Disney Unveils Projects From Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon & The Russo Brothers For Disney+ & Disney Junior
Disney Branded Television is expanding its development slate with three new projects — Paolo Santiago and the River of Tears, a live action original series based on the novel, from Eva Longoria for Disney+; Tiny Trailblazers, an original animated series from Reese Witherspoon, who also will star, for Disney Junior; and Superfudge, an original animated movie based on the book, from The Russo Bros for Disney+. The projects were announced Monday [Feb 7th] as part of Disney Branded Television’s Winter TCA presentation.
Disney Junior is developing Tiny Trailblazers, an animated Original Series, produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine with Disney Junior.
Geared towards kids aged 2-7, the entertaining stories model positive attitudes about the great outdoors and highlight the importance of environmental conservation and wildlife protection. Partners from National Geographic are consulting on the project.
Witherspoon (Little Fires Everywhere, The Morning Show) serves as executive producer and will voice one of the mom characters, Fern, a wildlife specialist. The main characters are two girls, an adventurous city kid named Tilly and the more risk-averse Birdie, who befriends her when Tilly’s family moves to a campground while her scientist mom is doing field research on forest streams. As the girls observe their mother’s careers and interests and begin to explore and discover the magic of nature all around them, they develop a supportive friendship and a deep understanding of and appreciation for the natural world. The series also highlights age-appropriate social and emotional lessons about thoughtfulness, self-esteem, good instincts and trying new things.
Claire Curley also executive produces with Witherspoon.
(Deadline)
Earlier this week Reese announced that she has written her first children’s picture book, and that it will be released later this year! The character of Betty is based on herself as a child, and her dog companion is obviously based on her old dog!
Reese Witherspoon’s First Kids’ Book Is Inspired By Her Own Adventures: ‘I Was Always Singing, Dancing’
Reese Witherspoon’s first children’s book Busy Betty, which is inspired by her own adventures as a kid, will be published by Flamingo Books on Oct. 4Reese Witherspoon is a longtime champion of reading and female empowerment — and she’s combining both interests for her first children’s book!
On Wednesday, the actress announced that her picture book Busy Betty, which is inspired by her own adventures as a kid, will be published by Flamingo Books on Oct. 4.
“I’ve been thinking about creating a children’s book with realistic young female characters since I had my daughter,” Witherspoon, 45, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “When I was a kid, I had a busy brain with a million ideas and more energy than most adults could manage so, Betty is really based on adventures from my childhood.”
Busy Betty, which is illustrated by Xindi Yan, follows a little girl who realizes she needs to give her smelly dog Frank a bath before her friend Mae arrives. “But giving Frank a bath is harder than she thought,” reads the book description, “and just when everything seems impossible, with Mae’s help, Betty learns she can accomplish anything with perseverance, teamwork, and one great idea.”
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Reese attended the SAG Awards in LA last night, where she was a double-nominee for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for The Morning Show season 2. Unfortunately Reese/The Morning Show did not win any awards on the night, but its still a great honor for the show to be nominated by this Guild. Reese posed with her The Morning Show co-stars Julianna Margulies, Greta Lee and Nestor Carbonell on the red carpet and inside. Reese wore a strapless Schiaparelli black dress with a baby blue sash & train, jewellery by Cartier, with Jimmy Choo heels – she looks fabulous! The first high quality photos are in our Gallery for you:
• Screen Actors Guild Awards x52
Reese Witherspoon Just Dropped a New Draper James Line at Kohl’s
Spring has come early thanks to Reese Witherspoon and Kohl’s with an exclusive capsule collection called Draper James RSVP that will give you modern-day Bridgerton vibes.
“The collection turned out so beautiful, and we’re so happy to be launching at Kohl’s. It’s very floral and feminine, like Bridgerton,” Witherspoon tells Glamour. “There’s this sense of escape and an idea that there’s pageantry to things, that we can get dressed up again. It’s a really exciting, optimistic feeling, so we wanted to do something fun, like you were invited to a great party after being cooped up inside between this very cold winter and the pandemic.”
To showcase the collection, Witherspoon and the Kohl’s team created an elaborate outdoor garden party set that perfectly vibes with the Morning Show actor and producer’s charismatic and sunny disposition. “It was just so fun to see [the set designers] decorating with florals and candles and all the fancy things. Unfortunately, I had to leave when it was all over because it wasn’t my house,” she says with a laugh.
While the decor may not be up for sale, at least the clothes are: pastel and nautical-themed dresses, structured blazers, bodysuits, blouses, cardigans, jean jackets, skirts, rompers, capris, and more. “The Kohl’s team said, ‘You know, we’re really missing that kind of lively, bold, joyful clothing that Draper James makes,’ so we were really excited to collaborate with them.”
There were three important requirements for the RSVP collection, starting with affordable prices. “People want something new in their closet but don’t want to break the bank, so we priced the clothes between $44 and $98,” Witherspoon says.
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Reese Witherspoon on Acting: ‘My Performances Have Been Based on My Friends, and I’ve Never Told Them’
From Tracy Flick to Elle Woods to Madeline Martha Mackenzie, few actors have as many household names in their body of work as Reese Witherspoon. How has her acting process helped her create so many iconic roles? “It’s almost like being an anthropologist,” she says. “You are studying contemporary behavior and how people interact and then applying it to character.”
