Los Angeles – “I would like to heal the sick,” Meryl Streep revealed when we asked what magical power she would like to have. “I think we all have healing energy and we can help each other. We can also hurt each other. It’s two sides of the same coin.”
The 65-year-old award-winning actress talked to us at the Waldorf Astoria in New York about love, children, beauty, motherhood and her role in Rob Marshall’s musical fantasy film, “Into The Woods,” where she portrays The Witch.
meryL streep; (inset) in
characrter in ‘Into The Woods’
On aging gracefully and naturally, Meryl said, “Sometimes women get mixed up and they think that if they’re more beautiful, they’ll be more loved. They think that if they look better on the outside, they are more lovable, that gives them meaning in the world. So just like The Witch, she thinks that if she gets this potion and become beautiful, her daughter won’t be ashamed of her anymore. She will stay with her and, of course, it doesn’t have anything to do with how she looks. It has to do with how mean she is and the beauty in her heart.”
Growing up, she revealed, her mother never told her to be careful. “I used to go out in the woods all day with a little gang of kids and she’d say, ‘Come home when you hear the bell’ and not worry,” she narrated. “It was a different time. That has changed. Childhood has really changed in that way.”
As for her own kids, Meryl disclosed, “I remember when my little boy was maybe two or three, a six-year-old boy was taken from a street in Soho, four blocks from where we lived. He was going to meet the bus on his first day of school and his mother watched him in the corner. Seconds later, he was taken and that changed childhood in New York City. That event for everybody I knew who was a parent, really did shift things. People went nuts.
“So with my own kids, I tend to be supervisory in everything I do. I was more the bad cop and more worried. My husband was more laissez faire but I think the film identifies the strains of dread that live in you once you are a parent. Nothing should happen. But things always do and you are hard pressed
In the movie, The Witch was also an overprotective mother. In her life, was there an incident where her children said, “Back off mom,” we asked.
Meryl replied, “You know the feeling of everybody else is allowed to, why can’t I? I don’t care if everybody else is allowed to. I remember saying them to my mother and her saying I don’t care. These things carry on but the mothers often are the task masters, aren’t they?”
So what keeps her grounded and normal, as most of her colleagues described her, we asked.
Meryl replied, “I don’t know if I am normal. I don’t know what normal is. I feel so grateful.
That’s all just for the opportunities. I have friends who have not had these same opportunities.”
As for being called “normal,” she continued, “I don’t even know what normal is. I have four children. Each one is different. Which one is normal? Which one is abnormal? Are they all normal? Or are they all abnormal? And is it my fault or is it their father’s fault?”
As for love, Meryl admitted, “Love is everything to me.”
Miss Earth 2014 Jamie Herrell (in red, second from left), with Miss Earth Water Maira Alexandra Rodriguez of Venezuela, Miss Earth Fire Anastasia Trusova of Russia, and Miss Earth Air Andrea Neu of USA. (Photo from the Miss Earth Instagram page)
Jamie Herrell, a self-proclaimed animal rights advocate from Cebu City, was proclaimed Miss Earth 2014 at the grand coronation night of the pageant held Saturday at the UP Theater in Diliman, Quezon City.
The 20-year-old mestiza stunner bested 84 other entrants from all over the planet and became the second Filipina to claim the Miss Earth title after Karla Henry won in 2008.
Loudly cheered by her hometown crowd, Herrell looked confident and regal right from the start. En route to her victory, she also won three special awards: Miss Earth Hannah’s Beach Resort, Miss Hannah’s Beach Resort’s Best in Swimsuit and Sun for Miss Earth Award.
Herrell was particularly impressive during the question and answer portion when she was asked, “If you win tonight’s crown what will you do to reverse global warming?”
Her reply? “Global warming has been known to be a long, overdue issue. I will use my title to inspire others, help our environment, and we start with the kids—the kids are the people of tomorrow.”
Previously a contestant at the Miss Resorts World Manila 2013 pageant, Herrell is also the owner of Mactan Dynamics Dance Company based in her native Cebu.
Completing Herrell’s court are Andrea Neu of USA who was adjudged Miss Earth Air, Maira Alexandra Rodriguez of Venezuela who won Miss Earth Water and Anastasia Trusova of Russia, who was crowned Miss Earth Fire.
