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Penelope is a 2006 fantasy/romantic comedy film directed by Mark Palansky which was first released in 2006 as a premiere. It stars Christina Ricci, James McAvoy and Reese Witherspoon.

Plot[link]

Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) is a young woman from a wealthy family with all the qualities to make an excellent match for any other well-bred man of her status. However, what sets her apart is that she has pig-face disorder.

Generations ago, an embittered witch placed a curse on the Wilhern family after their son had an affair with her daughter, one of the Wilhern servants, and, talked out of marrying her by his disapproving family, abandoned her and married someone of his own status. The distraught and pregnant servant girl then threw herself off of a cliff. Furious, the witch then cursed the Wilherns so that the next daughter to be born into the affluent family would have the face of a pig. For five generations, the Wilherns were lucky enough to produce only sons, until Penelope was born, stricken with the curse. It is said that the curse can only be lifted if 'one of her own' learns to love her, which her parents interpret as meaning that Penelope must marry a man of noble birth.

As rumours spread of the existence of a baby with the face of a pig, a tabloid reporter named Lemon (Peter Dinklage) begins stalking the family to get a photograph of the infant Penelope. Penelope's parents, Jessica and Franklin (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant), decide to fake their daughter's death and cloister her away in their mansion, where Penelope spends her life immersing herself in intellectual pursuits such as literature, horticulture, and music. When Penelope becomes an adult, her parents attempt to introduce her to possible suitors, hoping that one of them will fall in love with her and break the curse. Unfortunately, every man who lays eyes on her flees in terror, including Edward Humphrey Vanderman III (Simon Woods), a spoiled, cruel-hearted snob who finds her repulsive.

Vanderman's panicked flight from the Wilhern house results in a newspaper article dubbing him insane. To redeem his name, Vanderman decides to team up with Lemon in an effort to get a photograph of Penelope. The two of them track down Max Campion (James McAvoy), a young blue blood disowned by his family, who has developed a gambling problem and is in desperate need of money. Lemon and Vanderman pay Max to pose as a new suitor for Penelope, hiding a camera in his jacket so that he can steal a picture of her. After talking to Penelope through a one-way mirror, however, Max is unexpectedly caught off guard by her sweetness and charm, and Penelope also trusts him enough to show him her face. Though Max is not frightened of Penelope, he accidentally triggers the camera in his jacket, which causes him to retreat. A heartbroken Penelope believes that Max too finds her monstrous, and instead begs him to marry her simply for her status and in order to break the curse. Max, though obviously torn, insists that he cannot marry Penelope. He then calls off his agreement with Lemon and Vanderman, and destroys the camera, realizing that their attempt to exploit Penelope is wrong.

Meanwhile, Penelope, inspired by Max's conversations about the outside world, decides to flee the protection of her parents' home, and journeys out into the city, naive and ignorant about normal life, and with a scarf to cover her face. While at a bar, Penelope ends up befriending Annie (Reese Witherspoon). Having no money and seeing that Lemon and Vanderman are offering a reward for a photograph of her, she decides to collect on the reward by producing a photo of herself, essentially coming out of hiding to the public. To her surprise, Penelope becomes an overnight celebrity, flocked by adoring fans who are not disgusted by her face. Penelope's courage in going out to the world then acts as an inspiration for Max, who quits gambling and starts work in an old theatre. Lemon, however, discovers that the man he and Vanderman had recruited to go in to the Wilhern house and photograph Penelope is in fact not Max Campion at all, but a man named Johnny Martin, who simply posed as Campion for the money. Penelope's family wonder whether the only reason "Max" refused to marry Penelope was because he knew that, as a non blue blood, he would not be able to break the curse for her.

Meanwhile, Vanderman's father (Nigel Havers), seeing the public's fondness for Penelope, and embarrassed by his son's vocal cruelty toward her, coerces Edward into proposing to the girl. Penelope nearly marries him, but backs out of the wedding at the last minute when she realises that she does not want to marry simply to break the curse. Though Penelope's mother urges her to marry Vanderman and at last lead a 'normal life', an exasperated Penelope says that she likes herself the way she is. This breaks the curse, as Penelope has at last been loved by 'one of her own kind' - herself - and her pig snout and ears disappear.

As the years pass, Penelope moves on with her life, becoming a horticulturist and teacher, and the spectacle of her former appearance is gradually forgotten by the public. One Halloween, Penelope finds several of her students dressing up as her old pig self, and dons a 'Penelope' mask as she goes to reunite with Johnny, who she discovers lives nearby. Johnny, not realising that the curse has been broken, kisses Penelope and apologizes to her, saying that he does not have the power to break the curse. Penelope then reveals that she had the power to lift the curse all along, and the two begin a relationship.

The film ends with Johnny happily pushing Penelope on a swing in a garden. On a nearby lake, Lemon rows up in a rowboat, and is about to take a picture revealing to the world what has happened to Penelope, but observes their happiness, and decides to let his obsession go.

