Meryl Streep ... action star? We always did say she was a chameleon.


So goes the news that the three-time Oscar winner is wanted for a female version of "The Expendables," which Millenium Films honcho Avi Lerner is currently calling "The ExpendaBelles." Lerner dropped this tidbit in the Bulgarian press, where Deadline.com found it and brought the glorious revelation to the rest of us.


Between her roles as Chief Elder in "The Giver" and The Witch in "Into the Woods," we're picturing Streep in a skintight leather getup while kicking butt in the female-centric action flick. Whether that will come to fruition is far from being known, but she's reportedly in talks with Cameron Diaz and Milla Jovovich to join the cast. Those last two names make a heck of a lot more sense, as Jovovich is a bona fide action star thanks to the "Resident Evil" series and one of Diaz's most famous roles came in the form of "Charlie's Angels." But Streep, the ever-elegant and ultra-poised performer? Now that we'd like to see. To her credit, she does have the 1994 thriller "The River Wild" under her belt, but even that is a few steps removed from what we've seen in "The Expendables."


"The ExpendaBelles" -- and we sure do hope the movie maintains that working title -- is based on a script by writing partners Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who together have penned "10 Things I Hate About You," "Legally Blonde" and "She's the Man." Lerner says he needs to recruit a director before the official casting process can begin.


[via Deadline.com]




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  • "Julia" (1977)


    "I'm thrilled when I get nominated. You won't believe this, but I don't count how many and I don't remember how many I've had. I just know it's a lot." [<a href="http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aaadaptationinta.htm" target="_blank">About.com</a>, 2002]




  • "The Deer Hunter" (1978)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> National Society of Film Critics Award <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe




  • "Holocaust" (1978)


    <em>NBC miniseries</em> <strong>Wins:</strong> Emmy




  • "Manhattan" (1979)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> BAFTA, National Society of Film Critics Award




  • "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, National Society of Film Critics Award <strong>Nominations:</strong> BAFTA




  • "The French Lieutenant's Woman" (1981)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> BAFTA, Golden Globe <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar




  • "Sophie's Choice" (1982)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, National Society of Film Critics Award <strong>Nominations:</strong> BAFTA




  • "Silkwood" (1983)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe




  • "Out Of Africa" (1985)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA




  • "Heartburn" (1986)


    "[Acting] is very satisfying if you can manage to not have your feelings hurt when they don't like you. I haven't really had any breakthroughs in that area. It still hurts my feelings." [<a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20242833,00.html" target="_blank">Entertainment Weekly</a>, 2008]




  • "Ironweed" (1987)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar




  • "A Cry in the Dark" (1988)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe




  • "She-Devil" (1989)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Golden Globe




  • "Death Becomes Her" (1992)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Golden Globe




  • "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild




  • "One True Thing" (1998)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild




  • "Music of the Heart" (1999)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild




  • "Adaptation." (2002)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Golden Globe <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild




  • "The Hours" (2002)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild




  • "Angels In America" (2003)


    <em>HBO miniseries</em> <strong>Wins:</strong> Golden Globe, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild




  • "Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events" (2002)


    "Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there." [<a href="http://159.54.226.237/02_issues/021201/021201streep.html" target="_blank">USA Weekend</a>, 2002]




  • "A Prairie Home Companion" (2006)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> National Society of Film Critics Award




  • "The Devil Wears Prada"


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, National Society of Film Critics Award <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, BAFTA




  • "Mamma Mia!" (2008)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Golden Globe




  • "Doubt" (2008)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Screen Actors Guild <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA




  • "Julie & Julia" (2009)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Golden Globe, National Society of Film Critics Award <strong>Nominations:</strong> Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild




  • "It's Complicated" (2009)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Golden Globe




  • "The Iron Lady" (2011)


    <strong>Wins:</strong> Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA <strong>Nominations:</strong> Screen Actors Guild, National Society of Film Critics Award




  • "Hope Springs" (2012)


    <strong>Nominations:</strong> Golden Globe