Reese Witherspoon’s phone stopped ringing. Now she’s making the calls
Sitting next to Nicole Kidman in makeup on the set of “Big Little Lies,” Reese Witherspoon had questions. Loads of questions. What was it like to work with Stanley Kubrick? How did you do the musical numbers in “Moulin Rouge!”? Witherspoon loves movies. At age 44, she has been working on sets for three decades and enjoys nothing more than digging into film lore.
Kidman, though, had more existential musings she wanted to explore. “Do you ever think about dying, Reese?” Kidman would ask her costar. “Because I think about it all the time.”
“And she’s like, ‘Nope, I don’t think about it because I know where I’m going,’” Kidman relates over the phone from her Nashville home. “I wish I had her certainty. Reese doesn’t fear things, that’s for certain.”
Hearing Kidman’s story, Witherspoon laughs, chalking her faith up to her Episcopal upbringing in Nashville. She went to church every Wednesday and Sunday, singing her heart out in the church choir for nine years and loving every minute of it.
“I don’t have a lot of fear, that’s true,” Witherspoon says. “There’s a time and a purpose and a place, and I don’t fear death, because I know there’s heaven. I know it.”
We’re talking on the phone in early May, Witherspoon from her home in Pacific Palisades, where she’s been sheltering in place with her husband, Quibi exec Jim Toth; her college-student daughter, Ava; and younger sons, Deacon and Tennessee. The national protests against racism and police violence following the police killing of another black man, George Floyd, are weeks away. At this moment, all I’m wondering is how Witherspoon can be so certain about the afterlife. It’d be nice to feel sure of something right now.
“My daughter asked me that the other day, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know. I just know,’” Witherspoon says. “I believe deeply that there’s a higher power — and I don’t know what that is — but I just don’t fear dying. A lot of people have these repressive experiences with religion, and I didn’t. I felt this incredible acceptance and that everyone has a gift and we’re all God’s children and your purpose in the world is to find the gifts that God gave you.”
Unlike the entitled woman she played on the Hulu limited series “Little Fires Everywhere,” Witherspoon possesses a self-awareness about her privilege and position, knowledge forged through 30 years of working in Hollywood, seeing and experiencing inequities that made her push for equal-pay-for-equal-work agreements and to start her own media company, Hello Sunshine, to, among other things, tell stories about women – all kinds of women.
‘Legally Blonde 3’: Mindy Kaling & Dan Goor Giving Fresh Take To MGM-Hello Sunshine Sequel
We have learned tonight that Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor have officially signed on to write MGM’s Legally Blonde 3. This is the second feature film that Kaling and Goor are partnering on, the first being the Kaling/Priyanka Chopra wedding comedy that Universal won in a heated auction last year, which Deadline also told you about first.
Reese Witherspoon remains aboard, reprising her role as attorney Elle Woods, producing through her Hello Sunshine studio with the franchise’s original producer Marc Platt.
Deadline exclusively announced Legally Blonde 3 close to two years, with original scribes Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah penning. Kaling and Goor’s version isn’t a makeover, nor are they doing touch-ups, rather their screenplay will have an entirely new fresh spin.
Also producing are Hello Sunshine banner head of Film and Television Lauren Neustadter and Adam Siegel, President of Platt Productions.
Even though many feature productions are closed, the new MGM Film Group headed by Mike De Luca and Pamela Abdy remains very busy in development. Recently, they announced several film projects including Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, The Martian author Andy Weir’s next novel (aka Project Hail Mary) with Phil Lord and Chris Miller attached to direct, George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, David Slade’s Dark Harvest (opening Oct. 24, 2021) and Ridley Scott’s Lady Gaga Gucci project on Nov. 26, 2021.
Kaling recently co-created and is the executive producer on the critically acclaimed Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever which follows an Indian American teenage girl and is inspired by Kaling’s own childhood. Last summer she co-created and executive produced the Hulu series Four Weddings and a Funeral based on the hit 1990s romantic comedy. Her movie Late Night which she stars in, wrote and produced, made its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Amazon for $13M. Kaling counts two SAG ensemble wins and six Emmy noms for NBC’s The Office as EP and star. She also was the EP and star of The Mindy Project on Fox. Kaling is repped by CAA, 3 Arts and Ziffren Brittenham,
Goor is a two-time Emmy winning writer of The Daily Show and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. He is the co-creator of Universal Television’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and was an EP and writer on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. He is repped by Ziffren Brittenham. Witherspoon is represented by CAA, LBI Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.
Both Legally Blonde pics amassed close to $267M at the WW box office. The first title was a cash cow for MGM made for a reported $18M and earning $141.7M. The movies spawned a 2007 Broadway musical which received seven Tony nominations and ten Drama Desk nominations.