Cast[link]

• Christina Ricci as Penelope Wilhern
• James McAvoy as Johnny Martin ("Max Campion")
• Catherine O'Hara as Jessica Wilhern
• Richard E. Grant as Franklin Wilhern
• Ronni Ancona as Wanda
• Peter Dinklage as Lemon
• Simon Woods as Edward Humphrey Vanderman III
• Nigel Havers as Edward Vanderman II
• Burn Gorman as Larry
• Russell Brand as Sam
• Reese Witherspoon as Annie
• John Voce as Duty Cop
• Nick Frost as Max Campion
• Lenny Henry as Krull

Background and production[link]

The production of Penelope started in 2006 in London. According to Internet Movie Database, it was filmed in the United Kingdom.^[3] It premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.^[4] It was also Reese Witherspoon's first film in a producing role along with a small acting role.

The film's screenplay was written by Leslie Caveny. A novelization of the film was written by Marilyn Kaye.^[5] The plot draws on the traditional story of a cursed pig-faced woman.

The finished film was caught in limbo for over a year. Originally purchased by The Weinstein Company and IFC Films, it was removed from the release date schedule and eventually dropped by the two studios. Summit Entertainment eventually picked up United States distribution rights.

Reception[link]

The film received mixed reviews from critics. As of February 29, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 52% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 125 reviews.^[6] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 29 reviews — indicating mixed or average reviews. ^[7]

Box office[link]

The film premiered September 8, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007. The film opened in Russia and Ukraine in August 2007. Penelope was released in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2008. It opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on February 29, 2008.^[8]

The film opened in ninth place and earned $3.8 million USD on its opening weekend in the United States.^[9]

By October 5, 2008, the film had grossed $20.8 million worldwide—with $6.5 million in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta.^[10]

Home media release[link]

Penelope was released on July 15, 2008 in the United States. It included a 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen, and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. The extras were a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast and crew, production notes and world-premiere features from the upcoming Summit film Twilight as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews from the film, released four months later. Also available was a Target exclusive edition which was a two disc deluxe edition set and exclusive tickets to see four Universal Studios films: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mamma Mia!, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Death Race.

Soundtrack[link]

Joby Talbot composed the music for the film. A soundtrack album was released.

Track listing

1. "The Story of the Curse, Pt. 1" by Joby Talbot – 3:57
2. "The Story of the Curse, Pt. 2" by Joby Talbot – 4:58
3. "Waking Life" by Schuyler Fisk – 4:07
4. "The Piano Song" by Meiko – 2:46
5. "Penelope Breaks Free" by Joby Talbot – 1:58
6. "Fairground" by Joby Talbot – 1:31
7. "Give In" by The Secret 6 – 4:46
8. "Queen of Surface Streets" by DeVotchKa – 5:26
9. "String of Blinking Lights" by Paper Moon – 4:18
10. "The Wedding" by Joby Talbot – 4:03
11. "Ageless Beauty" by Stars – 4:05
12. "The Kiss" by Joby Talbot – 4:22
13. "Hoppípolla" by Sigur Rós – 4:15
14. "Your Disguise" by James Greenspun – 3:09

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Penelope (2006 film)

• Official website
• Penelope at the Internet Movie Database
• Penelope at AllRovi
• Penelope at Rotten Tomatoes
• Penelope at Metacritic
• Penelope at Box Office Mojo

Peter Dinklage
Dinklage in 2012
Born	Peter Hayden Dinklage (1969-06-11) June 11, 1969 (age 43) Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Erica Schmidt (2005–present)

Peter Hayden Dinklage^[1] (born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and theatre actor.

Since his breakout role in the 2003 film The Station Agent, he has acted in Elf, Underdog, Find Me Guilty, the 2007 film Death at a Funeral and its 2010 remake, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Since 2011 he has starred in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which earned him the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

Early life[link]

Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey,^[2] the son of Diane, an elementary school music teacher, and John Carl Dinklage, a retired insurance salesman.^[3][4] Dinklage was born with achondroplasia.

He grew up in Mendham Township, New Jersey. Dinklage graduated from Delbarton School in Morristown in 1987, pursuing his future in acting, and graduated from Bennington College in 1991.^[5]

Career[link]

Dinklage made his feature debut in the 1995 cult art house film Living in Oblivion playing the role of a frustrated dwarf actor complaining about his clichéd part. Dinklage's breakout role was in the 2003 award-winning film The Station Agent, his first mainstream appearance.^[6] He received Independent Spirit and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Actor for his performance in that film. That same year, he appeared in the direct-to-DVD movie Tiptoes with Gary Oldman. As well as appearing in films, Dinklage has starred multiple times in off-Broadway productions.^[7]

In Elf, Dinklage played a pretentious children's author who beats up Will Ferrell's character after he is unintentionally insulted. In 2005, Dinklage starred in the short-lived CBS science fiction series Threshold and appeared in the Michael Showalter comedy The Baxter as a wedding planner. In 2006, Dinklage appeared in Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama Find Me Guilty, and in episodes of Nip/Tuck. He played himself in one episode of the HBO television series Entourage and was featured on NBC's 30 Rock.

