As avid fans of both the Big Little Lies novel and series, we were absolutely thrilled to have author Liane Moriarty attend our International Women’s Day breakfast panel this morning at VAMFF.
The Australian author shot to fame after her Sydney-based novel was picked up and turned into a series – one of the biggest series of 2017, that is.
Starring Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley and Zoe Kravitz it was only a matter of time before the series’ second season was confirmed. This time, not based off a book, but instead off a new script Moriarty wrote especially.
Speaking to marie claire editor Nicky Briger this morning, Moriarty revealed that – without any mention of Meryl Streep’s interest – she wrote Streep’s now confirmed part, as the mother-in-law of Kidman’s character, for her.
“I said to the producers, ‘I wrote this for Meryl. Can we get Meryl?'” she revealed, saying the show’s producers thought she was crazy at first.
Moriarty also revealed that Meryl’s character’s name is Mary Louise, which is Meryl Streep’s real name. Made for her, indeed.
Speaking about the theme of the morning – International Women’s Day – Moriarty said, “It’s wonderful to me that there were women at the helm [of Big Little Lies]. They were the ones that got it done.”
On gender inequality, especially in the workplace, Moriarty says she was once asked what her greatest achievement was in an interview.
Instead of her response being one of her many huge career accomplishments recently (such as being at the top of the New York Times bestsellers’ list!), Moriarty replied, “this year I got my kids to eat chickpeas,” noting that men are much more comfortable being direct in calling out their achievements, whereas women deflect from them.
And as far as a new book goes? Moriarty has three weeks to finish her latest novel, which is set at a health retreat and which she currently has no ending for! We can hardly wait.
See more from our International Women’s Day breakfast panel on our Instagram Stories or Twitter.
RELATED: Why Big Little Lies Is So Important For Feminism
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