Johansson earned an impressive $56 million in the last 12 months (from June 1, 2018 to June 1, 2019). That includes her salary from her upcoming “Black Widow” solo film and her $35 million cut of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Johansson’s MCU costars Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Paul Rudd also made the top 10. And Will Smith got in on some of that sweet Disney cash with a $35 million haul, thanks in large part to hit “Aladdin.”
Apple released a new, full-length trailer for its highly anticipated drama starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell, set in the world of early morning television.
The trailer lays out more details about what to expect from the forthcoming streaming service’s first big project. Carell is a Matt Lauer-type anchor who is fired over sexual misconduct allegations. Aniston is his longtime co-host, who begins to have a breakdown.
Meanwhile, Witherspoon is a fresh face brought in by the show’s producers (Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass), and Aniston considers her a threat to her preeminence on morning television.
The drama was ordered straight to series by Apple for its forthcoming streaming service, after it won an intense bidding war. It comes from showrunner Kerry Ehrin and draws background material from CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter’s 2013 book “Top of the Morning,” which chronicles the rivalry between NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Apple TV+ is slated to launch this fall. “Morning Show” does not yet have a premiere date.
It’s based on the Thomas Pierce short story “Tardy Man” that was published in “The New Yorker” last year. Pierce will also write the script.
The dystopian story is about a group of people who have indestructible fire suits fused to their spines so they can recover objects for wealthy people whose houses go up in flames. The corporation they work for forbids them to veer from their salvage missions, even when other humans are in danger. Naturally, the lead character decides to deviate from her mission.
In the story, the main character is a man called Keith. It’s not clear if Witherspoon will be playing a different character or if the script will gender-swap the lead.
Six studios reportedly were bidding for this package, with Sony Pictures among the finalists.
She was going to star in “Lucy in the Sky” as an astronaut, but dropped out to make the second season of “Big Little Lies.” Natalie Portman was cast instead.
Forget superheroes, the real heroes in movies are lawyers, whose dedicated time, effort and knowledge of obscure laws (and hair products) can save the day and possibly their entire community. Here are some of our favorite movie lawyers, many based on real-life attorneys who went out there and made a difference.
Aaron Sorkin‘s directorial debut was nominated for one Oscar, Best Adapted Screenplay (Sorkin previously won for writing “The Social Network,” which is also chock full of lawyers). But no love for star Jessica Chastain or the always magnetic Idris Elba as her attorney? We object.
Most of us this missed this one in theaters, but if you’re a big Chris Evans fan (and who isn’t?), it’s worth catching up on this drama, where he plays a drug-addicted lawyer battling a medical-supplies corporation.
A pre-“Game of Thrones” Peter Dinklage steals the show in this Sidney Lumet drama based on the real story of mobster Jack DiNorscio (played by Vin Diesel). DiNorscio unwisely decides to defend himself, instead of relying on the eloquent lead defense attorney Ben Klandis.
Chadwick Boseman stars as the future Supreme Court judge in this underrated biopic that focuses on one of the first, pivotal cases in his career: In 1940, he has to convince an all-white jury that a black chauffeur (Sterling K. Brown) was unjustly accused of rape. Although it’s a foregone conclusion to the audience that he wins the case, it’s a tense, dangerous trial to watch unfold.
Seems like everyone was nominated for an Oscar in this Best Picture-winning musical, except for Richard Gere. He plays the slick lawyer who defends murderesses with style. The “silver-tongued prince of the courtroom” gets his own big number, “The Miracle Man” and Gere sells every second of it.
You could say the”McConaissance,” the resurgence of Matthew McConaughey‘s career with “True Detective” and “The Dallas Buyers’ Club,” began here, with this neo-noir thriller. McConaughey is smoothness itself as a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates from the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car. He lands a high-profile client, but getting to the truth becomes more important than the paycheck for once.
Denzel Washington plays antisocial activist lawyer Roman J. Israel, who loses his low-paid job after years of trying to fight the corrupt plea-bargaining system. When a chance to profit off a new case arises, he’s sorely tempted. It’s a great performance in a flawed movie, but one that still earned him his eighth Oscar nomination.