Dinklage also had a role in the 2007 British Death at a Funeral. He plays the same role in the American remake of the film. That same year, he played the villainous Simon Bar Sinister in Underdog.

Dinklage was chosen by director Andrew Adamson for the role of Trumpkin in the 2008 film Prince Caspian^[8] although film critic Bill Gibron described his role as a "cutesy stereotype [Dinklage] has tried to avoid."^[9]

Dinklage starred in the horror comedy Knights of Badassdom,^[10] directed by Joe Lynch.^[11]

Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones, an adaptation of author George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. His performance has received widespread praise,^[12][13] highlighted by his receipt of the Emmy Award^[14] for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2011, as well as the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. As a result, Dinklage was given top billing in season 2 of Game of Thrones.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Dinklage married Erica Schmidt, a theatre director, in 2005. In 2011, they had their first child, a daughter.^[16]

He is of German and Irish descent.^[17] For high school he attended Delbarton, a prestigious prep-school in Northern New Jersey. When asked about his height in a 2003 interview, he said: "When I was younger, definitely, I let it get to me. As an adolescent, I was bitter and angry and I definitely put up these walls. But the older you get, you realize you just have to have a sense of humor. You just know that it's not your problem. It's theirs."^[7]

Dinklage is a vegetarian and lives with his wife and daughter in upstate New York.^[18]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

• Interview with Peter Dinklage in Delbarton Today

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Dinklage

• Peter Dinklage at the Internet Movie Database
• Peter Dinklage at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Interview with Peter Dinklage about The Station Agent
• BBC Movies Interview about The Station Agent
• Peter Dinklage at Emmys.com
• Dan Kois (March 29, 2012). "Peter Dinklage Was Smart to Say No". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/peter-dinklage-was-smart-to-say-no.html. 

Reese Witherspoon
Witherspoon in May 2011
Born	Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (1976-03-22) March 22, 1976 (age 36) New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Occupation	Actress, film producer
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Ryan Phillippe (m. 1999–2007) «start: (1999)–end+1: (2008)»"Marriage: Ryan Phillippe to Reese Witherspoon" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Reese_Witherspoon) Jim Toth (m. 2011) «start: (2011)»"Marriage: Jim Toth to Reese Witherspoon" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Reese_Witherspoon)
Children	2

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976), better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower. In 1996, Witherspoon appeared in Freeway and followed that appearance with roles in three major 1998 films: Overnight Delivery, Pleasantville and Twilight. The following year, Witherspoon appeared in the critically acclaimed Election, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

2001 marked her career's turning point with the breakout role as Elle Woods in the box office hit Legally Blonde, and in 2002 she starred in Sweet Home Alabama, which became her biggest commercial film success to date. 2003 saw her return as lead actress and executive producer of Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. In 2005, Witherspoon received worldwide attention and praise for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, which earned her an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Witherspoon married actor and Cruel Intentions co-star Ryan Phillippe in 1999; they have two children, Ava and Deacon. The couple separated at the end of 2006 and divorced in October 2007. Witherspoon married her second husband, talent agent Jim Toth, in 2011. Witherspoon owns a production company, Type A Films, and she is actively involved in children's and women's advocacy organizations. She serves on the board of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007, serving as honorary chair of the charitable Avon Foundation. On December 1, 2010, Witherspoon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life and education[link]

Witherspoon was born at the former Southern Baptist Hospital (now the Ochsner Baptist Medical Center) in New Orleans, Louisiana, where her parents were living while her father was a student at Tulane University medical school.^[1][2] Her father, John Draper Witherspoon, Sr., is a Georgia-born otolaryngologist who previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army reserves.^[3][4] Her mother, Mary Elizabeth "Betty" (née Reese), is from Harriman, Tennessee, has a Ph.D. in pediatric nursing, and works as a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University.^[4][5][6] Witherspoon claims descent from Scottish-born John Witherspoon, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence.^[7][8] She is also a descendant of Reformation leader John Knox.^[9] Because Witherspoon's father worked for the U.S. military in Wiesbaden, Germany, she lived there for four years as a child.^[5][10] After returning to the U.S., she spent her childhood in Nashville, Tennessee.^[5][10][11] She was raised as an Episcopalian.^[12]

Witherspoon was selected as a fashion model for a florist's television advertisements at age seven, which motivated her to take acting lessons.^[13][14] At age eleven she took first place in the Ten-State Talent Fair.^[13][15] Witherspoon received good grades in school;^[13] she loved reading and considered herself "a big dork who read loads of books."^[2] On mentioning her love for books, she said, "I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything."^[12] Witherspoon attended middle school at Harding Academy and graduated from the all-girls' Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, during which time she was a cheerleader.^[15][16] She attended Stanford University as an English literature major.^[17] After completing one year of studies, she left Stanford to pursue an acting career.^[16]

