AppleTV+ have released a ‘first look’ at some of their upcoming projects – including season 3 of The Morning Show. The new season will debut in the fall.
Amazon Studios’ Will Ferrell & Reese Witherspoon Wedding Comedy ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ Adds Four
The invitation list to Amazon’s Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon wedding comedy, You’re Cordially Invited, continues to expand with Celia Weston, Jimmy Tatro, Leanne Morgan, and Keyla Monterroso Mejia joining the Nick Stoller directed and written feature.
In the pic, a woman (Witherspoon) who is planning her sister’s (Meredith Hagner) perfect wedding and the father (Ferrell) of a young bride-to-be (Geraldine Viswanathan) discover that they are double-booked for their destination wedding at a remote resort on an island off the Georgia coast. When both parties decide to share the small venue, chaos ensues and disaster awaits.
Weston, who cut her teeth early in her career on CBS’ hit comedy series, Alice, has appeared in more than 40 films, notably In the Bedroom which received a SAG Ensemble Cast nomination, Dead Man Walking for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, and Snow Falling on Cedars. Her television credits include American Horror Story, Modern Family, The Hunters and most recently Echoes and The Thing About Pam opposite Renee Zellweger. The actress is represented by Innovative Artists and Framework Entertainment.
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‘I was off the rails’: Reese Witherspoon reveals she had to completely overhaul her health when first coming to Hollywood
Reese Witherspoon is one of Hollywood’s leading ladies, with an illustrious career spanning just over 30 years.
Speaking candidly to the audience at the Australian Real Estate Conference on Sunday (May 28th), via satellite from the U.S., the Nashville-raised star admitted that she had to completely overhaul her health when she first came to Hollywood as a teenager.
“I didn’t always have good eating habits, coming from a little town in Nashville, Tennessee,” she said.
“I didn’t understand health or nutrition, I went completely off the rails,” the Legally Blonde star added with a laugh.
Witherspoon, who booked her first movie with MGM Studios at age 14, said she was fortunate enough to have a great support system.
“I was lucky enough to have people come in my life and say, ‘look you’re not going to be able to sustain energy for 12, 14, 15-hour days if you don’t start eating right and exercising’.”
Witherspoon, who still enjoys “pastries and pasta” on occasion as well as “tequila” to deal with “bad days”, said exercise and nutrition has become “a big part” of her life.
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Forbes names Reese Witherspoon world’s richest self-made actress
Reese Witherspoon has been named the wealthiest self-made female actor in the world by Forbes.
On Thursday (1 June), the business publication released its updated 2023 list of “America’s Richest Self-Made Women”, with the prolific actor and producer coming in 59th place.
While the Legally Blonde star’s staggering net worth of $440m (£351.3m) only landed her in the lower half of the 100-person list, the actor was the only one grouped into the “entertainment” category.
Among the other women listed were TV screenwriter Shonda Rhimes, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, and singers Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Madonna, among others. While all four of the latter have acted in films before, their primary profession has not been acting.
The rest of the list – topped by businesswoman Diane Hendricks with a net worth of $15bn (£11.9bn) – included women in fashion, healthcare, tech and more.
Witherspoon, 47, is best known for leading a number of critically acclaimed films throughout her varied, decades-long career, such as The Man in the Moon (1991), Pleasantville (1998), Election (1999),and Wild (2014).
She’s also among the highest-paid female actors in the industry, having earned a whopping $35m (£28m) in 2023, according to Women in the World’s website.
Although her acting salary is certainly hefty, what put her net worth over the top was the 2021 sale of her production company Hello Sunshine in a deal valued at $900m (£728.9m).
The actor founded Hello Sunshine in 2016 with the intention of telling women-driven stories to “change the way all women are seen in media”. Some of its top hits include TV shows like Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere and The Morning Show. She has starred in all three.
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‘The Morning Show’ Snags Early Season 4 Renewal at Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is locking in another season of The Morning Show.
The tech behemoth’s streaming service has renewed The Morning Show for a fourth season. The early pickup comes several months ahead of season three for the Jennifer Aniston- and Reese Witherspoon-led drama, which is scheduled to premiere in the fall.
Season three of the show will feature new additions to the cast including Jon Hamm, playing a corporate titan with his sights on UBA and Nicole Beharie as a new anchor on the show. Julianna Marguiles will reprise her role, and Tig Notaro, Stephen Fry and Natalie Morales will all have recurring parts.
