Netflix Wins ‘Pyros;’ Reese Witherspoon To Star, Produce Thomas Pierce Sci-Fi Film With Simon Kinberg
Netflix prevailed over several studios to land Pyros, an adaptation of the Thomas Pierce science fiction short story Tardy Man that has Reese Witherspoon attached to star in the film, and produce with Simon Kinberg. Pierce will write the script.
Deal comes a day after Apple unveiled a teaser trailer for Morning Show, a series that Witherspoon stars in with Jennifer Aniston. Now, Netflix has a Witherspoon feature vehicle. I’m told that up to six studios chased this package and that Sony Pictures was among the finalists.
Pierce will write the script based on his short story that was published in The New Yorker magazine last year. It’s the second major movie deal he has made on one of his New Yorker short stories; Chairman Spaceman was bought and is being developed by Fox Searchlight. Kinberg is producing that one as well. Deadline revealed the package hit the market August 1.
Hello Sunshine’s Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter are producing with Genre Films’ Audrey Chon.
Tardy Man deals with a group of augmented people who are fitted with indestructible fire suits that are fused to their spines. They work for a corporation that recovers objects for wealthy people when their houses are burning. It is strictly forbidden for them to veer from their salvage missions, even when other humans are in danger. The protagonist decides to make an exception to this rule and that is the jumping off point.
It’s the second big female-driven package deal to land this week. Yesterday, New Line beat out 17 other bidders for Don’t Worry Darling, the spec script that Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde will direct and star in. CAA is in the middle of both auctions, which are expected to sort themselves by next week. Witherspoon is managed by LBI and the writer by Kaplan/Perrone.
To celebrate their 25th anniversary, In Style have gathered several of their most famous cover stars from the past 25 years to each take a trip down memory lane and look back at their previous In Style covers. As well as talking us through their covers, the stars have been photographed for the current issue in a way that reflects their current selves. Reese tells us about her covers from 2002, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016 & 2019, and for the latest photoshoot was snapped in May in New York City.
You can browse through all of the featurettes at InStyle.com. Read Reese’s article at InStyle.com or below, and find the photo in our Gallery. We’ll have scans for you asap.
Reese Witherspoon Doesn’t Want You to Worry
“In my early 20s I used to worry a lot. I was worried about being a good mom. I was worried about being a good actress. I worried about whether or not people respected me, or if I was kind enough. But in the end it all works out. Really!”
I was on my first InStyle cover in 2002, when I was 26. I had always been a fan of the magazine, so it was a big deal. Looking at that cover now, I can’t help but feel tender toward baby Reese and anyone else who’s going through that phase of life when they’re discovering who they are, especially in the public eye. I know what she’s about to go through and endure and triumph over, but she has no idea what’s to come, despite the fact that she does look all coy and knowing. I’m an actor: I might look like I know things sometimes, but I don’t.
Since then I’ve been on the cover of InStyle five more times. I guess you could say I’ve been swimming in the soup. It’s been a huge privilege and an honor. Sometimes I do cringe when I look back [at images of myself], but it’s only because I can’t believe I cut my hair or plucked my eyebrows a certain way. More than that, I usually just think about what a lovely way it is to remember milestones in my life, like finishing a project I was really proud of or having kids. It’s crazy how time flies, but I’ve learned so much about myself over the years. There’s a pretty good quote in my 2002 cover story where I said, “Listening to other people’s ideas about who you are can eat you up. Do they like me? Do they hate me? You could think about it all day long.” That’s something people say in their 20s. Once you’re in your 40s you don’t care what people think.
I came up in a time when Hollywood was about one body type, one beauty standard [blond hair and blue eyes]. Still, I was confident that the substance of what I had to say was more important than any external validation. I was always just being myself: a young mom, a comedian, a goofball. I’ve always been a goofball. I feel more comfortable making funny faces than serious faces, and even at 26, I wasn’t appearing on the covers of men’s magazines. That kind of hypersexualization made me feel awkward, and if I felt that way, I didn’t want to make other women feel that way.