Take “Legally Blonde,” her instant-classic comedy about a sorority sister–turned–Harvard lawyer. “There’s a reason that it has stood the test of time,” Witherspoon says of the 2001 film. Remembering how she constructed Elle Woods, she says she spent time at a real-world sorority house to watch how the members behaved. She also went to a fancy Beverly Hills department store to watch customers try on shoes. All that analysis then went back into the performance.
Witherspoon’s techniques for each role vary wildly, thanks to an early start as a teen actor and a lack of formal training. As she puts it, “It’s hard for me to describe [my process], because I’ve kind of taped it together with duct tape!” After being bit by the acting bug early on in Tennessee, she began taking adult acting classes, appearing in commercials, and performing odd jobs in film production. She dropped out of school to pursue a screen career and broke out in “The Man in the Moon,” following it up with “Cruel Intentions” and “Election.” Eventually, she became a movie star; her performance as June Carter Cash in “Walk the Line” earned her a SAG Award, a BAFTA, and an Oscar.
“The way I prepare for everything is deeply personal for me,” she says, “so sometimes I have a hard time explaining to directors what I do. But it’s a deep, deep understanding of where the character comes from, what their upbringing was, who loved them, who didn’t love them. How do they walk through the world? Do they diminish themselves? Do they take up space? And so much of it comes from knowing people and watching people.
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Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, World of Women Partner to Adapt NFTs Into Movies, TV Shows
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine has forged a storytelling partnership with World of Women (WoW), the NFT collective that is cracking open the male-dominated world of crypto currency while celebrating inclusivity and equality. World of Women launched in July 2021 with some 10,000 artworks from women creators, quickly becoming one of the most popular and profitable purveyors of non-fungible tokens.
As part of the partnership, Hello Sunshine will build out the World of Women character universe and franchise into entertainment properties including feature films, scripted and unscripted TV series. The move is another sign of the growing popularity of NFTs and the potential they hold for traditional media companies on the prowl for intellectual property.
They will also launch a Hello Sunshine x World of Women live event in conjunction with other diverse women-led NFT projects. The goal is to educate women about this new space.
“While the crypto and NFT space is largely dominated by men, there are inspiring leaders like World of Women creating incredible communities for women during this massive shift for media and technology,” said Witherspoon. “We’re proud to partner with WoW to expand their universe of characters and to develop innovative scripted and unscripted content. We look forward to engaging with the remarkable WoW community at every step of this partnership and creating opportunities for WoW holders to work collaboratively with Hello Sunshine on transforming the WoW art into powerful stories.”
The move isn’t a complete surprise. Witherspoon has been outspoken about her support of World of Women’s mission, even making her profile picture an NFT from World of Women’s collection. She’s also been using her social media platform to talk up the possibilities of the metaverse, digital art and cryptocurrencies.
Hello Sunshine shares a similar mission with World of Women. Both companies are female-led and also make a point of promoting works by female artists and authors. Hello Sunshine has produced “The Morning Show” for Apple TV and has Olivia Newman’s adaptation of Delia Owens’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” and Aline Brosh McKenna’s “Your Place or Mine” on tap. In August, Witherspoon sold a majority stake in Hello Sunshine to Candle Media, which is led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs.
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Exciting news this morning, as the Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were announced, and The Morning Show and Reese scored nominations! The show received a total of 4 nominations, for Ensemble and 3 for acting – including an individual nomination for Reese (finally!).
The show will go back to being a in-person event this year (last year was virtual), and will be held at the Santa Monica Barker Hangar on February 27th. It will air on on TNT and TBS in the US at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Lee Jung-Jae (“Squid Game”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Jung Ho-yeon (“Squid Game”)
Elizabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Sarah Snook (“Succession”)
Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”)Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“The Morning Show” (Apple TV Plus)
“Squid Game” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)
“Yellowstone” (Paramount Network)(Variety)
‘The Morning Show’ Renewed for Season 3 at Apple, Charlotte Stoudt Joins as Showrunner
“The Morning Show” has been renewed for Season 3 at Apple, with Charlotte Stoudt boarding the series as showrunner.
“The Morning Show” was originally picked up for two seasons by Apple when it was initially ordered in 2017. Stoudt coming on as showrunner is part of a new, multi-year overall deal that she has signed with Apple. Kerry Ehrin, who served as showrunner on the show’s first two seasons, will serve as a consultant on Season 3 while also developing new projects for Apple under her overall deal.
“I’m excited to be joining forces with Apple TV Plus and ‘The Morning Show,’” said Stoudt. “The cast, led by the phenomenal Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, are truly to die for. Kerry, Mimi and Michael, and the teams at Media Res, Hello Sunshine and Echo Films, have created an irresistible world that is equally delicious and provocative.”
Season 2 found “The Morning Show” team emerging from the wreckage of Alex (Aniston) and Bradley’s (Witherspoon) actions, to a new UBA and a world in flux, where identity is everything and the chasm between who we present as and who we really are comes into play.
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The Morning Show (2019)
