Tinker Bell in 1953’s ‘Peter Pan’. Photo: Walt Disney Pictures.
Preview:
Streaming service Disney+ has a Tinker Bell series in development.
It’ll be a new, live-action take on the character.
Liz Heldens and Bridget Carpenter are running the show.
While Marvel has been all over Disney+ with a variety of shows based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we haven’t seen quite as much from the company’s animation arm, which has mostly kept its live-action takes on cartoon characters limited to the big screen.
Now, though, Deadline brings word that the streaming service is developing a series based on ‘Peter Pan’s fairy, Tinker Bell, titled ‘Tink’.
While the character remains an iconic part of the Disney firmament, there have been frustrations with realizing her in the live-action world.
A live-action feature named ‘Tink’ was in development in 2015, with Reese Witherspoon set to play the lead. But that never came to pass and the idea has now been retooled into a series.
Despite a box office stumble with ‘Snow White’, the huge success of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ has led to the Mouse House reaffirming its commitment to converting its animated output to live-action.
‘Moana’ is sailing towards theaters this July, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ spin-off ‘Gaston’ is back in development, and there has been movement on the ‘Tangled’ live-action movie.
(Left) Jennifer Lopez attends the Tribeca Festival Opening Night & World Premiere of Netflix’s ‘Halftime’ on June 08, 2022 in New York City. Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Images. (Right) ‘Here’ director Robert Zemeckis attends AFI Fest Director’s Spotlight. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images
Preview:
Jennifer Lopez will star in ‘The Last Mrs. Parrish.’
Zemeckis’ most recent movie didn’t exactly perform (more on that below) and Lopez has been beset by issues, including cancelling her most recent tour and less than positive reactions to her self-produced concept movie ‘This Is Me… Now,’ which tied into an album.
6EiyQPfi0iknjMsVl6VNf4
They’ll both be hoping for brighter prospects with a new project, which will be based at Netflix, where Lopez has enjoyed some better reviews for her work.
The pair is teaming up for a movie that Lopez will co-produce and star in called ‘The Last Mrs. Parrish,’ with Zemeckis aboard to direct.
Jennifer Lopez at 2015 American Music Awards. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
The new movie will adapt the 2018 Liv Constantine novel, which follows a con artist (to be played by Lopez) who targets a wealthy couple — the Parrishes — as her next victims.
She infiltrates the pair by befriending the wife and seducing the husband, with the master plan of becoming the next Mrs. Parrish, only to discover that the wife’s life is far more complicated than she could have imagined.
Constantine’s book was a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, has sold more than 1 million copies and been published in about three dozen countries.
Liza Chasin is producing for 3dot Productions along with Molly Sims for Something Happy Productions, while Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina for Nuyorican Productions. Margaret Chernin of 3dot will be executive producers.
Where else can we see Jennifer Lopez?
(L to R) William Goldenberg (Director) and Jennifer Lopez (Judy Robles) in ‘Unstoppable’. Photo Credit: Ana Carballosa/Prime Video.
Aside from the aforementioned ‘This Is Me… Now,’ Lopez has had better luck with movies including Netflix sci-fi thriller ‘Atlas’ and based-on-truth wrestling tale ‘Unstoppable,’ which arrived via Amazon MGM Studios.
Coming up, she has musical drama ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman,’ directed by Bill Condon, which garnered good notices at Sundance and is headed to theaters in an awards-consideration run via Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate and LD Entertainment this fall.
This is what Condon said of the move:
“All of us who made this film believe it needs to be experienced in a theatre, so we’re grateful and excited to be partnering with the very talented folks at Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Studios, and LD Entertainment to make that happen. On a personal note, this feels like a homecoming –– Lionsgate picked up ‘Gods and Monsters’ out of Sundance in 1998, and I’ve worked with them and Roadside on three other films since then.”
It’s the story of Jackie, President and CEO of Air Cruz, who runs a tight ship in her business, including a rigid anti-fraternization policy for all her employees.
When a new sexy lawyer begins working for her, that policy becomes very tested. That one doesn’t have a release date on the books yet.
Lopez also has ‘The Godmother,’ a crime drama about the rise and fall of the late drug lord Griselda Blanco, at the scripting stage.