Witherspoon is proud of the "definitive Southern upbringing" she received, which, as she said, gave her "a sense of family and tradition" and taught her about "being conscientious about people's feelings, being polite, being responsible and never taking for granted what you have in your life."^[16][18] Witherspoon is described as a "multi-achiever" and was given the nickname "Little Type A" by her parents.^[19][20] On discussing her early achievements, she told Interview magazine, "I just don't see any of it as that remarkable. Maybe that's the attitude I choose to have to keep me sane and keep my feet on the ground. I grew up in an environment where women accomplished a lot. And if they weren't able to, it was because they were limited by society."^[4]

Acting career[link]

Early work (1990–1998)[link]

In 1990, Witherspoon attended an open casting call for The Man in the Moon with some friends, intending to audition as a bit player.^[16] She was instead cast in the lead role of Dani Trant, a 14-year-old country girl who falls in love for the first time with her 17-year-old neighbor. Her performance was regarded as "memorably touching" by Variety magazine,^[21] and critic Roger Ebert commented, "Her first kiss is one of the most perfect little scenes I've ever seen in a movie."^[13] For this role, Witherspoon was nominated for the Young Artist Award Best Young Actress.^[22] Later that year, she made her TV acting debut in the cable movie Wildflower, directed by Diane Keaton and starring Patricia Arquette.^[3][7] In 1992, Witherspoon appeared in the TV movie Desperate Choices: To Save My Child, portraying a critically ill young girl.^[3] In 1993, she played a young wife in the CBS miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove and got a starring role as the leading character Nonnie Parker, a South African girl who must cross 1,250 miles (2,000 km) of the Kalahari, in the teen-aimed Disney film A Far Off Place.^[3] In the same year, Witherspoon had a minor role in Jack the Bear, which garnered her the Young Artist Award for Best Youth Actress Co-star.^[23] The following year, Witherspoon acted in another leading role as Wendy Pfister in the 1994 film S.F.W., directed by Jefery Levy.

In 1996, Witherspoon was offered parts in two major movies. She appeared in the thriller Fear alongside Mark Wahlberg (whom she dated^[24]) and Alyssa Milano, playing the role of Nicole Walker, a teenage girl with a handsome boyfriend who turns out to be a violent psychopath. She was also the leading actress in the thriller and black comedy Freeway, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland and Brooke Shields. Her character, Vanessa Lutz, is a poor girl living in Los Angeles, who, on the way to her grandmother's home in Stockton, encounters a freeway serial killer.^[16] The film received positive reviews from the press. Among them was the San Francisco Chronicle, with Mick LaSalle commenting, "Witherspoon, who does a shrill Texas accent, is dazzling, utterly believable in one extreme situation after the other."^[25] Witherspoon's performance won her the Best Actress Award at the Cognac Police Film Festival and firmly established her as a rising star.^[16][26] The making of the movie also gave Witherspoon significant acting experience; as she said, "Once I overcame the hurdle of that movie – which scared me to death – I felt like I could try anything."^[17] Following completion of Freeway in 1997, Witherspoon took a break from acting in major movies for a year and began dating actor Ryan Phillippe. She returned to the screen in 1998 with major roles in three movies, Overnight Delivery, Pleasantville and Twilight.^[7][27] In Pleasantville, Witherspoon starred alongside Tobey Maguire in a tale about a pair of 1990s teenage siblings who are magically transported into the setting of a 1950s television series. She portrayed the sister Jennifer, who is mainly concerned about appearances, relationships and popularity. Witherspoon's performance received good reviews and garnered her the Young Hollywood Award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance.^[28] Director Gary Ross said he firmly believed Witherspoon was going to be an outstanding movie star.^[17]

Early critical success (1999–2000)[link]

In 1999, Witherspoon starred alongside Alessandro Nivola in the drama thriller Best Laid Plans; she played Lissa, a woman who schemes with her lover Nick to escape a small, dead-end town.^[3] In this same year, she co-starred with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe in the drama film Cruel Intentions, a modern take on the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Her performance as Annette Hargrove was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle: "Witherspoon is especially good in the least flashy role, and even when called upon to make a series of cute devilish faces, she pulls it off."^[29] Coincidentally, she appeared in a music video by Marcy Playground for the film's soundtrack. In the same year, Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick starred in the film adaptation of the 1998 novel Election by Tom Perrotta.^[3] She portrayed Tracy Flick, a competitive and ambitious over-achiever who runs for student body president. She received vast critical acclaim for her performance and won the Best Actress Award from the National Society of Film Critics and the Online Film Critics Society, a first Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination.^[30][31] Witherspoon also received a rank on the list of 100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time by Premiere.^[32] Academy Award – winning director Alexander Payne praised her: "She's got that quality that men find attractive, while women would like to be her friend. But that's just the foundation. Nobody else is as funny or brings such charm to things. She can do anything."^[18] In spite of her successful performance, Witherspoon noted in an interview that she struggled to find work after completing the film, due to typecasting.^[33] When analyzing the reasons behind her difficulty to find work, Witherspoon commented "I think because the character I played was so extreme and sort of shrewish – people thought that was who I was, rather than me going in and creating a part. I would audition for things and I'd always be the second choice – studios never wanted to hire me and I wasn't losing the parts to big box office actresses but to ones who I guess people felt differently about."^[4]

