Reese Witherspoon Embarrasses Her Kids by Doing the Running Man in Front of Their School Bus; Aaron Sorkin Dances to Ace of Base
It was Thursday night at dusk, and Aaron Sorkin had just lit up the first cigarette of the evening. “Does this bother anyone?” he asked nearby party guests at the verdant Bel-Air backyard gala benefiting Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project. After appearing to humor several females who suggested that the Newsroom creator incorporate more lesbians and guns into his cable-news series—“O.K., but no serial killers,” he deadpanned—the Oscar-winning screenwriter took a beat to consider whether he, the king of dialogue, ever dances.
“The only occasion is when I am alone,” Sorkin told us. “Then I bust out moves all over the place.”
When we asked whether he has a favorite dance track, Sorkin replied, “Anything . . . but all of the true answers will just be embarrassing.” Unable to resist, he added, “I can rock out to ‘I Saw the Sign’ and ‘Walking on Sunshine.’” After we contemplated that visual aloud, Sorkin self-consciously backpedaled, “Those were terribly embarrassing answers that I gave you.”
Several feet away from Sorkin and his unpaid Newsroom consultants were Reese Witherspoon and her husband, Jim Toth. As guests awaited a beautiful candlelit dinner, live auction, and modern-dance performance at the residence of Sutton and Christian Stracke—some partygoers considered the topic of the evening.
“I do a lot of dancing with my kids, and when I get dressed in the morning,” Witherspoon told us, white wine in hand, when we asked about her own dancing rituals. “I have a playlist. A lot of country. A lot of Top 40. My kids love Macklemore, so that.”
“I can do the Dougie!” she volunteered after we asked about her go-to party move. After we brought up the world’s reigning Dougie dancer, Kate Upton, however, Witherspoon’s enthusiasm seemed to wane. She had never seen Upton’s viral videos, and when we explained that the Sports Illustrated cover model starred in a second one while wearing a bikini for photographer Terry Richardson, Witherspoon conceded, “Mine doesn’t look like that. Yeah, mine doesn’t look as good as Kate’s.”
While on the subject of arguably unflattering dancing, Witherspoon offered another anecdote: “We horrify my children by dancing when the bus comes, with different moves,” the actress said, motioning to her husband. “We’re like, ‘If you don’t hurry up, we’re going to do the running man in front of the bus.’” Asked whether or not she’s followed up on the threat, Witherspoon was quick to add, “Oh yeah. All of the kids on the bus think it’s hysterical.”
After guests had taken their seats, Benjamin Millepied made a speech to express gratitude to L.A. Dance Project’s donors, his dance collective, and his wife, Natalie Portman, whom he met on the set of Black Swan, which he choreographed and danced in. Looking out at Portman, wearing a red slip dress, in the audience, Millepied said, “I would like to thank my wife, Natalie, for her endless love and support. I love you so much. I am so glad you like dancing after Black Swan.”
When we found Portman later that evening, the actress was quick to elaborate that the extent of her dancing these days is “fun and private.” She said that she is not attempting any semblance of the rigorous ballet training she underwent for her Oscar-winning role in Black Swan. “Not anything formal,” she laughed. “I’ll leave that to the professionals.” And with that, she shimmied toward the dance floor.
– Vanity Fair
The Morning Show (2019)
