Streep eyes Thatcher role

London - Cinema chameleon Meryl Streep's latest challenge: becoming the Iron Lady.

Pathe Films says the two-time Academy Award winner has expressed an interest in playing Margaret Thatcher in a new film about Britain's first female prime minister.

The London-based producer and distributor said Thursday that discussions are under way with Streep's representatives, but no agreement is in place.

Written by Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, Brick Lane) the film is provisionally titled The Iron Lady. Pathe says it "tells the story of a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world."

The director is Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Streep in the Abba musical Mamma Mia!

Filming is due to start at the end of the year.