In 2000, Witherspoon received a supporting role in American Psycho and made a cameo appearance in Little Nicky.^[27] She also appeared as a guest star in season six of Friends, playing the role of Jill Green, Rachel Green's sister.^[34] The next year, Witherspoon provided the voice of Serena in the animated film The Trumpet of the Swan, produced by Crest Animation Productions.

Worldwide recognition (2001–2004)[link]

2001 marked a significant turning point in Witherspoon's career, when she starred in the feature film Legally Blonde. She portrayed Elle Woods, a fashion merchandising major who decides to become a law student in order to follow her ex-boyfriend to Harvard University. Speaking about Woods' character, Witherspoon said "When I read Legally Blonde, I was like, 'She's from Beverly Hills, she's rich, she's in a sorority. She has a great boyfriend. Oh yeah, she gets dumped. Who cares? I still hate her.' So we had to make sure she was the kind of person you just can't hate."^[18] Legally Blonde was a box office hit, grossing US$96 million domestically.^[35] Witherspoon's performance earned her praise from critics, as the press began referring to her as "the new Meg Ryan".^[36] Roger Ebert commented, "Witherspoon effortlessly animated this material with sunshine and quick wit",^[37] and Salon.com noted that "she [Witherspoon] delineates Elle's character beautifully".^[38] Meanwhile, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer concluded, "Witherspoon is a talented comedian who can perk up a scene just by marching in full of pep and drive and she powers this modest little comedy almost single-handedly."^[39] For her work, Witherspoon garnered her second Golden Globe Best Actress nomination and an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.

Following the success of Legally Blonde, Witherspoon starred in several roles. In 2002, Witherspoon provided the voice of the animated character Greta Wolfcastle in The Simpsons episode The Bart Wants What It Wants.^[40] In the same year, she portrayed Cecily in the comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, a movie adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde; she received a Teen Choice Award nomination for her performance.^[41][42] Her next feature film in 2002 was Sweet Home Alabama, a movie directed by Andy Tennant. Alongside Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey, Witherspoon played Melanie Carmichael, a young fashion designer who intends to marry a New York politician but must return to Alabama to divorce her childhood sweetheart, from whom she has been separated for seven years. Witherspoon regarded this as a "personal role" in that the role reminded her of experiences she had when she moved from her hometown Nashville to Los Angeles.^[43] The movie became Witherspoon's biggest box office hit to date, earning over $35 million in the opening weekend and grossing over $127 million domestically in the US.^[35][44] Despite the commercial success, Sweet Home Alabama was given negative reviews by critics. It was called "a romantic comedy so rote, dull and predictable" by The Miami Herald,^[45] and the press widely agreed that Witherspoon was the only factor that helped the movie attract a large audience.^[46][47] When describing Witherspoon's role in the movie, The Christian Science Monitor concluded, "She is not the movie's main attraction, she is its only attraction."^[48]

In 2003, Witherspoon followed up the success of Legally Blonde by starring in the sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Her character, Elle Woods, has become a Harvard-educated lawyer who is determined to protect animals from cosmetics-industry science tests. The sequel was not as financially successful as the first movie and it generated mostly critical reviews. USA Today considered the movie "plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy", but also noted that "Reese Witherspoon still does a fine job portraying the fair-haired lovable brainiac, but her top-notch comic timing is wasted on the humorless dialogue."^[49] Meanwhile, Salon.com concluded that the sequel "calcifies everything that was enjoyable about the first movie".^[50] Despite being panned by critics, the sequel took over $39 million in its first five days in the U.S. box office charts and went on to gross $90 million in the US.^[51] Witherspoon received a $15 million paycheck for the role – a starting point to make her consistently one of Hollywood's highest paid actresses from 2002 onwards.^{[18][52][53][54]}

In 2004, Witherspoon starred in Vanity Fair, adapted from the 19th-century classic novel Vanity Fair and directed by Mira Nair. Witherspoon's character – Becky Sharp – is a woman whose impoverished childhood turns her into an ambitious person with a ruthless determination to find fortune and establish herself a position in society. Witherspoon was pregnant during the filmmaking of this movie and was therefore carefully costumed to conceal her pregnancy.^[55] This pregnancy was not a hindrance to her work, as Witherspoon believed the gestation had in fact helped her portrayal of Sharp's character: "I love the luminosity that pregnancy brings, I love the fleshiness, I love the ample bosom—it gave me much more to play with", she said.^[56][57] The film and Witherspoon's portrayal of Sharp received good reviews, as The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Nair's cast is splendid. Witherspoon does justice to the juicy role by giving the part more buoyancy than naughtiness."^[58] At the same time, The Charlotte Observer called her work "an excellent performance that's soft around the edges" and the Los Angeles Times concluded that Becky is "a part Reese Witherspoon was born to play".^[59][60]

