Secrets and lies continue to wreak havoc on “Big Little Lies” Season 2.
HBO released the trailer for the second season of the drama, which finds the “Monterey Five” — Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoe Kravitz — dogged by continued suspicions over their actions on trivia night, which ended with the death of Alexander Skarsgard‘s Perry Wright, the abusive husband of Kidman’s Celeste.
Now his formidable mother (Meryl Streep) is in town, asking questions.
“I want to know what happened that night,” she tells Witherspoon’s Madeline Martha Mackenzie. “I’m very tempted to ask you, but I don’t think I would get the truth, would I?”
The women also have to deal with their new notoriety in town, as they’ve all but been branded with scarlet letters. And Kravitz’s Bonnie Carlson struggles with her feelings of guilt for pushing Perry down the stairs to his death. Will she crack under the pressure and ‘fess up?
“Big Little Lies” Season 2 premieres June 9 on HBO.
At long last, Apple has released footage from it upcoming series “The Morning Show” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. The two actresses, alongside co-star Steve Carell, appeared at the Apple event Monday to offer more insight into the show.
Loosely based on CNN reporter Brian Stelter’s 2013 book, “Top of the Morning,” the Apple TV+ series centers on a fictional morning show and the people who make it. Aniston described it (via Entertainment Weekly) as “an honest look at the complex relationships between women and men in the workplace.” She also shared that they “engage in the conversation people are a little too afraid to have unless they’re behind closed doors.”
Witherspoon added that it is “seen through the eyes of two ambitious, aspirational female characters.” Meanwhile, Carell, who quipped that he’s bringing “the manliness” to the show, jumped in to add that there’s also “a prominent male,” per EW.
We haven’t seen what they’re talking about firsthand yet. The footage came in the midst of a promotion for the new streaming service Apple TV+, so it shows Aniston and Witherspoon in action but only in small snippets. Watch below.
The cast also includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Billy Crudup, Bel Powley, Karen Pittman, Desean Terry, and Mark Duplass. The show is written by Kerry Ehrin and directed by Mimi Leder. Ehrin, Witherspoon, and Aniston all executive produce.
“The Morning Show” has already been picked up for two seasons, and each is set for 10 episodes. Its premiere date has not yet been announced.
At a splashy event at its campus in Cupertino, California on Monday, Apple finally unveiled its standalone TV service, including the official name and several of the big projects it will house. Along with those answers, though, there remained some key questions.
During the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the service will be called Apple TV+, and it will launch sometime this fall (an exact debut date is TBA). The subscription service will be available to all — and is not exclusive to Apple devices — in more than 100 countries; it will be ad-free, and most of its content will be downloadable.
No pricing structure has been revealed yet.
Many major stars were on hand to introduce their projects for the service, including Steven Spielberg (who’s producing a revival anthology of “Amazing Stories”); Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell (who are starring in a morning TV drama that now has an official title: “The Morning Show”); Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard (starring in sci-fi series “See,” about a world in which sight no longer exists); and Kumail Nanjiani (“Little America,” which tells true stories of immigrants from across the world who move to the United States).
Even Big Bird made an appearance, introducing “Helpsters,”from the makers of “Sesame Street,” which will teach preschoolers about coding skills. And J.J. Abrams and Sara Bareilles were on hand to tout “Little Voice” (Bareilles performed the titular theme song), a series about a young woman finding her voice through music.
Apple saved the biggest surprise for last, bringing out Oprah to announce that she’s reviving her immensely popular Book Club as a new series for the service. She’s also filming two documentaries for Apple TV+, one about sexual assault and one about mental health.
One of the biggest gaps in the presentation, however, was the lack of clips — or even key art — from any of the announced projects, aside from a quick sneak peek package that spliced together a few seconds from each series. Instead, Apple offered a slick video introducing the service, featuring talking heads from several of the above creators, as well as collaborators including Sofia Coppola, M. Night Shyamalan, Ron Howard, Octavia Spencer, Hailee Steinfeld, Damien Chazelle.
Introducing Apple TV+. A new streaming service with original stories from the most creative minds in TV and film. #AppleEventpic.twitter.com/xLhtdNNaa2
It’s been 20 years since “Cruel Intentions” hit theaters and exposed moviegoers to the seedy, sexual underbelly of New York City prep school life. And despite middling reviews at the time, its popularity has endured over the years. Let’s celebrate the occasion with a few behind-the-scenes secrets about this steamy drama.
1. The original title for the film was “Cruel Inventions,” but it was altered after test audiences complained that it sounded like a science fiction movie.
