Last year, Reese Witherspoon took part in an Entertainment Weekly round-table discussion for leading ladies or multi-hyphenate actresses or something. She told a story of why she decided to start her own production company as a way of producing female-centric movies with good roles for women and good jobs for female directors, producers, etc. Reese basically said that she was sent an awful script for a romantic comedy and there was a “girlfriend part” and she was told that a bunch of different A-list women were chasing this terrible role in a terrible comedy. And that’s when she knew she needed to start her own production company. Reese was rather blatantly talking sh-t about this movie that got made, which is how it became a huge blind item. She ended her story with “And by the way, two Oscar winners did it.” We discussed the blind item here. Well, Reese took part in another roundtable discussion, this time for The Hollywood Reporter’s Emmy preview/potential Best Actress nominees. The whole piece was good, albeit long-winded and if you want to see the full THR package, go here. But Reese talked about that awful comedy again, plus she shaded someone else in a blind item.
Blind Item #1: “I started a production company five years ago because I was looking at maybe the worst script I’ve ever read in my entire life and it had two parts for women. I called my agents and said, “This is such a terrible script.” They said, “Well, seven women want it so … you’re the only one who’s not vying for the part.” And I thought, “God, if this is what we’ve come to, I have to get busy.” Because you can either complain about a problem or you can be part of the solution.”
Blind Item #2: “I was talking to this very famous actor and I said, “How did you prepare for this role?” He said, “Well, I went into the woods for three weeks and I didn’t talk to anybody.” And this person has a lot of kids and is married. And he’s like, “You did the same thing for Wild, right?” I was like, “Uh, no.” If I went away for three weeks and no one could call me, everybody would’ve had a mental breakdown. I got on a plane and was shooting within 24 hours. I wish I had prep time. I love the preparation. I love watching and reading and digging deep.
A lot of people think BI #2 is Leonardo DiCaprio, but Leo is not married, nor does he have kids. Who is that guy then? I feel like it’s someone like Matthew McConaughey – that’s someone I could see Reese talking to about process, and it seems like Matthew would say something oblivious like that. As for Blind Item #1… I still don’t know. We had so many theories last year. Vulture’s current theory is that the movie she’s talking about is A Million Ways to Die in the West. But I saw that movie, and while it wasn’t good, it’s not even close to being the worst script ever or anything.
Photos courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.
I think #1 is either The Dilemma or A Million Ways. Both are horrendous. A Million Ways fits better. As for #2, could it be Matt Damon? He’s married and has lots of kids. Maybe he prepared for The Martian that way?
I don’t think it’s The Dilemma. I have not seen the movie, but just a quick Google search & I see three big name ladies in the movie, not two as Reese said: Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly & Queen Latifa. I can understand how people would be quick to jump on a Vince Vaughn movie as “the worst script” though.
The Dilemma was AWFUL. Like, truly, non-ironically BAD. It was watching a train wreck for 90 minutes with no investment in anyone, just pointless arguing, people hurting each other….It was so, so , SO bad. While A Million Ways wasn’t that great, I thought it was a weird “fluff” movie that was harmless enough. The female characters in The Dilemma were just offensive.
Blind item 2 Matt Damon? He’s A list married with lots of kids.
Brad Pitt would be my guess.
I think it’s McConaughey or Ewan Mcgregor.
Ewan’s a good guess. He always does trips for weeks on his motorcycle.
What are they afraid of? It doesn’t involve drugs,cheating or abuse. Only about film roles. Just bloody say who it is! Hate blind items.
Matthew McConaughey for Mud.Reese’s husband is his agent and they worked together on Mud
The Dilemma
Would she have been talking about that movie about waking up in space that JLaw was in?
Reese is a little grating but she’s got stones and isn’t afraid to work. (insert obligatory reference to her drunk driving being inexcusable, which it is I just don’t know when we stop referencing it).
Drunk driving is awful and she was entitled and rude…However when men go through that kind of thing it’s usually an avalanche of pity for ages.
I’m no Reese apologist but she wasn’t the one who was drunk driving, it was her husband. She was just a bit rude because she was drunk.