[edit] Walk the Line and post-Oscar work (2005–2009)

In late 2004, Witherspoon began working alongside Mark Ruffalo on the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven. Her character, Elizabeth Masterson, is an ambitious young doctor. On her way to a blind date she gets into a car accident, and is left in a coma. Her spirit returns to her old apartment where she later finds true love.^[61]

Witherspoon at a promotional event for Walk the Line in 2005

Earlier that year Witherspoon was chosen to portray June Carter Cash, the second wife of country music singer and songwriter Johnny Cash, in Walk the Line. She never had the chance to meet Carter Cash, as Witherspoon was filming Vanity Fair at the time Carter Cash died.^[4] Witherspoon performed her own vocals in the movie, and her songs had to be performed in front of a live audience. When she learned that she had to perform live, Witherspoon was so worried that she asked her lawyer to terminate the film contract.^[62] "That was the most challenging part of the role," she later recalled in an interview, "I'd never sung professionally."^[63] Subsequently, she had to spend six months learning how to sing for the role.^[62][64] Witherspoon's portrayal of Carter Cash was well received by critics, and Roger Ebert wrote that her performance added "boundless energy" to the movie.^[65] She won several awards for her performance, including the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild, the BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role.

Besides critical success in the movie industry, Witherspoon and her co-star in Walk the Line, Joaquin Phoenix, received a nomination for "collaborative video of the year" from the CMT Music Awards.^[66][67] Witherspoon expressed her passion for the movie: "I really like in this film that it is realistic and portrays sort of a real marriage, a real relationship where there are forbidden thoughts and fallibility. And it is about compassion in the long haul, not just the short easy solutions to problems."^[68] She also spoke about June Carter Cash, stating that she believed Carter Cash was a woman ahead of her time: "I think the really remarkable thing about her character is that she did all of these things that we sort of see as normal things in the 1950s when it wasn't really acceptable for a woman to be married and divorced twice and have two different children by two different husbands and travel around in a car full of very famous musicians all by herself. She didn't try to comply to social convention, so I think that makes her a very modern woman."^[68]

Witherspoon's first post-Oscar role came in the modern-day fairy tale Penelope, co-starring Christina Ricci. Witherspoon played the supporting role of Annie, the best friend of Penelope, a girl who has a curse in her family. The film was produced by Witherspoon's company Type A Films and premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.^[62][69] After the final release date of Penelope was delayed twice, the movie eventually had a February 2008 release.^[70][71]

Witherspoon was back in front of the camera again in November 2006, as shooting began for the political thriller Rendition. She starred alongside Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard and Jake Gyllenhaal, playing Isabella El-Ibrahim, the pregnant wife of a bombing suspect. Rendition was released in October 2007 and marked Witherspoon's first appearance in theaters in two years, since the 2005 release of Walk the Line.^[72] The movie received mostly negative reviews and was generally considered a disappointment at the Toronto Film Festival.^[73] Witherspoon's performance was also criticized: "Reese Witherspoon is surprisingly lifeless", USA Today wrote, "She customarily injects energy and spirit into her parts, but here, her performance feels tamped down."^[74] In December 2007, Witherspoon began filming the holiday comedy Four Christmases, a story about a couple who have to spend their Christmas Day trying to visit all four of their divorced parents, and in which she stars alongside Vince Vaughn.^[75] The film was released in November 2008. Despite only receiving average reviews by critics, the movie became a box office success, earning more than 120 million US dollars domestically and US$157m worldwide.^[76] Witherspoon next provided the voice for Susan Murphy, the main character of the computer-animated 3-D feature film Monsters vs. Aliens, which had a March 27, 2009, release from DreamWorks Animation.^[77] In 2009, she also produced a spin-off film of Legally Blonde called Legally Blondes, featuring Camilla "Milly" Rosso and Rebecca "Becky" Rosso.

"Love triangle period" and commercial struggles (2010–present)[link]

Witherspoon at the White House in 2009 while in Washington to film How Do You Know

With the exception of her animated role in Monsters vs. Aliens, Witherspoon did not appear in a live action film for two years following the release of Four Christmases. Witherspoon told Entertainment Weekly that the "break" was unplanned, stating that, "I just didn’t read anything I liked...There are a lot of really, really, really big movies about robots and things- and there’s not a part for a 34-year-old woman in a robot movie."^[78] Witherspoon returned with three films in 2010, 2011, and 2012, all centered around Witherspoon as a woman caught in a love triangle between two men. In an interview with MTV, Witherspoon jokingly referred to this trio of films as her "love triangle period".^[79]