Zemeckis, a respected filmmaker who has crafted some of the most memorable movies including ‘Forrest Gump,’ the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy, ‘Contact’ and ‘Cast Away,’ hasn’t had the best of luck with more recent releases.
‘Welcome to Marwen’ didn’t do great business, and his remake of ‘The Witches’ was widely panned. More recently, experimental drama ‘Here,’ despite boasting a ‘Forrest Gump’ reunion with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright leading the cast and a compelling visual hook of being set in one room that changes over time, also flopped at the box office.
He has a new animated series called ‘Tooned Out’ at the Max streaming service and a variety of projects in development as either director or producer, including action biopic ‘The King’ and sci-fi drama ‘Ares.’
When will ‘The Last Mrs. Parrish’ arrive on screens?
Netflix has not yet announced a release date for the movie –– which, if it follows the pattern of other recent Lopez projects for the company, will debut on its servers rather than in theaters.
‘Here’ director Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks attend the AFI Fest Director’s Spotlight. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Back in 2009, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway starred in ‘Bride Wars’ as two friends preparing to get married who discover that their nuptials have been double booked into the same venue.
Stoller’s film takes that concept and uses it instead to explore the wider idea of families with issues they have to work out instead of just two people and their respective betrothed.
But ‘Bride Wars’ is not the only existing film that this new one appears to borrow from like a cinematic magpie –– there are elements of ‘Wedding Crashers,’ ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and more all in the mix.
Stoller has been working as both writer and director on his movies for a while now, so he’s fully responsible for all that works… And what doesn’t.
The storyline for this one feels fairly basic but delves into some deeper issues. Will Ferrell’s Jim is a single dad who lost his wife years ago to illness, and he’s a little too doting on daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan), who returns from college and announces that she’s getting married.
Then we have Reese Witherspoon as Margot, an LA-based reality show super-producer whose younger sister Neve (Meredith Hagner), she considers the only part of her Southern family truly worth engaging with.
When Jim attempts to book the island locale where he got married by phone, he thinks all is well –– except the elderly inn manager’s pen doesn’t work and then she keels over dead after putting the handset down. Margot, meanwhile, gets the manager’s grandson Leslie (Jack McBrayer), who fills her details in and processes her credit card.
ocuz7c4Y
So the scene is set for both families to show up on the same weekend and chaos to follow –– while the parties initial agree to share, things quickly escalate to farcical levels.
Trouble is, while Stoller tries to weave in more emotional layers –– Jim about his wife, Margot about her family drama –– little of that sits well with the wackiness of Jim wrestling an alligator or one of Margot’s family dressing as the zebra from the singing competition series she produces to destroy the wedding cake Jim so lovingly baked for Jenni’s ceremony.
Tone whiplash is very real for this one –– it’s a lot to take in for one movie and that can make things awkward. But perhaps not as awkward as one particular development that comes late in the film, is never really justified and never really convinces despite the talents of the people involved.
Ferrell and Witherspoon anchor the movie, but a talented ensemble help keep things light and funny.
Will Ferrell as Jim
Ferrell can do overly emotional weirdo with the best of them, and he’s fully committed here, whether he’s obsessing about his daughter’s big day or plotting revenge on the other wedding party.
Reese Witherspoon as Margot
Witherspoon is channeling a few characters she’s played before, partly Melanie from the aforementioned ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’
She’s typically great in the role, adept at both the humor and the heart portions, and has some excellent interactions with her family.
Playing Margot’s sister, Hagner is reliably entertaining, even if her role is by design less funny than Witherspoon’s.
Tatro, meanwhile, gets even less to do as her husband-to-be, but does pull off some memorable moments and, partly thanks to how he’s script, makes Dixon more than just the lunkheaded exotic dancer Neve’s family believes him to be.
Geraldine Viswanathan as Jenni and Stony Blyden as Oliver
Viswanathan, as she was in the likes of ‘Blockers‘, is a highlight and plays well against Ferrell’s particular energy. She’s also game for anything.
Blyden’s character, Jenni’s own future husband, is less fleshed out and he makes less of an impact.
Scovel is another reliable funny performer and playing Margot’s mildly misogynistic brother (who constantly refers to his wife as “the wife”), he nails the job.
