Reese Witherspoon Opens Draper James in Dallas, Talks HBO, Jessica Alba, Malcolm Mitchell and Fashion
Next month the entrepreneurial actress starts shooting “Home Again,” a new film produced by Nancy Meyers that her daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer has written the script for and will also produce.
In the increasingly crowded field of actresses-turned-entrepreneurs, Reese Witherspoon certainly ranks near the top, having just opened her second Draper James store, at Highland Park Village in Dallas.
The Southern-inspired collection debuted as an e-commerce business last May and its first boutique bowed in Nashville, Tenn., last fall.
En route to Wednesday’s press day, an in-store luncheon and launch party for the new 1,800-square-foot Draper James boutique, Witherspoon said, “Ever since we went live about a year ago, Dallas has been one of our top cities. Customers in Dallas just really seem to love the brand, which is a celebration of Southern lifestyle. I’ve always been a big fan of the Highland Park Village. It’s a great place for communities and families to get together, to enjoy a meal and to see a movie.”
Interior designer Mark D. Sikes created the store’s welcoming Southern aesthetic with contemporary accents. His work can also be seen in Draper James’ Nashville store and the New Orleans-born Witherspoon is currently working with him on a new home in Nashville as well.
Having hosted events with writers like Emily Giffin, who wrote “First Comes Love” and Kimberly Whitman of “Monograms for the Home” in the Nashville store, Draper James plans to have book signing parties for other authors in the Dallas location. Through Pacific Standard, the production company she cofounded with Bruna Papandrea, Witherspoon has secured the film rights for numerous titles including Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” before it was published. As a literacy advocate, the actress is also big on posting about her favorite reads via Twitter and Instagram. She also recruited NFL rookie Malcolm Mitchell to join her book club, and the pair have tweeted book recommendations.
Witherspoon said, “I was just so inspired by his story and how important books have become in his life. He’s inspired a lot of people to expand their literary knowledge. I love that he’s been so open about it and he’s also written a book himself.”
Reese Witherspoon Splits From Producing Partner Bruna Papandrea
Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea, who co-founded the production company Pacific Standard, are going their separate ways. Witherspoon will retain control of Pacific Standard while Papandrea will move on to other ventures.
The duo have been running Pacific Standard since 2012, producing Gone Girl, Wild and Hot Pursuit through the company. Gone Girl was a breakout hit, collecting $369.3 million worldwide, while Wild earned Witherspoon a best actress Oscar nomination and Laura Dern a best supporting actress nom. Hot Pursuit, however, stumbled at the box office, earning just $51.7 million.
Pacific Standard’s latest project, HBO series Big Little Lies, is slated to debut in 2017. It stars Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley.
“I’m very proud of the projects that Bruna and I have produced together,” Witherspoon said Thursday in a statement. “Bruna is a hard-working, extremely talented producer. I’m happy to further collaborate with her on the strong slate of Pacific Standard properties. ”
Witherspoon and Papandrea have been acquiring a slew of material, mainly books, over the past couple of years. They will continue to produce the projects they have in development together, including the ABC series Broken starring Anna Paquin, an adaptation of Luckiest Girl Alive with Lionsgate and Barbie and Ruth, the story of the woman who created Barbie.
Witherspoon continues to act while producing, most recently doing voice work for the upcoming animated film Sing and starring in Big Little Lies. She also launched the fashion line Draper James. Papandrea, originally from Australia, previously produced Warm Bodies, Smart People, Milk and All Good Things before starting Pacific Standard.
Reese did a live Facebook chat yesterday, and chatted about the possibility of further sequels to Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama, her upcoming movie Home Again, Wild, and her dogs … among many other things! Watch the full live chat at ETOnline.
Reese Witherspoon Is Down to Make More Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama Movies
Without a question, two of Reese Witherspoon’s most beloved films are Legally Blonde (2001) and Sweet Home Alabama (2002). They’re untouchable pieces of entertainment that most of us can quote verbatim. (I call lies on anyone who says they haven’t tried the bend-and-snap. I’m doing it right now.)
And Witherspoon knows just how classic these two gems are. She already made a sequel to Legally Blonde in 2003, but get this: She is down as hell to bring Elle Woods to life again and do another Sweet Home Alabama flick. Proceeds to blast Hoku’s “Perfect Day” at frightening decibels.
