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Reese Witherspoon Serves Up Two Blind Items

[Blind Gossip] The Hollywood Reporter recently conducted a drama actress round table discussion.

From THR:

Six complex women — including Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Lange, Elisabeth Moss and Chrissy Metz — debate the power and pain of strong females (onscreen and off-) amid a culture of discrimination in the industry and beyond.

We thought the most interesting part of the discussion was when the one and only Reese Witherspoon served up two blind items!

INTERVIEWER Hollywood likes to lock people into lanes, and there is a certain thing they want from you or a role that they expect from you. What is that role? And what are the roles you don’t get approached for but you feel like you’d be great at?

WITHERSPOON 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.

KIDMAN We created the show [Big Little Lies] for that reason. The other thing is, being a woman and having children, there are so many things I would want to do, but so much of my life is, how do I balance that? If I had my fantasy life, there are so many roles and places and things I’d want to do. I’m now at a point where I have to go, “What is that going to cost me? And what is that going to cost the people I love? Do I want to leave now to do this?” Men have that, but they don’t have it in the same way that we have it.

WITHERSPOON They go away and come back and they’re a hero. We go away and come back and we have abandoned our children. (Laughs.)

KIDMAN We don’t get the choices as much with our careers and our lives because a lot of it is, we have to be there to take care of everything still. Or I do. And so a lot of my fantasy life is that I can go and read a play and then I’ve done it. I then don’t have to go and actually do it because I have done it in my bedroom. And that’s what I realized at this stage of my life. That’s going to have to be enough.

INTERVIEWER Is there a way to change that paradigm?

WITHERSPOON No, that’s a choice you’re making. 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.

You might recall that Reese provided also provided a blind item during an interview last year (see below). Thank you, Reese Witherspoon!

Related: Reese And The Dumb Comedy

Worst Script She Ever Read:

Very Famous Actor/His Role or Film:

[Optional] Do you hope that Big Little Lies comes back for a second season?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. dizzygirl says

    optional.. aging, hands down.
    Men are better looking as they age, and women are, too. Hollywood just continues to serve up plastic faces or women half the age of the men. Give me Kathy Bates, or a great character actress any day of the week.

    • Samra1116 says

      Kathy Bates is one of the best actress there is.. I love her on the family that prey, her Lawyer show on TV. But nothing compares to misery, she played her part to the tee.

  4. plumplum says

    I thought about Matthew McConaughey for the indie movie Mud. He plays a hermit who meets 2 kids.Reese plays his former lover

    • prettyehch says

      Leo doesn’t have any kids, though. Well, not any he’s publicly admitted to having. 😉

      I’m thinking McConaughey. They’ve worked together, he’s got several (three?) kids, and he seems to be a little bit Method. Going into the woods sounds like him.

  6. Germanicus says

    I have no clue, but the bottom line is that they don’t write good roles for women over 40 because those movies don’t sell tickets. I commend her for starting her own production company, but has this changed anything? Are there spools of film stock being ordered to accommodate this huge rush of female over 40 movies that she’s pushing out? No.

    Look, it’s life. it is what it is. It’s not a male conspiracy. Some women manage to break through (think Helen Mirren). Others like her…

    • Neduardo says

      I heard that actresses over 40 don’t sell tickets either Germanicus! I guess that people must not realise that Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Anniston, Amy Adams, Judi Dench………..are over 40 then?

    • KatarinaJ says

      Yeah you are feeding into a huge stereotype that movie execs tell themselves. Who do you think comes out for these baby boomer rom-coms with Diane Keaton, Alec Baldwin etc?

    • scriptguy says

      This is one of the most intellectually lazy comments I’ve ever read, Germanicus. And given that we’re on a celebrity gossip site, that’s saying something.

  8. Khadafi says

    Worst Script She Ever Read: A Million Ways to Die in the West

    Very Famous Actor/His Role or Film: Matthew McConaughey “Mud”

  9. MaryQuiteContrary says

    Worst Script She Ever Read: Vacation

    Very Famous Actor/His Role or Film: Leo/ The Revenant

  10. catheca says

    Script: 50 shades?
    Actor: Matt Damon?

    I have no idea on either

    I hope Big Little Lies stays one season, it was good as it is. Leave it alone.

  11. JoshuaTree says

    Worst script has been believed to be A Million Ways to Die in the West. She pegged the timeline on it in previous interviews and that other Oscar winners wanted in on it. Charlize Theron ended up with the part opposite Seth McFarlane.

    Matthew McConaughey for the actor for that Sea of Trees movie?

  12. Conchord says

    Worst Script She Ever Read: “Hot Pursuit.”

    Okay, I’m kidding. I’ll guess “The Heat.”

    Very Famous Actor/Role: I have no idea. I was thinking it was Tom Hardy (The Revenant), but I did some searching and apparently he didn’t have much time to prepare.

  13. gingersnaps says

    I’m assuming the worst script ever is A Million Ways To Die In The West, and the actor who spent three weeks on his own was Matt Damon, to prepare for The Martian?

  14. lovefifteen says

    The terrible script is almost certainly A Million Ways to Die in the West based on other clues that Witherspoon has given. There was actually an investigative article about it on Vulture.

  16. Reggie5561 says

    Worst Script I have no idea
    Famous Actor Brad Pitt (maybe)
    Big Little Lies has to come back.

  17. lcondon says

    Worst Script She Ever Read: No clue

    Very Famous Actor/His Role or Film: Maybe Liam Neeson – The Grey?

  18. lucasj says

    Worst Script She Ever Read: No sweet clue.

    Very Famous Actor/His Role or Film: Leo Dicaprio

    [Optional] Do you hope that Big Little Lies comes back for a second season? I enjoyed it, but I think it told the story it needed to tell in one season.

  19. iknoweverything says

    No idea on the script, but I think the very famous actor is Viggo Mortensen for his role in Captain Fantastic.

  20. greenEggsNspam says

    Worst script: anything M. night shamalan has made after The Sixth Sense

    Actor: Brad Pitt?

  23. Flanky says

    Sure was alot of whining there. If you want kids, there will be sacrifices. Besides, most of them just get nannies to do most of the work.