Weston plays the matriarch of Margot’s family, who has a complicated relationship with her daughter. She’s excellent in the role, one of the few in the cast who truly finds both the funny and the heartfelt sides beyond the leads.
Mejia, who, while her role is still relatively small, continues to impress –– she was superb in ‘One of Them Days’ –– and plays Jenni’s best friend/bridesmaid who agrees to plan her wedding, and does a terrible job.
The actor commits completely, bringing a frantic, funny energy to her performance.
Somewhat unbalanced and sometimes a little too forced in its attempts to find humor in the situations, ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ seems unlikely to find its way down the altar to the favorites lists of this type of comedy.
Still, it has a few decent laughs and we’re sorry it’s another comedy with big names skipping theaters and heading straight to streaming.
1cU7syB1szjtquFnpGNGO7
What’s the plot of ‘You’re Cordially Invited’?
A bride (Geraldine Viswanathan) and her father (Will Ferrell) discover their dream wedding venue has been double booked for another bride (Meredith Hagner) and her wedding-planner sister (Reese Witherspoon), with hilarious consequences.
Hollywood top earners meet with SAG-AFTRA leaders, offering to remove the cap on membership dues
The actors are asking for better work conditions and pay, including residuals from streaming services and protection from AI
The AMPTP and SAG walked away from the table on October 11, unable to come to an agreement on a deal
The biggest stars in Hollywood may have a solution to help end the actors’ strike, offering to remove the $1 million cap on membership dues, as well as a “bottom-up” residual structure to help actors lower on the call sheet to be paid first.
George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Tyler Perry, And More Spoke With SAG-AFTRA Leaders
George Clooney and Tiffany Boone on the set of Netflix’s ‘The Midnight Sky.’
Deadline has learned exclusively that some of the top-paid actors in Hollywood met with SAG-AFTRA leaders on Tuesday to find a way to end the actors strike. George Clooney, who spoke with Deadline, confirms the meeting:
‘A lot of the top earners want to be part of the solution,” the two-time Oscar winner told Deadline. “We’ve offered to remove the cap on dues, which would bring over $50 million to the union annually. Well over $150 million over the next three years. We think it’s fair for us to pay more into the union. We also are suggesting a bottom-up residual structure — meaning the top of the call sheet would be the last to collect residuals, not the first. These negotiations will be ongoing, but we wanted to show that we’re all in this together and find ways to help close the gap on actors getting paid.”
The SAG-AFTRA Strike Has Been Going For Over 98 Days
SAG-AFTRA members Nia Vardalos and Octavia Spencer walk the line at Disney Studios in Burbank, CA on 9/20. Photo courtesy of SAG.
The SAG-AFTRA strike began on July 14, 2023, and has been ongoing for over 98 days. The actors are seeking a new deal for better work conditions and wages as well as residuals, especially since streaming has changed the landscape of entertainment. They also seek protection from the use of AI, something that can replicate an actor’s likeness and performance.
The strike has caused a significant pause in the entertainment industry, along with the WGA strike, which began on May 2, 2023. Recently, the WGA has reached an agreement with the AMPTP after a grueling 148 days. Due to the SAG strike, the actors are prohibited from doing promotion or publicity work for any struck projects, meaning they cannot appear on red carpets for premieres or take part in interviews. All production is halted, with the exception of a production where an interim agreement has been approved by SAG-AFTRA.
The negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP paused on October 11, without reaching a deal.
Apple TV+’s ‘The Morning Show’ gets ready for season three with a fiery new teaser trailer showcasing leading ladies Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. The popular newsroom drama has been on a two-year hiatus and is set to return on September 13 with a two-episode premiere.
The teaser trailer also hints at upcoming guest stars, including Jon Hamm and Nicole Beharie. Hamm will play Paul Marks, a tech titan who has taken an interest in UBA. Beharie plays news anchor Christina Hunter. It seems things continue to amp up following the events of season two, as the network suffers during the lockdown of the global pandemic. The introduction of Paul Marks will likely stir the pot at UBA with his enticing proposal, “You need a miracle. I’m offering you a lifeline.” he says during the trailer.
