‘The Meryl Streep Project’: A Decade of Twists and Turns in the Making

Opening in theaters nationwide on October 28, the film ‘The Meryl Streep Project’ chronicles the decade-long, often chaotic journey from launching a project to meet Hollywood actor Meryl Streep to turning it into a documentary. It follows how a fan’s devotion to an actor grew into a film about a creator’s struggle to keep going and women’s voices, through persistent attempts to reach Streep and the barriers of reality.

Director Park Hyo-sun first came up with the idea for the project when she was 15. Wanting to meet Meryl Streep in person, Park and her friends made a video and planned to take it to the United States to deliver it to the actor. The effort, launched under the name “MSP (Meryl Streep Project),” was bold in turning admiration for a favorite actor into action. But reality proved tougher than expected. No one knew then that it would take 10 years to complete the project as a film.

The biggest hurdle was finding a way to meet Meryl Streep. Park contacted her agency and waited months for a response. After finally securing a channel through which communication could continue, she sent a package containing a screenplay written in English, a handwritten letter and a video. But what came back were vague replies, silence and notice that a meeting would be difficult. Meetings to try different ways of getting in touch and consider new alternatives continued, but the hoped-for result remained elusive.

As time went on, the project’s meaning changed, too. At first, the goal was to get closer to Meryl Streep. Along the way, however, Park met fellow creators who, like her, were making things and pursuing their dreams. The difficulties of production, too much for her to bear alone, became an experience of sharing worries and encouraging one another to take on challenges. The plan to meet an actor had, before long, become a journey asking what it takes to keep creating and how people can support one another’s dreams.

Looking closely at Meryl Streep’s work also gave Park a reason to reflect on women’s lives and the conditions in which they create. She considered the expectations that women actors take on limited roles based on their age and appearance, and examined the realities and biases women creators face both on and off screen. The personal desire to meet an admired actor grew into a cinematic perspective that listens to women’s experiences and voices and considers the social conditions surrounding creative work.

Ultimately, ‘The Meryl Streep Project’ documents more than a campaign to make a meeting with an actor happen. It captures the struggle to reach an original goal as plans falter and questions change, and the time it takes to find a personal perspective and complete a film. The camera, first pointed toward Meryl Streep, eventually turned to the stories of the director herself and her fellow creators.

How can admiration for one person become a creative force and, through unexpected encounters and experiences, lead to a work of one’s own? The coming-of-age documentary ‘The Meryl Streep Project,’ which chronicles a decade of challenges, opens in theaters nationwide on October 28.