|
"Penelope," which debuts in major U.S. cities on Friday,
has been a pet project for the star who, along with producing
partner Jennifer Simpson, worked four years to develop and make
the quirky contemporary fable about a rich girl, played by
Christina Ricci, who is cursed with a pig's nose. "This was the first film that we found the script, found
the director and did all the heavy lifting," said Witherspoon. Her company, Type A Films, also produced "Legally Blonde 2:
Red, White & Blonde." But on that movie, Witherspoon took the
starring role and was credited as executive producer, which is
often more of an advisory role. As producer on "Penelope,"
Witherspoon was involved in various ways including script
development, casting, production, editing and distribution. The 31-year-old producer said the story of "Penelope" was
perfect for a Type A personality because, among other reasons,
it spoke to some big issues yet centered on a young woman. "It had a really great female character who was strong,
ambitious, but definitely had a journey to go through to get to
the place where she would find herself," Witherspoon said. Penelope's wealthy socialite parents unsuccessfully try to
break a family curse by marrying off their disfigured daughter
to a rich suitor. But the lonely girl meets a handsome stranger
(James McAvoy) and decides to flee her gilded cage. Out in the real world for the first time, Penelope is
befriended by free spirit Annie (Witherspoon) who whisks her
new girlfriend around London on the back of a scooter,
ultimately helping to restore Penelope's self-esteem. If the role of Penelope sounds like it might have worked
well for Witherspoon, a petite blonde who won her Oscar playing
country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line," the star would
not disagree. She said she thought about taking the lead role,
but other commitments kept her from doing so. "It's very freeing to play a supporting character," she
said. "Those are the kind of parts I came up playing, so it was
kind of nice to return to that." Having decided against playing the lead, Witherspoon the
producer began casting. She said Ricci was her first choice,
and added that she had always admired the fellow actress'
fierce intelligence and sharp wit. "We grew up auditioning together so it was great to finally
have that collaboration we had talked about for so many years,"
Witherspoon said. As for "Atonement" star McAvoy, she admits to being lucky
to enlist him before that Oscar-nominated romantic drama put
the actor on the list of stars on the rise in Hollywood. "We were just lucky to get James. He's become this big
movie star now. I tease him and say, "'I got you when you were
cheap.' I'll never get him again," she said. Witherspoon sees producing as a natural progression after
being on movie sets for 15 years. "I got to learn a lot ... things I don't normally get to
touch," she said. (Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Cynthia Osterman) |