Tom Hanks plays an insurance lawyer who ends up defending an accused Russian spy (Mark Rylance) at the height of the Cold War. The role isn’t a showy one, but relies heavily on common sense, stick-to-itive-ness and some quick thinking. The two men develop a mutual respect for each other as Donovan stands his ground when it isn’t popular to do so.
George Clooney turns in one of his greatest performances as legal fixer Michael Clayton, who thinks of himself as a “janitor” who’s always cleaning up other people’s messes. Despite his distaste for the job, he doggedly pursues the truth about a corrupt company, nearly getting himself killed in the process.
Yes, there’s a biopic out starring Felicity Jones as “The Notorious RBG,” but we vastly prefer the real thing in this Oscar-nominated documentary about the groundbreaking Supreme Court Justice who’s become an unlikely pop culture icon. A must-see.
Julia Roberts‘s Oscar-winning role as the real-life environmental crusader remains one of the most watchable legal dramas of all time, thanks in large part to the lively direction of Steven Soderbergh. Like its main character, it’s never dull.
Who else but Reese Witherspoon could have played the tenacious Elle Woods, who not only gets into Harvard Law, but wins her first big case with panache. Before even getting her degree. Like it’s hard? Elle makes it all look easy.
Apple has released the first teaser for its highly anticipated drama starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell, set in the world of early morning television.
The teaser, which runs just over a minute, features no footage of the three actors, only dramatic voice-overs — starting with Aniston saying, “Good morning. I’m bringing you some sad and upsetting news.”
The camera takes us into through the office of Mitch Kessler (Carell), an anchor who is struggling to maintain relevance in a changing media landscape. A photo of Kessler with Aniston’s character indicates they serve as co-hosts of the titular show.
The drama was ordered straight to series by Apple for its forthcoming streaming service, after it won an intense bidding war. It comes from showrunner Kerry Ehrin and draws background material from CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter’s 2013 book “Top of the Morning,” which chronicles the rivalry between NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Apple TV+ is slated to launch this fall. “Morning Show” does not yet have a premiere date.
To the surprise of likely no one, a new Reese Witherspoon project is in high demand.
The sci-fi film “Pyros” has drawn numerous offers, according to Deadline‘s intel. That’s not hard to imagine given that Witherspoon is attached to not only star in it but produce alongside Simon Kinberg. Their fellow producers include Hello Sunshine’s Lauren Neustadter and Genre Films’ Audrey Chon.
The project will be an adaptation of “Tardy Man,” a short story by Thomas Pierce that was published in the New Yorker’s 2018 summer Flash Fiction series. It followed Keith, a man who works as a Tardy Man for a company that retrieves customers and their possessions during disasters such as fires and floods. With a fire-retardant suit connected to his spine, Keith is sent into a burning neighborhood with orders to retrieve only valuables. There, however, he finds a young boy and makes the choice to rescue him, at great risk to himself. Pierce has been brought on board to pen the “Pyros” script himself.
Witherspoon is an Academy Award winner for her role in 2005’s “Walk the Line.” She’s also an Emmy winner as one of the stars and producers of HBO’s “Big Little Lies.” Additionally, she has produced film including “Wild” and “Gone Girl,” among others. Meanwhile, Kinsberg is known for producing films such as “Deadpool” and “The Martian.”
Bidding on “Pyros” will reportedly end this week, so we’ll see which lucky studio or streamer lands the project soon.
Last summer, “Big Little Lies” fans were treated to a sneak peek at a deliciously dramatic showdown between Reese Witherspoon‘s Madeline Mackenzie and Meryl Streep‘s Mary Louise Wright, when set photos surfaced featuring one Oscar-winning actress hurling an ice cream cone at another. But those who tuned into the show’s most recent episode — which included a tense meeting between the two women outside an ice cream shop — were left wondering why that moment didn’t make it onto the airwaves.
We may never know the reasoning behind the decision to delete that particular button on the scene, but according to Streep, it will indeed see the light of day. The legendary actress actually revealed the news to Entertainment Tonight back in May, when she was asked about the viral moment.
“[Reese] just told me it’s not in the show!” Streep told ET, sharing in fans’ disappointment.
But, never fear: “It’s [going to be] in the DVD extras,” the actress said.
Witherspoon herself had also previously told ET that shooting that scene was “a Top 5 moment in my career, for sure,” and bragged about her aim on Twitter.