Season three promises more drama for the anchors as we see Aniston’s Alex hosting the morning solo. Witherspoon’s Bradley is now the anchor for the 6:30 news. “They did not protect me,” says Alex. To which Bradley replies, “They didn’t protect you. But I did.” eluding to more tension between the two.
Jennifer Aniston in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Jennifer Aniston gives a small taste of the upcoming season during an interview with People Magazine.
“It’s a good, juicy one,” she teases. “Everyone’s getting in trouble. Everybody has a secret. And everyone’s just walking the line. It’s a lot more sensual this year.”
The future of UBA felt extremely shakey at the end of season two, and the newsroom staff’s frustration can be heard throughout the new 1-minute spot. “Burn it all down.” says Cory (Billy Crudup), and “Honestly, let all the secrets come out” can be heard from Alex. It looks like season three will put all the anchors and staff at the network to the test.
Reese Witherspoon in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.
The popular newsroom drama has already been renewed for a fourth season ahead of the show’s return. ‘The Morning Show’ has been nominated for multiple awards, such as The Golden Globe and the Television Critics’ Associations Awards. Series regulars Jennifer Aniston and Billy Crudup have taken home awards from the Screen Actors’ Guild and Primetime Emmy, respectively, for their performances.
Returning for season three are Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Julianna Margulies, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Greta Lee, and Karen Pittman. ‘The Morning Show’ is executive produced by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. The series will return with 10 episodes, airing every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
Jon Hamm in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.Nicole Beharie in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.Julianna Margulies in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.(L to R) Greta Lee and Karen Pittman in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.(L to R) Mark Duplass and Jennifer Aniston in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.(L to R) Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.
(L to R) Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar in 1999’s ‘Cruel Intentions.’
Like a slow-boiled revenge plot finally coming to fruition, it looks like Amazon may finally have cracked a small-screen version of 1999 teen seduction thriller ‘Cruel Intentions’, which starred some of Hollywood’s biggest young stars of the time.
According to TV Line, the company is targeting the new show for either its free-with-commercials Freevee service or the main Prime Video subscription streamer.
More than one failed attempt litters the TV development ground, including a Fox-based prequel series called ‘Manchester Prep’ that never made it to air but was repurposed as a direct-to-video film called ‘Cruel Intentions 2’ in 2000. And 2004 saw another video release, ‘Cruel Intentions 3’.
5480
What happened in the 1999 movie?
As directed by Roger Kumble, ‘Cruel Intentions’ — itself based on the 18th-century novel Dangerous Liaisons — starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe as step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont, who wagered on Sebastian’s ability to seduce Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), the daughter of the headmaster at their elite New York City prep school.
There were scandals and double-crosses, plots and moral lessons.
(L to R) Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe in 1999’s ‘Cruel Intentions.’
The new ‘Cruel Intentions’ plans to shift the action somewhat, which should allow for a fresh take, albeit with recognizable elements from the original book and movie.
Set in Washington, D.C., the series follows two ruthless step-siblings who will do anything to stay at the top of the Greek Life hierarchy at their elite college. When a brutal hazing incident threatens the entire Panhellenic system, they’ll do whatever is necessary to preserve their power and reputations… including seducing the daughter of the U.S. vice president.
‘Euphoria’s Phoebe Fisher is on to write the pilot alongside ‘Gossip Girl’ veteran Sara Goodman. Which feels appropriate, since ‘Cruel Intentions’ could fit happily into the same genre of the latter in particular.
This is far from the first attempt to turn the movie into a show. In 2016, NBC ordered a pilot for a version that would pick up more directly from the original. In it, Annette (with Kate Levering taking over the role), is raising the baby she had after her relationship with Sebastian (who dies at the end of the movie). Set 16 years later, Annette once again interacts with Kathryn (which would see Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to the role) when the teen, Bash, runs away to San Diego.
The series didn’t go beyond that point despite Sony Pictures TV then looking for a new home, and Gellar admits she didn’t think it would work in hindsight.
“On the first day, I was like, ‘This isn’t working.’ It’s just not a network show. And if it is a network show, it’s not my ‘Cruel Intentions’. So, I was actually grateful.”
Production on the new show should be kicking off this July in Toronto.
(L to R) Selma Blair and Sarah Michelle Gellar in 1999’s ‘Cruel Intentions.’