Reese Witherspoon To Star In Two Netflix Romcoms From Hello Sunshine: Aggregate-Produced, Aline Brosh McKenna-Helmed ‘Your Place Or Mine’ & ‘The Cactus’
Netflix has set a deal for two feature starring vehicles for Reese Witherspoon, her first with the streaming service. Her Hello Sunshine has teamed with Aggregate Films’ Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan to produce Your Place Or Mine, a romantic comedy that will mark the feature directorial debut of Aline Brosh McKenna, whose script credits include The Devil Wears Prada and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Netflix has also acquired for Witherspoon the Sarah Haywood bestselling novel The Cactus, which will be fashioned as a second star vehicle which Hello Sunshine’s Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter to produce.
Your Place Or Mine focuses on two long-distance best friends who change each other’s lives when she decides to pursue a lifelong dream and he volunteers to keep an eye on her teenage son. The film will be produced by Hello Sunshine’s Witherspoon and Neustadter and Aggregate’s Bateman and Costigan, and McKenna under her Lean Machine banner. She wrote the screenplay. Aggregate has its first look at Netflix, where Bateman stars in, directs and exec produces Ozark, which completed its third season (Netflix disclosed to shareholders the series drew 29 million viewers in the first four weeks).
Witherspoon has produced and starred in projects for Apple (The Morning Show), Hulu (Little Fires Everywhere) and HBO (Big Little Lies), and now she’s joined Netflix.
“We have been looking for the right feature opportunities to collaborate with Ted Sarandos, Scott Stuber and the entire team at Netflix for a while and we couldn’t be more excited to be working with them on these two romantic comedies,” Witherspoon said. “Both Sarah Haywood’s and Aline Brosh McKenna’s stories blend everything we love about traditional RomComs with strong, smart and determined female leads.
In The Cactus, an unexpected pregnancy at 45 causes a reserved woman to rethink the structured life she has created for herself and leads her on an unconventional journey toward love, family and learning to embrace the unexpected. The book was published on May 7, 2019 by Park Row.
Reese Witherspoon & Robin Arzón chat about health & wellness in quarantine | heal #withme
VP of Fitness Programming and Head Instructor at Peloton, Robin Arzón, chats with Reese about the physical and mental health benefits of getting your body moving. You can start anywhere, and Robin is here to give us some pointers! To learn more about Robin, visit www.RobinArzon.com
We’re thinking about ways to be helpful during this time. In light of our new world, we wanted to bring some joy to your daily lives with #ShineOnAtHome, where I will sit down with some of my favorite experts in health, wellness, finance, food, and more over the next few weeks.
But that’s not all.
With COVID-19, millions of Americans will be out of work and struggling to put food on the table for their families. At Hello Sunshine, we are so proud to support the amazing work of World Central Kitchen and their #ChefsForAmerica initiative, which is providing meals for families in need. Join us by clicking the link on our channel to support their amazing cause.
CBS Sunday Morning had a profile on Reese and Hello Sunshine on their show yesterday, with a new interview with Reese and her fellow company executives Sarah Harden and Lauren Neustadter. She talked about how her career as a producer has developed, betting on herself, and adapting media for the current coronavirus pandemic.
Reese Witherspoon is not just an Oscar-winning actress; she is also a major Hollywood influencer. Her media company, Hello Sunshine, has been behind stories that put a female perspective front-and-center, such as the TV series “Big Little Lies” and “Little Fires Everywhere.” Correspondent Rita Braver talks with Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine executives Sarah Harden and Lauren Neustadter about their philosophy, and how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting production.
Emma Stone & Reese Witherspoon talk about anxiety in quarantine | #WeThriveInside
Reese and Emma Stone talk about children’s mental health and #WeThriveInside with Dr. Harold Koplewicz of the Child Mind Institute. To learn more about the Child Mind Institute, visit www.ChildMind.org and to donate to #WeThriveInside, visit www.ChildMind.org/WeThriveInside
We’re thinking about ways to be helpful during this time. In light of our new world, we wanted to bring some joy to your daily lives with #ShineOnAtHome, where I will sit down with some of my favorite experts in health, wellness, finance, food, and more over the next few weeks.
Laura Dern spills Big Little Lies secrets & talks about winning an Oscar with Reese Witherspoon
Share a cocktail Reese and one of her best friends, Laura Dern. They’ll discuss who fans want to see on Big Little Lies, Timothée Chalamet, and Laura Dern’s #AllGoodDeeds2020
Reese Witherspoon chats about her dog’s weird mood with dog expert Tamar Geller | Learn #withme
Quarantine is doing strange things to us all, including our dogs! Watch Reese ask dog trainer Tamar Geller all about her dog’s behavior during quarantine. Learn more about Tamar at www.TheLovedDog.com
We’re thinking about ways to be helpful during this time. In light of our new world, we wanted to bring some joy to your daily lives with #ShineOnAtHome, where I will sit down with some of my favorite experts in health, wellness, finance, food, and more over the next few weeks.
But that’s not all.
With COVID-19, millions of Americans will be out of work and struggling to put food on the table for their families. At Hello Sunshine, we are so proud to support the amazing work of World Central Kitchen and their #ChefsForAmerica initiative, which is providing meals for families in need. Join us by clicking the link on our channel to support their amazing cause.
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)
