their commitment to the channel for another year.)

Gazzale made special mention of having three AFI Lifetime Achievement winners in the room: Spielberg, Streep, and Steve Martin. Streep basked in the limelight as our greatest actress, and no one disagreed. She told me after lunch that she’s getting back into film with several projects cooking, not just “Only Murders.”

More to come…including notes from Universal’s cocktail party last night for “Oppenheimer” and “The Holdovers,” with all the casts and special appearances by The Rock and Snoop Dogg — in the same room!

photo c2024 Showbiz411.com

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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