”[Legally Blonde] was really fun,” Witherspoon said during a recent Facebook Live chat. “A lot of people have asked me if we’re going to make another Legally Blonde, and we’re thinking about it.” But what would the plot be? An Elle Woods baby? Paulette Bonafonté gets her own talk show? The RETURN OF VIVIENNE KENSINGTON?! The possibilities are endless.
As are the possibilities for a Sweet Home Alabama sequel. Don’t get too excited, though: There are no concrete plans in the works. However, Witherspoon is ready to get country the second everyone else gets on board. (And isn’t that the hardest part?)
“We are not making a Sweet Home Alabama sequel that I know of,” she said. “But if Disney wants to make a sequel, they can just call me: I would happily make Sweet Home Alabama 2.”
Reese Witherspoon & Nicole Kidman Reteam On Deal For Liane Moriarty Novel ‘Truly Madly Guilty’
Reese Witherspoon and her Pacific Standard production banner have re-teamed with Nicole Kidman and her Blossom Films to option the film rights to best-selling novelist Liane Moriarty’s Truly Madly Guilty. Witherspoon and Kidman will produce with Pacific Standard’s Bruna Papandrea and Blossom’s Per Saari. The novel has topped the New York Times bestseller lists, and Witherspoon and Kidman’s companies are in postproduction on a limited series based on Moriarty’s Big Little Lies for HBO. The series was adapted by David E. Kelley and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee and stars Witherspoon, Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Alexander Skaarsgard.
Through one fateful event, Truly Madly Guilty explores the most fundamental relationships —marriage, sex, parenthood and friendship — and how too often we don’t appreciate how extraordinary our ordinary lives are until it’s too late. The tale takes place over a weekend, among six adults and three cute kids. The Australian author wrote What Alice Forgot, Three Wishes, The Hypnotist’s Love Story and The Husband’s Secret, as well as a line of children’s books.
Both companies have proved good at identifying and acquiring tastemaker material. Pacific Standard produced Wild, Gone Girl and Hot Pursuit and is percolating Jessica Knoll’s Luckiest Girl Alive at Lionsgate and Ashley’s War at Fox 2000. Blossom produced Rabbit Hole, The Family Fang and Monte Carlo and is adapting The Silent Wife, Reconstructing Amelia, and the off-Broadway vampire hit Cuddles.
The author is repped by Jerry Kalajian of Intellectual Property Group and attorney Matt Sugarman on behalf of Fiona Inglis at Curtis Brown Australia and Faye Bender in the US. CAA reps both production companies, and Hansen, Jacobson reps Pacific Standard and attorney Alan Wertheimer reps Blossom.
Aussie actress and comedienne Rose Byrne spoke to the Aussie Daily Telegraph about her venture into producing, saying that Reese has been a big inspiration to her in doing this:
Byrne reckons there’s been a subtle change in the roles she’s being offered now as compared to five years ago. “Obviously I’m less likely to be playing the ingenue, so you’re offered more parts of the wife or the mother or friend,” she says. “I still read most scripts and go, ‘You know, I’d really rather play the guy part.’”
Indeed, it was this frustration over the work available for women, both in front of and behind the camera, that led Byrne and four Sydney mates – actor Krew Boylan, director Shannon Murphy, writer-director Gracie Otto, and publicist-producer Jessica Carrera – to found collective The Dollhouse Pictures.
“We started to reach out to one another and say, ‘We’re stronger as a team than we are separately, so let’s try to come up with a think tank where we can bandy ideas around,’” she says. “It was really about gearing roles towards women, and developing projects for and by women.”
Byrne concedes the group is inspired by what actors, including Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Drew Barrymore, are doing with their own production companies. “Reese is probably my biggest inspiration,” she says of Witherspoon’s production company, Pacific Standard, which has produced massive hits including Gone Girl and Wild.
The learning curve, however, has been steep. “It’s definitely been challenging,” says Byrne. “Being on the other side of things and discovering how projects are developed, and how difficult it is to find funding – it’s a whole different way of working for me, but I’m learning a lot.”
Australian TV show ‘Sunday Night’ aired a feature on Reese’s producing partnership with Aussie Bruna Papandrea last night – I can’t find the full episode online for us yet, but here is a clip:
Amy Schumer Joins Bachelor Party Comedy ‘Who Invited Her?’