The first film was James L. Brooks's romantic comedy How Do You Know,^[80][81][82] which starred Witherspoon as a thirty-something former national softball player who struggles to choose between a philandering baseball star boyfriend (Owen Wilson) and a business executive being investigated for white collar crime (Paul Rudd). The movie was filmed over the summer and fall of 2009 in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.,^[83][84][85] and released on December 17, 2010. The movie was both a critical and box office failure. Despite an over $100 million budget, the film earned only $7.6 million in its opening weekend, leading the Los Angeles Times to call it "one of the year's biggest flops".^[86] The movie earned mainly negative reviews from critics, scoring 35% on Rotten Tomatoes with 111 reviews as of late December 2010.^[87]

Next up for Witherspoon was a second movie based on a love triangle, the film adaptation of the 1930s circus drama Water for Elephants. Witherspoon began circus training in March 2010 for her role as Marlena, a glamorous performer stuck in a marriage to a volatile husband (Christoph Waltz) but intrigued by the circus's new veterinarian (Robert Pattinson).^[88] Filming for the movie took place between late May and early August 2010^[89][90] in various locations in Tennessee, Georgia and California. It was released on April 22, 2011,^[91] and received mixed critical reviews, with many citing a lack of chemistry between Witherspoon and Pattinson.^[92]

In September 2010, Witherspoon began principal photography in Vancouver for the third film, This Means War, a 20th Century Fox spy comedy directed by McG. In the film, Witherspoon stars as a woman at the center of a battle between two best friends (played by Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) who are both in love with her. The film had a "sneak-peak" release on Valentine's Day, before fully opening on February 17, 2012.^{[93][94][95][96][97]} The film was panned by critics (with a 25% Rotten Tomatoes rating),^[98] and fared poorly at the box office, taking fifth place on its opening weekend with sales of $17.6 million. The New York Times remarked that this "extended the box office cold streak for the Oscar-winning Ms. Witherspoon", and that while "Hollywood keeps trying to turn Reese Witherspoon into a Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts for a new generation," the "new generation keeps refusing to take the memo."^[99]

Witherspoon's upcoming films signal a departure from the love triangle theme. In September 2011, nearly a year after beginning work on This Means War, Witherspoon began filming Jeff Nichols's coming-of-age drama Mud in Arkansas. Witherspoon plays the supporting role of Juniper, the former girlfriend of a fugitive (Matthew McConaughey), who enlists two local boys to help him escape capture and rekindle his romance with Witherspoon's character. It is slated for a 2013 release,^[100][101] but premiered in May 2012 in competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.^[102][103]

Witherspoon's next film will be Atom Egoyan's adaptation of the true crime book Devil's Knot, which examines the controversial case of the West Memphis Three. Like Mud, the story is set in Arkansas. Witherspoon will play Pam Hobbs, the mother of one of three young murder victims. The movie will begin filming in Georgia in June 2012.^[104] Egoyan has noted that although the role requires "an emotionally loaded journey", he "met with Reese, and...talked at length about the project, and she's eager to take on the challenge".^[105]

Witherspoon is subsequently attached to Big Eyes, written and directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and produced by Tim Burton. Witherspoon will play Margaret Keane, an artist who produces wide-eyed portraits that became a sensation in the 1960s but were sold under the name of her husband Walter Keane (played by Ryan Reynolds), creating conflict between them.^[106]

It has also been rumoured that Witherspoon will produce (under the Type A banner) and star in both Pharm Girl, a film about a woman who takes on the pharmaceutical industry,^[107] and a Peggy Lee biopic to be directed by Nora Ephron.^[108] Witherspoon's name has also been attached to a number of other possible future films, including the upcoming Sony Pictures film Sex Tape,^[109] a Universal Pictures remake of the 1939 comedy Midnight, scripted by Michael Arndt,^[110] and the horror film Our Family Troubles, which she would produce through Type A with Jennifer Simpson, co-producer of Legally Blonde 2.^[111]

Witherspoon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 1, 2010, at 6262 Hollywood Blvd.^[112]

Other projects[link]

Witherspoon owns a production company called Type A Films. The company was at first believed by the media to have been named after her childhood nickname "Little Miss Type A."^[19][113] However, when asked about the company by Interview magazine, she clarified the name's origin: "... people think I named it after myself ... It was actually an in-joke with my family because at [age] 7 I understood complicated medical terms, such as the difference between type A and type B personalities. But I just wished I'd named the company Dogfood Films or Fork or something. You carry that baggage all your life."^[4]

Charitable work[link]

Witherspoon is actively involved in children's and women's advocacy organizations. She is a long-time supporter of Save the Children, an organization that helps children around the world through education, health care and emergency aid.^[114] She also serves on the board of the Children's Defense Fund, a child advocacy and research group.^[114] In 2006, Witherspoon was among a group of actresses who went to New Orleans, Louisiana in a CDF project to bring to light the needs of Hurricane Katrina victims.^[115] In this trip, she helped open the city's first Freedom School, as she met and talked with the children.^[116] Witherspoon later called this an experience that she would never forget.^[116]