Based on the best-selling collection by Cheryl Strayed, ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ follows Clare (Kathryn Hahn) a floundering writer who becomes a revered advice columnist while her own life is falling apart. When we first meet Clare, her marriage to her husband Danny (Quentin Plair) is barely limping along; her teenage daughter, Rae (Tanzyn Crawford), is pushing her away; and her once-promising writing career is non-existent.
So when an old writing pal asks her to take over as the advice columnist Dear Sugar, she thinks she has no business giving anyone advice. After reluctantly taking on the mantle of Sugar however, Clare’s life unfurls in a complex fabric of memory, exploring her most pivotal moments from childhood through present day, and excavating the beauty, struggle, and humor in her unhealed wounds. Through Sugar, Clare forms a salve for her readers – and for herself – to show us that we are not beyond rescue, that our stories can ultimately save us, and, perhaps, bring us back home.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kathryn Hahn about her work on ‘Tiny Beautiful Things,’ what excited her about the role, Clare’s decision to become Sugar, and working with actress Sarah Pidgeon to create both versions of Clare as one seamless character.
Kathryn Hahn as Clare in Hulu’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things.’ Photo: Jessica Brooks/Hulu.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Hahn, Sarah Pidgeon, Quentin Plair and Tanzyn Crawford, and series creator Liz Tigelaar and author Cheryl Strayed.
Moviefone: To begin with, what were some of the aspects of the character that you were excited to explore with this series?
Kathryn Hahn: I was excited about her change, about her willingness, and about her courage to change. I was excited about really digging deep into how difficult it is to reframe and re-address how trauma lodges in someone. How hard it is, difficult it is to change as a human especially when you are in a long-term relationship, and especially when you’re a mother or when you’re defined as other things. That felt very compelling to me.
Kathryn Hahn as Clare in Hulu’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things.’ Photo: Elizabeth Morris/Hulu.
MF: Can you talk about Clare’s decision to become Sugar and how that changes her outlook on life and her future?
KH: I think that’s the inciting incident for her for all of this change. I think that she had always wanted to be a writer, and a lot of that happened to do with her mother’s desire for her to be a writer, her mother who had died when she was very young, and that certainly was a starting point for her. She thought she was unworthy of being a writer, unworthy of any of it because of the self-destruction she had done once her mother died. She kind of threw herself into a pretty nasty degree of self-harm, and so it was impossible for her to see that there was a track back. Then, this man from her past played by the amazing Zak Orth, kind of got her back on track with this opportunity anonymously. I think it was once she started reading the letters and saw the radical, blindingly naked vulnerability in these letters that compelled her. She had no choice but to answer back with her own nakedly vulnerable and honest self in a way that she even was not quite ready to examine in her own voice. It was only through her writing.
Sarah Pidgeon as young Clare in Hulu’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things.’ Photo: Elizabeth Morris/Hulu.
MF: Finally, you share your role with actress Sarah Pidgeon, who plays the younger version of Claire. Did you work closely with her to create a seamless performance for the character?
KH: Sarah Pidgeon is so extraordinary. We did not have much time to work together. I saw her amazing audition tape, and then she was cast. We had a very short workshop together, and that was basically it. She shadowed me, but I wish we had had more time. But she shadowed me, I think, for the first couple of episodes when we didn’t have as many flashbacks. She watched the monitor, and then it was off to the races, but the way you look at her, she had no idea who she was to become. She had no idea what her older self was going to be, so she was playing in this very raw emotional state, like the trauma had just happened. She was in the scene with her mom, so I was able to take a few things from her. 20 years is a long time, I’ve dyed my hair so many times since then, and I also shrank about a foot and a half. I feel like we were able to just seamlessly and wordlessly become one. Our transition seemed so seamless, and we would send each other poems and send each other pieces of music, and it was very nonverbal. I think it kind of worked in our favor because it was very important to me, and I think to Liz as well that it not feel like mimicry because, again, 20 years is a long time. So it just felt very organically and just perfect. I think she’s incredible.
Kathryn Hahn as Clare in Hulu’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things.’ Photo: Jessica Brooks/Hulu.
Rock groups are often solid fodder for both cinematic and TV drama, and new Prime Video limited series ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ is also throwing ill-fated romance into the mix.