Amy Schumer will star in and produce Universal’s bachelor comedy “Who Invited Her?” with Reese Witherspoon producing under her Pacific Standard banner.
Schumer will portray a woman who insists on attending her best guy friend’s bachelor party weekend. Tami Sagher of “Inside Amy Schumer” is re-writing the script. Earlier versions were written by John Phillips and Sascha Rothchild. No director is yet attached.
Besides Schumer and Witherspoon, Kim Caramele (“Inside Amy Schumer”) is producing along with Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff for Krasnoff Foster Productions and Witherspoon’s producing partner Bruna Papandrea. Erik Baiers will oversee production on behalf of Universal.
Schumer’s “Trainwreck” grossed $110 million domestically for Universal and raked in another $28 million internationally. Her original screenplay was nominated for a Writers Guild award.
Schumer is starring in Fox’s untitled mother-daughter comedy opposite Goldie Hawn, scheduled for a Mother’s Day weekend release on May 12, 2017. She’s wrapped on Jason Dean Hall’s PTSD drama “Thank You for Your Service” for Dreamworks.
Schumer’s sketch comedy series “Inside Amy Schumer” is in its fourth season on Comedy Central.
Pacific Standard has been active in developing projects based on novels with female protagonists, including “Wild” and “Gone Girl,” Jessica Knoll’s “Luckiest Girl Alive” at Lionsgate, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s “Ashley’s War” at Fox 2000, Wall Street comedy “Opening Belle” at Warner Bros. and a Barbie doll origins movie at Bold Films.
Foster and Krasnoff are producers on courtroom thriller “Denial,” starring Rachel Weisz. Bleecker Street has set an awards-season release of Sept. 30 in the U.S.
Schumer, Caramele and Sagher are represented by UTA. News about “Who Invited Her?” was first reported by The Tracking Board.
Inside Reese Witherspoon’s Style Empire: The Totes That Make Her Hug Strangers, Being a Boss, and More
Not many people get to celebrate two birthdays in one year, but our reigning Best Dressed Woman, Reese Witherspoon not only turned 40 in March, but her fashion and lifestyle brand Draper James celebrated one year in business on May 5. And the star and her team haven’t slowed down since the launch. “We’re just always working, working, working,” Witherspoon tells PeopleStyle in this week’s issue. “If I’m in L.A., I’m on Skype. If I’m in New York, I’m at the offices. When I’m in Nashville, I’m at the store. It’s busy, but it’s so great. You make mistakes, and then you correct yourself.”
Since in getting into fashion, she’s learned how to stay in her lane. “It’s important to not be afraid to say, ‘I don’t know how to do that.’ Sometimes an idea doesn’t work. Sometimes things don’t sell when we thought they were going to. But then, we had no idea that we were going to sell 3,000 “Totes Y’all” bags in a year,” she says. “One of the greatest and most exciting things happened when I was on vacation in Florida, and I saw a woman walk down the street with one those bags. I stopped her and hugged her!”
In addition to Draper James, Witherspoon has a production company, Pacific Standard, which she founded in 2012. And there are some similarities between both businesses. “I’ve been working collaboratively with other artists all my life,” she says. “When you’re on movies, you’re talking to writers and directors trying to shape the story and characters. In Draper James meetings, we try to connect a story to a product. We create things that remind us of our southern upbringings and want everything we put out there to bring you joy and be something you’ll have forever.”
She thinks DJ has excelled in a few areas. “Anything that had a southern saying on it people really responded to,” she says, “Like the coasters and mugs with sayings on them, and the ‘Tell me something good’ cocktail napkins.” She’s also seeing success with dresses. “I feel like we really nailed a certain silhouette,” she says.
Witherspoon has also nailed the idea that each of her brands should empower women; Draper James works with Girls Inc., and Pacific Standard aims to create more narratives and jobs for women in the film industry. “I definitely think that strength coexists with femininity and [being strong] doesn’t mean you can’t be girlie,” she says. “I’m really trying to help push that within my own industry, and it’s fun! I mean, part of the reason I did Legally Blonde was because I loved the idea of this character who loved to dress up and have her nails done, but she also wanted to be taken seriously and was a really hard worker. I think most women feel that way. Just because you’re a woman in a position of power doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate being a woman.”
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)