The show’s second season, which ran in fall 2021, was set a year-plus earlier than that, and its season finale showed Alex (Aniston) testing positive for COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic and anchoring the show from her home. As with the first season, the finale ended with a cut to a black screen.
“It’s a portrayal of what happens to a person being that broken down and that kind of surrendered because your body is so sick, where there’s no filter and there’s just the truth,” Aniston told The Hollywood Reporter of Alex’s mindset as the season wrapped. “She’s hit: Fuck it. And doesn’t give a shit what anybody thinks anymore. She’s spent the whole season trying to plug up all the holes in the canoe so she could not be found out, this desperation. But now she’s saying, unapologetically: This is who I am, this is what I am.”
Media Res, Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Aniston’s Echo Films produce The Morning Show. Charlotte Stoudt serves as showrunner for season three, taking over for Kerry Ehrin, who steered the first two seasons. She executive produces Witherspoon, Aniston, director Mimi Leder, Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg, Hello Sunshine’s Lauren Neustadter and Echo Films’ Kristin Hahn.
Variety sat down with star Kathryn Hahn, Producers Reese Witherspoon & Laura Dern, Showrunner Liz Tigelaar and writer Cheryl Stayed to talk Hulu’s recent adaptation of Stayed’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar’ and the importance of creating a “messy heroine”
Update June 2023: This event has been postponed until Fall 2023.
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company is teaming up with AT&T for a big event.
Hello Sunshine is launching Shine Away, a new experiential franchise, which will offer fans opportunities to connect with athletes, authors, musicians, and entrepreneurs. Their inaugural event, created in collaboration with AT&T, will take place on June 17th at the JW Marriott Nashville.
Some of the stars fans can interact with at the event include Witherspoon, The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and authors Joana Teplin and Eve Rodsky. Attendees can also participate in educational and creative workshops and panels with discussions “exploring the power of connection,” according to a press release.
The event will also feature “curated programming, bespoke activations,” a wide array of digital content and performances.
“Over the course of its incredible journey, Hello Sunshine has blossomed into a true community that is bonded together by a shared passion for uplifting female voices and changing the narrative,” Witherspoon said in a press release. “Because connectivity is what fuels us, we wanted to create a space for meaningful conversations that lead to creativity, inspiration and self-discovery.”
Witherspoon added, “The first in the Shine Away franchise, this event is an amazing opportunity for our community to learn, laugh and celebrate together. I couldn’t be more excited to launch this special day for Hello Sunshine in my beloved hometown of Nashville.”
According to Kellyn Smith Kenny, chief marketing growth officer of AT&T, “Every aspect of the Shine Away experience is inspired by the powerful connections made between the Hello Sunshine community of creators and changemakers and their growing number of fans.”
“Through deep collaboration and a shared spirit for inspiring change, we hope that every connection at Shine Away leads to greater possibilities,” added Kenny.
Shine Away will be available for people to livestream on the Hello Sunshine Instagram page.
Hello Shine was founded by Witherspoon in 2016 and has produced several major projects including Big Little Lies, The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere. The brand also has feature films, podcasts and digital series under its belt, with a focus on shining a light on female-led stories. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese’s Book Club, The Home Edit and Fair Play brands.
The company, which is backed by AT&T as an investor, previously sold in a $900 million deal with Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, with the backing of private equity company Blackstone in 2021, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tickets for Shine Away Connected by AT&Tare now available at hello-sunshine.com/shineaway.
(People)
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Expands Into Music, Hires Alex Flores to Build New Division
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine is launching a bright new division: music.
The media company behind Amazon’s Prime Video musical drama Daisy Jones & the Six and the Apple TV+ music competition series My Kind of Country has named Alex Flores as executive vice president, music.
Flores, who held senior roles at Broadcast Music, Inc. and BMG, will build and oversee Hello Sunshine’s expansion into music and spearhead strategic initiatives in the music space. She will report to Hello Sunshine COO Liz Jenkins.
“Alex is an absolute force in the music industry and we are so excited to have her lead Hello Sunshine’s efforts in the space,” Jenkins said in a statement. “The depth and breadth of her experience make her uniquely suited to build the business alongside our Content and Direct-to-Consumer teams.”
Hello Sunshine, a part of Candle Media, has been behind a number of hit movies and TV series, including The Morning Show, Your Place or Mine, From Scratch, Something from Tiffany’s, Little Fires Everywhere, Where the Crawdads Sing, Truth Be Told and more.
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The Morning Show (2019)