2. “Cruel Intentions” is actually a modernized adaptation of French author Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel “Les Liaisons dangereuses.”
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3. That novel has been adapted for film six other times, most notably 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons.”
5.Reese Witherspoon improvised the memorable moment where her character Annette slaps Phillippe’s Sebastian. That’s why Phillippe’s expression of shock is so genuine.
6. Despite both playing high schoolers in the film, Witherspoon is actually five years older than Gellar.
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7. Costume designer Denise Wingate purposely clothed Annette in light colors and Sebastian in dark colors in order to contrast their opposing natures.
8. While Kathryn tells Sean Patrick Thomas‘ Ronald that Sebastian hit her, the film doesn’t reveal whether she’s actually telling the truth. Director Roger Kumble filmed a scene of Sebastian hitting Kathryn but chose to remove it and maintain the ambiguity.
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9. An earlier screenplay draft featured an alternate ending where Annette chooses to withhold the journal and blackmail Kathryn rather than publishing it.
10. There are currently two direct-to-video sequels to “Cruel Intentions,” though 2001’s “Cruel Intentions II” is actually a prequel and 2004’s “Cruel Intentions 3” is a loosely connected spinoff.
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11. “Cruel Intentions 2” was created using footage from three episodes of an unaired TV series called “Manchester Prep,” and follows younger versions of Sebastian and Kathryn.
12. In 2015, NBC announced plans for a sequel TV series that would feature Gellar reprising her role as an older Kathryn and revolve around Sebastian and Annette’s son. Unfortunately, NBC eventually scrapped the project the following year.
How do you top the first season of a series that employs A-listers and Oscar winners including Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman? Oh, just add the greatest actress of all time, Meryl Streep. That’s exactly what HBO’s “Big Little Lies” is doing for its upcoming sophomore season, but according to Kidman, that casting coup was a lot easier than you’d think.
In an interview with Variety, Kidman dished about getting Streep to sign on for “BLL” season two, adding some more background to the story previously shared by Witherspoon. While Witherspoon noted that they had sent Streep a script, Kidman revealed that their fellow Academy Award winner didn’t even look at it before making up her mind, a decision timed to the night that the show won the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film earlier this year.
“She goes, ‘I suppose now I have to join you,’” Kidman recalled to Variety of Streep’s response, which she emailed to both Kidman and Witherspoon. “And we were like, ‘What?’ The two of us were just shocked. … She hadn’t even read it. That’s how much she wanted to support us.”
Of course, Kidman quickly realized that getting Streep — who plays her mother-in-law — on board was a lot more intimidating than she anticipated, admitting to Variety that she was “terrified” of “acting opposite the great one.” We can only imagine. But somehow, we have a feeling that Kidman (who snagged both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for “BLL” season one) rose to the challenge.
Of course, even setting aside Streep’s involvement, it sounds like season two of the series will be excellent. According to Kidman, she and Witherspoon — who co-produce the show — wanted to “deliver a series for [Streep] that she’s great in. Reese and I were like, ‘We want this for her and for the other women [in the cast].’ They have much stronger roles in the second one.”
We can’t wait to see it. (And find out what on earth causes Witherspoon to hurl her ice cream at Streep.) Season two of “Big Little Lies” is expected to debut on HBO sometime in 2019.
The “Big Little Lies” star and producer has teamed up with Fox 2000 to preemptively acquired the upcoming non-fiction book “The League of Wives” by Heath Lee. Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine banner will produce the adaptation.
The story follows a group of military wives who would never describe themselves as feminists. But after their fighter pilot husbands are shot down and imprisoned for years during the Vietnam War, they transform into a league of take-charge lobbyists, human rights activists and even spies determined to do everything in their power to bring their POW and MIA spouses home. By 1973, the group had brought back 115 men.
Witherspoon has a very full plate. She’s producing a series based on the also-prepublished book “Daisy Jones & The Six.” She’s starring in an Apple TV series about fictional morning news anchors, as well as an Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” limited series adaptation opposite Kerry Washington. Witherspoon will also star in and produce HBO’s “Big Little Lies” Season 2.
The highest paid actors on TV are earning more than ever, according to a Variety report on the industry’s top salaries.
The news outlet commissioned the report to particularly examine the impact of a new California law that prohibits employers from asking prospective workers how much money they made at their previous jobs.
That effective killed the “quote” system, where an actor was offered a salary based on salary history. Now, pay is being set by the actor’s importance to the script than name recognition. One source told Variety that the new law had caused salaries to rise for actresses of color.
