Reese Witherspoon is working her way through the classic American songbook.
The actress, who won an Oscar in 2005 for portraying June Carter in “Walk the Line,” is pulling together an untitled biopic about Peggy Lee with writer-director Nora Ephron and Fox 2000, reports Variety. Though Witherspoon is still negotiating to star, she is producing along with Marc Platt.
Witherspoon secured rights to the vocalist’s life from the Lee estate and brought the project to Fox 2000. She then approached Platt, who produced the “Legally Blonde” movies, and Ephron, who counts herself a major fan of Lee’s music. Ephron is writing the script and is attached to direct, as well.
First Run Features has acquired North American theatrical rights to Peter Hanson’s “Tales From the Script.” The documentary will open in a limited run March 12 ahead of its April 20 DVD release.
Containing interviews with Shane Black (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption”), William Goldman (“All the President’s Men”), Paul Schrader (“Taxi Driver”) and more, Hanson’s documentary details the lives and work of dozens of Hollywood screenwriters. Hanson’s project includes a companion book, “Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories,” which HarperCollins imprint IT Books will publish January 26.
Here's the trailer:
"Script” premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January and has since screened at the Austin and Starz Denver fests. Hanson produced through his Grand River Films along with Paul Robert Herman of Jade Tiger Films.
I met Hanson several times at evening Q&As with screenwriters (Billy Ray, Ted Griffin, Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Nathanson, etc.) that I moderated as companion events to a DVD series on screenwriters called "The Dialogue." This was two-plus years ago, when Hanson was first starting to film these interviews. His ambition was clear then, and this two-pronged "Tales From the Script" project is the impressive result -- the guy clearly got access to many of the top screenwriters in the business, past and present.
Allison Anders (“Gas Food Lodging”), John August (“Go”), John Carpenter (“Halloween”), Antwone Fisher (“Antwone Fisher”), David Hayter (“Watchmen”), Bruce Joel Rubin (“Ghost”), Guinevere Turner (“American Psycho”) and David S. Ward (“The Sting”) also appear in Hanson's documentary.
The 346-page companion book features photo portraits and additional interviews with Mike Binder (“The Upside of Anger”), Nora Ephron (“Julie & Julia”), Robert Mark Kamen (“Taken”), Paul Mazursky (“An Unmarried Woman”) and others.
An author and filmmaker, Hanson also wrote and directed the documentary “Every Pixel Tells a Story” in 2002.
To counter stories they have been losing investors, Ronald Tutor and Colony Capital's Filmyard Holdings issued a statement Thursday that they have the equity in place and the deal to purchase Mir …
Fans of "Gone with the Wind" obviously do give a damn about Scarlett O'Hara's extravagant dresses with a museum appeal for funds to restore gowns from the 1939 movie meeting its ta …
The Hollywood Reporter is Your Complete Film Resource
The columnists and bloggers who write for The Hollywood Reporter have their collective finger on the pulse of the boxoffice. From Robert Osbourne to Martin Grove and the rest, THR columnists deliver their thoughts on the film industry in an uncompromised style. Subscribe to THR today and get the latest views from these film experts and get the latest movie reviews as well.