Responding to a comment about the photo, the actress gleefully said of Streep, “I got her.”
No offense to the rest of season two of “Big Little Lies,” but we’re going to need it to hurry up and end already, so we can watch the bonus content on the DVDs.
The latest literary sensation headed to the small screen is “Little Fires Everywhere,” the Celeste Ng novel that centers around a seemingly perfect family, and the mother-daughter duo who turn their lives upside down. Such juicy source material requires a killer cast, and Hulu’s adaptation has just that, featuring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in the starring roles. Now, we have our first look at the formidable women in character.
In an image revealed on Tuesday, we see Washington as Mia Warren and Witherspoon as Elena Richardson, sporting some inspired hair and wardrobe choices. The series takes place in the 1990s in an affluent Ohio suburb, and it appears this scene is set in the wealthy Elena’s elegant kitchen.
“Little Fires Everywhere” features several big plot twists, including a mysterious arson and the controversial adoption of a Chinese-American baby, in which the white adoptive parents fight the child’s birth mother for custody. The intertwined relationship between Mia and Elena is also a focal point, as is the decision by Elena’s husband, Bill (Joshua Jackson), to represent the couple’s friends in their custody battle, which ultimately affects his and Elena’s marriage.
It sounds like there’s a lot happening here, but with Witherspoon and Washington steering the ship, viewers should be in good hands. There’s no official release date yet for “Little Fires Everywhere,” but expect it to hit Hulu soon.
Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of bestselling novel “Little Fires Everywhere” has found its male lead, with TV vet Joshua Jackson landing a key role in the limited series.
a Shaker Heights attorney who hails from modest means, Bill is the perfectly suited counterweight to his energetic and strong-willed wife, Elena (Reese Witherspoon). But when Bill agrees to represent their friends in a fiery custody battle, the couple begin to fight about more than just their challenging youngest daughter, Izzy (Megan Stott).
“Little Fires Everywhere,” based on the book by Celeste Ng, is set to run for eight episodes, and will explore the intertwined relationship between two families. Washington stars as a mysterious single mother who, along with her daughter (Lexi Underwood), brings chaos to the Richardsons’ seemingly perfect lives.
No word yet on when the series is expected to make its debut on Hulu.
It’s now been 20 years since Alexander Payne‘s “Election” hit theaters. What could have been a simple teen comedy instead turned out to be one of the most insightful political satires of the ’90s. The fact that it helped launch the career of star Reese Witherspoon is just icing on the cake. So celebrate this cinematic milestone by learning some fun facts about “Election.”
1. The film is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by writer Tom Perrotta. Perrotta sold the rights a year before the novel was published.
2. Perrotta, in turn, was inspired by the 1992 presidential election and a news story about a pregnant high school student in Wisonsin who had her homecoming crown voided by the school.
Paramount Pictures
3.Matthew Broderick‘s character Jim has a diet that deteriorates along with his behavior. In the beginning of the movie, he’s shown eating a salad. By the end, he’s gorging on pie and throwing milkshakes.
4.Melissa Joan Hart auditioned for the lead role before Witherspoon was ultimately cast as Tracy.
5.Chris Klein made his acting debut in “Election.” He was discovered because he happened to be walking down the hall when Payne was scouting Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska as a potential shooting location.
Paramount Pictures
6. Even using actual high school students as extras, Payne had trouble finding enough extras to fill the crowd scenes. This was in part because filming took place during the busy SAT prep season.
7.Thora Birch was originally cast as Tammy Metzler, but she quit a few days into filming due to ongoing friction with Payne.
Paramount Pictures
8. Payne snuck a hidden message into one of the newspaper articles featured onscreen. It complains about the difficulty in writing fake newspaper copy and directs viewers to watch 1997’s “Citizen Ruth.”
9. Paul is called to the principal’s office to find out about his election loss right as his Spanish class is shown conjugating the verb “perder,” which means “to lose.”
Paramount Pictures
10. The film’s ending was re-shot. The original ending sticks closer to the novel and features Tracy encountering Jim working at a local car dealership.
11. While “Election” was a box office failure upon release, it’s since developed a sizable cult following. According to Payne, Barack Obama has named it his favorite political film of all time.