Studios are bidding on Pyros, an intriguing package that has Reese Witherspoon attached to star in a sci-fi film she will produce with Simon Kinberg. The film will be written by Thomas Pierce, who is adapting his short story Tardy Man, which published last year in The New Yorker. Pierce has done well with this strategy: his short story Chairman Spaceman was bought and is being developed by Fox Searchlight. Kinberg is producing that one as well.
Hello Sunshine’s Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter are producing with Genre Films’ Audrey Chon.
Tardy Man deals with a group of augmented people who are fitted with indestructible fire suits that are fused to their spines. They work for a corporation that recovers objects for wealthy people when their houses are burning. It is strictly forbidden for them to veer from their salvage missions, even when other humans are in danger. The protagonist decides to make an exception to this rule and that is the jumping off point.
I’m told that numerous offers are on the table. This is one of the high profile star packages currently drawing bids; the other is Don’t Worry Darling, a genre spec script that Booksmart‘s Olivia Wilde will direct and star in.
CAA is in the middle of both auctions, which are expected to sort themselves by next week. Witherspoon is managed by LBI and the writer by Kaplan/Perrone.
Josh Lucas Says Reese Witherspoon Has to Give the Go-Ahead on ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ Sequel
Josh Lucas is ready to return to Alabama!
ET’s Nischelle Turner caught up with the 48-year-old actor at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual grants banquet on Wednesday, and he revealed that he’s definitely down to reprise his beloved role as Jake Perry in the 2002 flick Sweet Home Alabama. Before Lucas heads down south, though, he shared that it’s his co-star, Reese Witherspoon, who’d get the final say on if the romantic comedy could score a sequel.
“I’m up for it. I know Reese’s said she is as well,” Lucas told ET. “The director [Andy Tennant] is absolutely up for it. I spoke to him about it a couple of times recently. So look, I throw it out to you, Reese.”
“… I think the person who’s the one to put it together is Reese, so I’m hoping,” he continued. “Who knows? She’s got a lot of irons in the fire to say the least. Hopefully this is one of them.”
As for if there’s any movement to make the sequel a reality, Lucas revealed that Tennant “has a script and a development he has done,” but cautioned that this “doesn’t mean” that there’s anything official just yet.
“I think the thing about the story, it’s one of those [where] they’re eternally in love,” Lucas said. “So, even if they’re going through a rough time, whatever it is, they’re eternally in love. That’s kind of the beauty in that magical film.”
During a Facebook Live chat back in 2016, Witherspoon gushed over starring as Melanie Smooter in the film and revealed that she’d be down for making a sequel.
“I love Sweet Home Alabama!” Witherspoon said. “We are not making a sequel that I know of, but if Disney wants to call me, I would happily make a Sweet Home Alabama 2!”
‘Big Little Lies’ Author Already Has a Spinoff in Mind
A third season of “Big Little Lies” seems unlikely, but some inventive viewers might be wondering whether a spinoff could be an option.
It wouldn’t be completely out of character with the series — the A-list drama, which was adapted from Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name, began as a limited series and was never intended to receive a second season. After the first set of episodes were a hit and won several Emmys, however, Moriarty agreed to write new stories that would specifically serve as the source material for Season 2.
Now, though, the “Big Little Lies” author says she’s “done” with further stories for the Monterey Five. But that doesn’t mean she’s ruled out other possibilities.
Speaking to Variety earlier this summer at the Season 2 premiere in New York City, Moriarty revealed, “The only thing I had sometimes thought, even before any of this had happened, was maybe jumping ahead to when the children are in high school — years ahead. So, that’s a possibility, but not for years to come. I feel like I would need a break, too, before I did that.”
A TV spinoff is might not see the light of day for a while, however, because Moriarty says her idea would be, at least initially, for a novel.
“That would be for me, for a book,” she explained, “Which maybe wouldn’t even have the same characters. Maybe I’m in the same town. But I don’t know. It’s just thoughts.”
While the high school kids spinoff appears far off (at best), Moriarty is plenty busy, in the meantime. Nicole Kidman nabbed the television rights to her novel “Nine Perfect Strangers,” which landed a straight-to-series order at Hulu. The show, which is expected to premiere in 2020, will serve as a “Big Little Lies” reunion, of sorts, with Kidman starring and executive producing alongside Bruna Papandrea and David E. Kelley.