In 2007, Witherspoon made her first move into the world of endorsements, as she signed a multi-year agreement to serve as the first Global Ambassador of cosmetic company Avon Products.^[114][117] She acts as a spokeswoman for Avon's cosmetic products and serves as the honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, a charitable organization that supports women and focuses on breast cancer research and the prevention of domestic violence.^[118][119] Witherspoon is also committed to participating in cosmetics product development and appearing in commercial advertisements.^[118] Explaining her motives for joining the foundation, she said, "As a woman and a mother I care deeply about the well being of other women and children throughout the world and through the years, I have always looked for opportunities to make a difference."^[118]

In the media[link]

Witherspoon being interviewed at the premiere of Walk The Line in 2005

Witherspoon hosted Saturday Night Live on September 29, 2001, which was the first episode to air after New York City was devastated by the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11.^[120] In 2005, she was ranked No. 5 in Teen People magazine's list of most powerful young Hollywood actors.^[121] In 2006, Witherspoon was listed among the Time 100.^[122] Her featured article was written by Luke Wilson.^[123] In the same year, she was selected as one of the "100 Sexiest Women In The World" by the readers of FHM.^[124] Witherspoon has appeared on the annual Celebrity 100 list by Forbes magazine in 2006 and 2007, at No. 75 and No. 80, respectively.^[125][126] Forbes also put her on the top ten Trustworthy Celebrities list.^[127] She was listed among CEOWORLD magazine's Top Accomplished Women Entertainers.^[128]

In 2006, Star fabricated a story saying Witherspoon was pregnant with her third child, which led to Witherspoon suing the magazine's parent company American Media Inc in Los Angeles Superior Court for privacy violation.^[129] She sought unspecified general and punitive damages in the lawsuit, asserting that the claim harmed her reputation because it suggested she was hiding the news from producers of her upcoming films.^[130]

Witherspoon has been featured four times in the annual "100 Most Beautiful" issues of People magazine.^[131] In 2007, she was selected by People and the entertainment news program Access Hollywood as one of the best dressed female stars of the year.^[132][133] A study conducted by E-Poll Market Research showed that Witherspoon was the most likable female celebrity of 2007.^[134] That same year, Witherspoon established herself as the highest-paid actress in the American film industry, earning $15 to $20 million per film.^[135][136] In April 2008, Witherspoon appeared as a guest star at the 2008 charitable campaign Idol Gives Back.^[137]

At the 2011 MTV Music Awards, while receiving the MTV Generation Award, Witherspoon criticized stars who have produced sex tapes and explicit photos.^[138]

In April 2011, she ranked 3rd on People's annual Most Beautiful issue.^[139]

Personal life[link]

Witherspoon met American actor Ryan Phillippe at her 21st birthday party in March 1997.^[140][141] The couple became engaged in December 1998,^[142] and married in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 5, 1999, at Wide Awake Plantation.^{[143][144][145]} They have two children: a daughter named Ava Elizabeth Phillippe, born September 9, 1999,^[146] and a son Deacon Reese Phillippe, born October 23, 2003.^[143] In October 2006, Witherspoon and Phillippe announced that they had decided to separate formally after seven years of marriage. The following month, Witherspoon filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.^[147] In her petition she sought joint legal custody of their two children and sole physical custody, with full visitation rights for Phillippe.^[147][148] The couple had no prenuptial agreement and the couple would be entitled to half of all assets gained during the marriage under California law, with Witherspoon's being the more significant.^[149][150] Witherspoon requested that the court grant no spousal support for Phillippe, which he did not contest.^[147] On May 15, 2007, Phillippe filed for joint physical custody of the couple's children and made no motion to block Witherspoon from seeking support from him.^[151] Witherspoon and Phillippe's final divorce documents were granted by the Los Angeles Superior Court on October 5, 2007.^[152][153]

Throughout 2007, there was persistent speculation in the mass media about a romantic relationship between Witherspoon and her Rendition co-star Jake Gyllenhaal. After the finalization of Witherspoon's divorce in October 2007, Gyllenhaal and Witherspoon became more open with their relationship, particularly due to the release of paparazzi pictures that showed the couple vacationing together in Rome.^[154] In March 2008, Phillippe was the first to confirm the relationship in interviews conducted during the promotion of his latest film.^[155][156] The couple was reported to have split in December 2009.^[157]

In early February 2010, it was reported that Witherspoon had begun dating Jim Toth.^{[158][159][160]} At the time, Toth was a talent agent working for the Creative Artists Agency, which represents Witherspoon; in September 2010, he was promoted to also become one of the agency’s two heads of motion picture talent.^[161] Witherspoon and Toth announced their engagement in December 2010,^[162] and married on March 26, 2011 in Ojai, California at Libbey Ranch,^[163] Witherspoon's country estate.^[164] In March 2012, it was announced that the couple are expecting a baby, the third for Witherspoon, and first for Toth.^[165]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

References[link]