Also driving up salaries are deep-pocketed tech companies like Apple and Amazon, which are throwing money at major stars. Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston are getting paid $1.1 million per episode for an upcoming Apple drama about morning show anchors. And Javier Bardem topped the salary list at $1.2 million per episode for an untitled Amazon series about 16th century explorer Hernan Cortes.
Here’s the list of TV’s top 10 earners:
Javier Bardem, $1.2 million for an untitled Amazon series
2. Reese Witherspoon, $1.1 million for untitled Apple series
Jennifer Aniston, $1.1 million for untitled Apple series
Norman Reedus, $1 million for AMC’s “The Walking Dead”
Elisabeth Moss, $1 million for Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Julia Roberts, $600,000 for Amazon’s “Homecoming”
Steve Carell, $600,000 for untitled Apple series
Kelly Clarkson, $560,000 for NBC’s “The Voice”
Kevin Hart, $500,000 for CBS’ “TKO” from MGM
Sean Penn, $500,00 for Hulu’s “The First”
Anthony Mackie, $475,000 for Netflix’s “Altered Carbon”
The actress celebrated the film’s big anniversary with an Instagram post on Oct. 24. She included a throwback photo of herself with co-star Tobey Maguire, who played her character’s twin. In her caption, she penned a sweet shoutout to Maguire and others who worked on the film with them.
“Can you believe it’s been 20 years since #Pleasantville!?” Witherspoon wrote. “I have such fond memories of working on this film, with such unique & talented humans: Gary Ross, Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, Paul Walker….”
“Pleasantville” tells the story of twins Jennifer (Witherspoon) and David (Maguire), who are transported into the fictional black-and-white TV show “Pleasantvile.” They assume the roles of two characters on the series, Mary Sue and Bud Parker, but they end up bringing changes to the town nonetheless. The film was called “one of the year’s best” by critic Roger Ebert when it was released in 1998, and it won three Academy Awards.
How, well, pleasant that after two decades, Witherspoon can look back so fondly on “Pleasantville.”
Apple’s upcoming drama series about the world of morning talk shows already had some major star power, thanks to A-list leading ladies Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. And now, another big name has just joined the ensemble.
Steve Carell is set to co-star in the as-yet-untitled project, his first series regular role since departing NBC hit “The Office” back in 2011. Variety reports that Carell will be playing a character named Mitch Kessler, described as “a morning show anchor who is struggling to maintain relevance in a changing media landscape.”
Aniston and Witherspoon’s roles haven’t been revealed yet, though it’s assumed that that they, too, will be playing fellow morning show anchors. The series is inspired in part by CNN media reporter Brian Stelter’s 2013 book, “Top of the Morning,” which chronicles the rivalry between long-running programs “Today” and “Good Morning America.”
Just how and when Apple plans to deliver this series to viewers is anyone’s guess. It has yet to launch its own streaming service (though that seems the most likely outlet, since it’s been acquiring content left and right lately), and additional details about the endeavor are being kept tightly under wraps for now.
What we do know is that the Aniston-Witherspoon-Carell series has already received a two-season pickup, with each season running for 10 episodes. We’ll be eagerly awaiting its TBD arrival.
NBC via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube
Word came in January that none other than Meryl Streep had joined “Big Little Lies” Season 2, but what was missing from reports at the time was the hilarious way the three-time Oscar winner accepted her role.
Luckily, that has changed. Reese Witherspoon was recently a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and the late-night host asked her how Streep got involved. Witherspoon then kindly told him the whole tale.
It started out pretty much how you’d expect: Witherspoon and her fellow executive producer and co-star Nicole Kidman sent Streep the script. Then, they followed up via email. It was after that that Streep gave them a call — and accepted in funny fashion.
“She called us the day of the Golden Globes, and was like, ‘Well, I know your show is really struggling … so I’ve decided to join and make it even better,” Witherspoon told Fallon, laughing as she claimed that Streep’s comment was true.
Of course, the show wasn’t exactly hard up for either talent or accolades. At the very same Golden Globes that Witherspoon referenced, the drama won the award for Best Miniseries or Television Film, while Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard, and Laura Dern all took home individual awards. That’s what makes Streep’s comments so entertaining, combined with the fact that she’s Meryl Streep and almost definitely will make it even better.
Witherspoon and Kidman loved Streep’s response, too. Witherspoon said she and her co-star were screaming silently and hugging themselves when she gave them the news. Aww!
Watch Witherspoon tell the story below, starting at 1:23.