As for the novella that inspired the second HBO season, Moriarty isn’t planning on publishing that material because, she says, the stories were written expressly for the show, so the content wouldn’t make sense as a novel. “I wrote it to follow on from the series, so I wrote it with an American accent,” she quipped. “The book is set in Australia. I changed some of the backstories of the characters from the book to suit the series…it would feel clunky. It wouldn’t work.”
In other words, don’t hold your breath for a “Big Little Lies” book series just yet. And don’t get your hopes up for more “Big Little Lies” on HBO, either.
Earlier this week at the Television Critics Association press tour, HBO president Casey Bloys teased, “Never say never,” but he confirmed that there are no plans on Season 3, at this point. “To me, there’s no obvious place to go, no obvious story,” Bloys said. “I would certainly be open to it because I love working with all of them.”
A slightly smaller update today than previously – the 2016 TV Appearances section of the Gallery has been updated. We already had photos from most of the appearances but there are a few additional photos & screencaptures, including from Reese’s interviews on Ellen & Jimmy Fallon. Reese did a bit of promotion for Draper James and Sing in 2016, but was relatively low profile compared to the previous few years!
Most available videos have already been posted – browse through our 2016 news archives to watch them, and find the clip from The Project below.
Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon on all things Big Little Lies season 2, possible season 3
The second season finale of Big Little Lies — and that epic court battle between Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and her mother-in-law Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) — had fans sitting on the edge of their seats.
Now, Kidman and fellow BLL star/executive producer Reese Witherspoon talk with EW exclusively about that ending, the reports that have surfaced that season 2 director Andrea Arnold supposedly lost creative control to season 1 director Jean-Marc Vallée, and whether fans will be able to enjoy another season of the women from Monterey, Calif.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was it like to get everyone back for another season? REESE WITHERSPOON: The collaboration was otherworldly, particularly having Meryl joining the cast. And then having audiences respond the way they do and love these characters and take them into their homes and hearts. That’s a big deal. That’s lightning in a bottle. I think Nicole and I frequently text each other and say, “Can you believe this is happening?”
NICOLE KIDMAN: Meryl in that cardigan, with those teeth and delivering that dialogue, I mean, that is such a unique character. I’ve never seen that on screen. That makes me happy. I’ve not seen that kind of strangely unique, woman-in-a-cardigan, wielding those verbal swords. It was sort of delicious. We’ve always said this show needs to be delicious. And hopefully it will still culturally penetrate. Obviously, so much of what we are grappling with is, “I believe you, I don’t believe you.” And to have a woman on the stand saying “I don’t believe you” with such vehemence to another woman, a momma to a momma, all of those things — for that to get lost is sad. We are trying to interweave all of these story lines, six women and their story lines, and having seven hours is still not really enough. We started to put our toe in the water with euthanasia; we started to deal with the cultural ideas of… once again there is a society that says “I don’t believe you; I believe you brought it upon yourself.” Those things are still very much in existence: “you caused someone to rape you,” “maybe you didn’t realize what you were doing,” “maybe actually it’s your fault that he wanted to hit you.” All of those things are very prevalent in this culture right now. To have them discussed and still in an entertaining way, and then to be dealing with the weight of a secret, how do you heal when you are still holding on to secrets? All of that is very complicated. Trying to deal with these complicated issues and have them still resonate with people in an entertaining way was something we were open for. Did we succeed or fail? Reese and I always say, “Hey, we are always going keep trying.”
The Morning Show (2019) Seasons 1 & 2 available now on AppleTV+
Season 3 coming in 2023 Role: Bradley Jackson Genre: Apple TV+ Series - Drama News / Info / Photos / Official Site
Your Place Or Mine (2023) On Netflix now Role: Debbie Genre: Romantic comedy News / Info / Photos / Official Site
Legally Blonde 3 (202?) In production Role: Elle Woods Genre: Comedy News / Info / Photos / Official Site
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The Morning Show (2019)
