Meryl movie godmother
MERYL Streep passed on a starring role as fair pay pioneer Lilly Ledbetter in the new film “Lilly” — but she played a key role in getting the movie made, we heard. “It wasn’t easy, and it was a long road,” Ledbetter told us of the film, which goes into production in Georgia this month with Patricia Clarkson in the lead. Ledbetter’s reallife David versus Goliath legal battle as an Alabama factory worker who claimed she’d been paid 40 percent less than male co-workers in the same role over a 20-year period ultimately inspired the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also played a key role in Ledbetter’s legal fight. Streep was offered the main role, but Ledbetter told Page Six that the Oscar winner said she was “too old” to play the part. Never mind that the in-demand actress was also booked up for two years. But Ledbetter, 83, said, “She helped get it going and get it started. She is so talented and respected . . . She knew the right people to contact. I never knew the right people [to get the film made].” Streep has no credit on the film, though Ledbetter calls her the movie’s “godmother.” The political thriller also stars Josh Lucas as Ledbetter’s husband, Charles, and Thomas Sadoski as her lawyer, Jon Goldfarb. Said Ledbetter of Streep: “We had tried and tried every approach. Everybody I’d met in Washington [DC] and on the campaign trail. But she’s the one.” The movie is being directed by Rachel Feldman, and the producing team includes Christine Schwarzman and Wendy Federman. It’s also being supported by influential women, including Carole Crist.