She said though it was a movie that had roles for 2 women though. And besides like background characters, there was only one female role. And honestly, Passengers wasn’t THAT awful so I doubt thats the script shes referring to.
My mistake but yes, she was very rude
Why are you saying HER drunk driving,she wasn’t driving ,her husband Jim was driving?
She was already in her 40s. There is no way she was being offered the part of the futuristic Sleeping Beauty in Passengers.
Why is she being so coy?
Maybe she is pulling a Taylor Swift. Using her platform to publicly sneer at an actress she doesnt like in the most deniable way. And like Taylor, she’ll just keep dropping hints without ever confirming anything. Maybe she just wants to gaslight that someone.
Cause its Hollywood and you dont want to burn bridges (especially if you’re a woman).
She’s made some pretty bad movies but Wild was so great and I think her performance was so good. This Means War was bad. I think Reese has it in her to be a better actress but she gives me the mean girl vibe & after “do you know who I am?” thing, she kind of lost my interest for her.
Blind items are fun to a certain point but man, I’ve read some pretty disturbing ones. I need a hot shower afterwards.
Matt Damon for Blind item #2. The Martian
This Means War was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen in theater. I got drug along with an aunt and cousin. I’d REALLY love to know what other script was so bad that she couldn’t put herself in the running for it – if she willingly did that movie.
I only saw This Means War once, but I was not offended by it; I even mostly enjoyed it. It is, by no means, a smart movie. It’s a predictable, stereotypical Rom-Com, which I am not necessarily a fan of, but I’d watch it again.
She really shouldn’t be complaining about how bad a movie is considering she made the movie Hot Pursuit with Sofia Vergara
Hmm but eventhough I a lot of her movies are bad at least they in general pass the Bechtel test. I can’t picture her just playing the wife who knits and cries while her husband saves the planet.
Good one.
@NELLY- My thoughts exactly! ^
I was thinking about that movie, too!😜
I never saw that as it looked HORRIBLE, but I do give her credit for creating work for herself and other women, both in front of and behind the camera.
That one was a stinker, but she’s also producer Gone Girl, Wild, and Big Little Lies, which were all excellent.
That movie is terrible, but her role wasn’t “the girlfriend”, which is the problem she’s aiming at. That women get awful roles.
Uh right off the top of my head I can think of Amanda Seyfried, Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman and Alex Borstein who all had prominent roles in A Million Ways to Die in the West? People might think the script wasn’t funny, but it had more than two parts for women. There were four main male parts (Macfarlane, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi and NPH) that I remember in that movie, so it was pretty even.
Just to add that Charlize part in that film was miles ahead of most of Reeses work in terms of an empowered character in a romcom. She plays a badass cowboy who has a vendetta with Liams character and Seth is the bumbling idiot she has to keep rescuing. It is of course bizarre that a woman that hot and capable would ultimately choose Seths character but isnt that the way of most female centric romcoms too. I mean Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan chase after the idiot protagonist in Bridgit Jones for example. I really doubt this is is the film Reese keeps complaining about and if it is, she needs to step back and look at her past movies.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Actually all of the women in that movie except maybe Amanda’s character were badasses who were way tougher than the men, and they were also allowed to be FUNNY. The men basically all played the straight man role while the girls got to be bawdy funny, especially Sarah and Alex.
I walked out of the movie theater after 30 minutes of that nonsense. I usually watch a movie until the end…
Having watched (for the first time) both This Means War and Million Ways in the past six months: No way it could be Million Ways. This Means War was horrific – she and Chris Pine had decent chemistry and even that couldn’t save it. I mean, the guys were more or less stalking her using government resources, and that’s supposed to be funny?
Million Ways had problems, but I actually thought Charlize and Amanda’s parts were funny – if nothing else, I enjoyed Charlize’s monologue about women’s fashion.
As someone who likes romcoms, there are have been many, many more really sexist, not-funny rom coms in the past seven or eight years than Million Ways.
My first thought for no. 2 was Mel Gibson, but I don’t think he has had any movies lately that could fit.