Candidates from Brazil, Mongolia, Slovak Republic and Spain comprised the rest of the Top 8 finalists. This field had been whittled down from the Top 16 that also featured the ladies representing Colombia, Egypt, Korea, Mexico, Scotland, Tahiti, Thailand and Zambia.
Considered as one of the Big Four international beauty pageants along with Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss World, Miss Earth was founded in the Philippines in 2001. Since the establishment of the Miss Earth Foundation in 2004, the country has hosted the pageant in 10 of the last 11 years except for 2010 when it was held in Vietnam.
Phoebe Walker and Matt Edwards.
For all the squabbling that almost led to a breakup at one point, all Matt Edwards and Phoebe Walker needed was their love for each other to win another pit stop on the episode of “The Amazing Race Philippines 2” aired on TV5 on Saturday.
In the 8th leg of the reality competition series that saw the remaining six teams negotiate several challenges in Iloilo, including one that involved zombies in an Intersection task that forced two teams to work together, Team Dating Couple emerged victorious to add another P200,000 from Shell V Power Nitro Plus to the P600,000 they had already earned from three previous pit stop wins.
With only one week to go, Matt and Phoebe are now the odds-on favorite to win the fabulous grand prize that consists of two house and lots from RCD Royal Homes, two Kia Sportage SUVs and a whopping cash prize of P2 million courtesy of PLDT Home Telpad.
Unlike Chef Roch Hernandez of Team Chefs who plans to realize her dream wedding if she and teammate Chef Eji Estillore win, Matt and Phoebe are not even thinking of settling down.
“We’re only 22. A lot of things can happen. In my case, I hope to use the prize money for my family,” Phoebe told InterAksyon in a recent interview.
“Bata pa kami. Maybe in 10 years time,” Matt added.
Of course, the race is far from a done deal and they still have three other formidable teams to contend with as the 8th leg also saw a heartbreaking double elimination for Team Mag-Ama AJ and Jody Saliba and Team Nerds Vincent Yu and Ed Maguan. They were sent home by “TARP 2” host Derek Ramsay after finishing 5th and 6th respectively at the pit stop atop the Injap Tower Heliport in Mandurriao.
In the end, smarts (Nerds) and heart (Mag-Ama) were not enough to carry both teams through the homestretch. But they can still take consolation in the fact that they both won one pit stop each and the P200,000 that came with it.
Teams Nerds and Mag-ama are sent home after the conclusion of the 8th leg on 'The Amazing Race Philippines' Season 2.
As for the Team Magkapatid of Jet and Yna Cruz, their “bridemaids” streak of runner-up pit stop finishes continue as they ended up second for the fourth time in the race. Still taking inspiration from last year’s grand prize winners LJ Moreno and CJ Jaravata who clinched the championship in the final leg, the rich siblings still feel good about their chances.
“Like CJ and LJ, we’re also fans of the show even way back when it started in the US so we’re very familiar with the rules. CJ and LJ were also not the physically strongest team so we thought we might have a chance since we keep finishing second or third,” Jet noted.
For the Team Chefs, landing in the Final Four with only one leg to go brings Roch closer to her ultimate objective. But before she even thinks of proposing to her boyfriend, there’s still the matter of racing ahead of the others.
Of course, not to be taken for granted and possibly the most dangerous team among the remaining tandems are Team Mr. Pogi Kelvin Engles and JP Duray. Behind the leaders in the first five legs, the team dubbed by online fans as “miracle boys” have since finished in the Top 4 from then on.
Asked what they would do with their prize money should they win, both said they would give it to their parents, although Kelvin said he was also considering using some of it as capital for a business he intends to venture in.
Is there one more miracle that awaits the Pogi Boys? Can Team Chefs cook up a storm as the race reaches it climax? Will knowing “The Amazing Series” by heart finally pay off for the Team Magkapatid? Or will the Dating Couple prove that they really have “the best combination of brains and muscle” as Matt had declared?
The only way to find out is to tune in for the finale week of “The Amazing Race Philippines 2”. Powered by Rexona and sponsored by PLDT Home Telpad, Summit Natural Drinking Water, Kia Motors, RCD Royal Homes, Shell, and Resorts World Manila, the series airs on at 9PM Mondays to Saturdays and Highlights airing every Sundays on TV5.