Based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling novel and developed for screens by ‘500 Days of Summer’ writing team Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (Neustadter also runs the show alongside ‘A League of Their Own’ TV creator Will Graham), ‘Daisy Jones’ got a leg up thanks to interest from Reese Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine company.
Witherspoon has had a lot of luck finding popular books and bringing them to screens, including the likes of ‘Big Little Lies’, ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ on TV and ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ in cinemas.
‘Daisy Jones’ details the rise and precipitous fall of a renowned rock band. In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world. Fronted by two charismatic lead singers—Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin)—the band had risen from obscurity to fame.
And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they called it quits. Now, decades later, the band members finally agree to reveal the truth. This is the story of how an iconic band imploded at the height of its powers.
(L to R) Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko), Will Harrison (Graham Dunne), Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree), Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Riley Keough (Daisy Jones), and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Pamela Littky/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
From the looks of the teaser, it’s a love connection between Jones and Dunne that helped the band rise but also contributed to its eventual collapse.
Directing duties for the first five episodes of the 10 fell to James Ponsoldt, who has history blending romance with other genres. Nzingha Stewart took on four others, with Graham directing one.
24 original songs were written for the series and recorded by the cast, and Atlantic Records will be dropping songs through the run of the show. The teaser features one of them, “Regret Me”.
‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ will launch on Prime Video on March 10th with the first three episodes, and the rest will follow in three-episode batches on Fridays.
(L to R) Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), and Riley Keough (Daisy Jones) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree), Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko), Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), Riley Keough (Daisy Jones), and Will Harrison (Graham Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Riley Keough (Daisy Jones), and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Will Harrison (Graham Dunne), Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree) Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko), and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Camila Morrone (Camila Dunne), Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), and Riley Keough (Daisy Jones) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Pamela Littky/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko) stars in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
And while it was far from the actor’s first movie gig, it remains a milepost in her career. Though it didn’t set the box office alight, ‘Election’ earned her awards attention, while Payne and regular collaborator Jim Taylor saw their adapted screenplay nominated for an Oscar.
Now, with a follow-up novel published by Perrotta this year, the time is right for a sequel.
The original film saw Witherspoon playing Tracy Flick, an ambitious, Type-A, overachieving high schooler who gets on the nerves of social-studies teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) to begin with, but after she launches her campaign for student-body president and his personal life starts to fall apart, things spiral out of control.
With a cast that also featured Chris Klein, Colleen Camp, Matt Molloy and Holmes Osbourne, the movie has long since passed into cult classic status. So there will be plenty of eyes on the follow-up.
(L to R) Matthew Broderick as Jim McAllister and Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Enid Flick in director Alexander Payne’s ‘Election.’
Perrotta’s new tome, which hit shelves in June, picks up Tracy’s story in the present day.
These days, Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Still ambitious but feeling a little stuck and underappreciated in midlife, Tracy gets a jolt of good news when the longtime principal, Jack Weede, abruptly announces his retirement, creating a rare opportunity for Tracy to ascend to the top job.
Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and School Board, while also managing her personal life—a ten-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice.
But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. Her male colleagues’ determination to honor Vito Falcone—a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief, undistinguished career in the NFL—triggers memories for Tracy and leads her to reflect on the trajectory of her own life. As she considers the past, Tracy becomes aware of storm clouds brewing in the present. Is she really a shoo-in for the principal job? Is the Superintendent plotting against her? Why is the School Board President’s wife trying so hard to be her friend? And why can’t she ever get what she deserves?
Payne and Taylor are returning to write the script again, with Witherspoon playing Flick and producing. But unlike the original film, this one will skip theaters and instead debut on Paramount+.
Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Enid Flick in director Alexander Payne’s ‘Election.’
5970
Ph3EtQSc
Well, we finally have details on Apple’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service.
It was announced during an Apple event this morning that Apple TV+ will launch on November 1st. It will cost $4.99 a month and if you buy any new Apple product (phone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV) you’ll get a year of the service for free.
Some of the more hotly anticipated titles coming to the platform include the post-apocalyptic thriller “See” with Jason Momoa, workplace drama “The Morning Show” with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, and Steven Spielberg’s redo of his 1980s anthology series “Amazing Stories.”
Will you be signing up? And what are you most looking forward to?