Matthew McConaughey for Mud.
They worked on this movie and Withersppon’s husband is McConaughey ‘s agent
He actually gave a terrific performance in that film, but I’m not sure all that method stuff is needed. I like Reece, tough little cookie, good for her.
Thats not really throwing shade. Storm in a teacup. Must be a slow news day.
Blind #2 Mark Walberg
Mad respect for her for taking the initiative to start her own production company–benefits her, her fellow actresses, and us.
Aside from this, and the blinds, WHY IS CARRIE COON NOT AT THAT ROUND TABLE?? Ugh. Chrissy Metz is lovely and charming, but not in the same league in terms of acting chops.
Mothers Day was rhe first thing to jump in my mind 2 oscar winners julia roberts and kate hudson…role she was offered maybe anistons?
But that doesnt fit with the “there were 2 roles for women” narrative.
She doesn’t need to be drunk to be egotistical; She just is. She doesn’t have the right to look down at actresses for taking roles below them, especially since she’s made more bad films than good to the point you could make the sound argument of saying she’s the female Adam Sandler. Maybe they accepted the role because they liked it, like Theron did for Million Ways (she also did a commentary for that). Honestly, after her arrest, she’s been more open about her arrogance than before. I remember how humble she seemed when she was with Philippe. He seemed to bring the best out of her. But I’m just assuming. I don’t mind people with a giant ego but they need to earn that level of self-importance and Witherspoon isn’t that great of an actress. Give her roles to Julianne Moore or Amy Adams and what changes? A way better performance.
Your commentary seems very… telling. Clearly you liked her better when she was young and insecure. Her behavior during that arrest WAS atrocious. But it seems to me that you are missing her point- she’s not trashing actresses for taking lame roles, she trashing the industry for only having lame roles for women.
And so she actually did something about it.
You, however, seem determined to find her “arrogant” since she had the audacity to grow up, be an adult, and move on from being the child bride of a grade-C heart throb. Ugh. I don’t love Reese, and in fact I’ve commented here before that I believe her to be a judgy mean girl. But she is making real jobs for actresses, for women directors and producers. I’m GLAD she’s more “arrogant” than the cookie-cutter starlet she was when she was married to Phillip. The industry is better off for her having found her voice and being pissed off..
The movie has got to be the godawful one where Kate Hudson plays the “hot” asshole friend that steals her smart best friend Ginnifer Goodwin’s crush from her and then Ginnifer steals him back when he’s already engaged to Kate’s character.
Eta: nvmd, not Oscar winners. Definitely a dumb movie script though.
I’m thinking #2 is Kevin Costner since he also worked with McG and he has a ton of kids
My guess is What Women Want.
According to wikipedia, she started Type A Films in 2000. The same year that What Women Want came out, with Oscar winners Helen Hunt and Marissa Tomei.
ETA – I just noticed she says “five years ago” but that doesn’t correspond to when wikipedia says she started her production company, so this is still my guess.
I liked What Women Want. It had good acting (although by other actors /actresses than Hunt or Tomei), was a well told story if a bit over the top. But I could see her thinking it was terrible… No it is not fantastic but there are so many bad ones (the ensemble movies, Bride Wars, etc. ) and this was not that. It told the story it set out to tell well and was sort of sweet. She actually might have done a good job of the bravado part of Hunt’s character …
That does seem like a good guess for what it was tho’! (Depending on which timeline is correct…)
I’m more interested in the fact that Evil Suppressive Person Nicole Kidman is pictured next to devout $cientologist Elisabeth Moss! But I don’t think Moss is as fanatical as some.
#1 Bride Wars – Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway
#2 Matt Damon
Kate Hudson is not an Oscar winner and the movie Reese is talking about had a male star and she was supposed to play his girlfriend – Bride Wars are centred around Kate and Anne’s characters.
Ok point taken, my mistake.
Reese’s production company, Type A Productions, was created fifteen or so years ago, wasn’t it? I’m wondering if Blind Item #1 is America’s Sweethearts with Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones. Talk about a stinker! That script was a mess and everyone involved should have been embarrassed.