How Reese Witherspoon Took Charge of Her Career and Changed Hollywood
December 12, 2019 8:23 PM Subscribe
"That message — that you shouldn't dream a little, girls, that you got enough of your pie already — is not OK," she says. And she's done staying quiet about it. So, to little girls everywhere, "when people try to tell you to stay in your lane, don't listen," says Witherspoon, settling into a smile as she repeats herself: "Do not listen."
Tired of dreadful scripts and degrading magazine spreads, the Oscar-winning actress, producer, entrepreneur and activist built an empire on her own taste and work ethic. Now she plots projects all over Hollywood and responds to critics of her paychecks: "Does it bother people when Kobe Bryant or LeBron James make their contract?"
Thank you for sharing this article, which was more affecting than I expected by far.
posted by rcraniac at 10:41 PM on December 12, 2019
posted by rcraniac at 10:41 PM on December 12, 2019
Years ago, Kevin Smith posted a very nasty rant about her. At the time, I bought into what he said. Now I suspect the issue was that she was a woman who was taking charge of her career and wasn't taking any shit.
posted by rednikki at 11:06 PM on December 12, 2019 [20 favorites]
posted by rednikki at 11:06 PM on December 12, 2019 [20 favorites]
Lol I googled that story and Reese Witherspoon was 18-19 years old when they were auditioning for Mallrats. I'd love to hear the story of that apparently feud-inciting audition from someone else in the room.
posted by muddgirl at 11:39 PM on December 12, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 11:39 PM on December 12, 2019 [10 favorites]
Honestly, who gives a shit what Kevin Smith thinks?
posted by Naberius at 7:23 AM on December 13, 2019 [17 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 7:23 AM on December 13, 2019 [17 favorites]
Great article, thanks for posting it.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:33 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by soundguy99 at 8:33 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Years ago, Kevin Smith posted a very nasty rant about her. At the time, I bought into what he said. Now I suspect the issue was that she was a woman who was taking charge of her career and wasn't taking any shit.
Doesn't he also rant about Sean Young? I didn't know he hated Reese too.
posted by Fukiyama at 9:45 AM on December 13, 2019
Doesn't he also rant about Sean Young? I didn't know he hated Reese too.
posted by Fukiyama at 9:45 AM on December 13, 2019
I kind of remember what Smith wrote about her. I think he called her "greasy Reese", which doesn't even rhyme!
I haven't read the FPP yet (but am currently watching the most recent The Morning Show). I'll say this about Kevin Smith: I like a lot of his stuff, but he has an incredibly thin skin, even for someone in a creative field. He's happy to dish out insults and criticism toward others, but can't take it himself. I'm sure that attitude has held back his career. He's a nerd during Peak Nerd, but hasn't been asked to direct any comic book or Star Wars project. DC doesn't even want him!
posted by riruro at 11:11 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I haven't read the FPP yet (but am currently watching the most recent The Morning Show). I'll say this about Kevin Smith: I like a lot of his stuff, but he has an incredibly thin skin, even for someone in a creative field. He's happy to dish out insults and criticism toward others, but can't take it himself. I'm sure that attitude has held back his career. He's a nerd during Peak Nerd, but hasn't been asked to direct any comic book or Star Wars project. DC doesn't even want him!
posted by riruro at 11:11 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
You can really see the knock on effect with more good scripts about and for women attracting talent and money. Unbelievable, Big Little Lies, Brittany Runs A Marathon, even true crime. I thought the miniseries Dirty John was amazing and really respectful of the women in the story in a way most true crime shows aren't. The mother and daughters were allowed to just be women, not stereotypes or "badasses", and they took center stage. Connie Britton was incredible in it.
posted by fshgrl at 11:15 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by fshgrl at 11:15 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I recently watched Reese's Shine On, a Netflix series where she interviews other women taking charge of their own careers, most of them creative, not all of them in Hollywood.
The first episode with Dolly Parton is sweet because that was who inspired Reese. Then you watch Reese turn around and lift up other women in the other episodes, and sometimes the conversations are a little awkward, but maybe that's because we don't have a lot of role models showing women how to visibly support each other, so the fact that Reese is diving in and putting it on screen in these times is just *blurry screen*
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 11:35 AM on December 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
The first episode with Dolly Parton is sweet because that was who inspired Reese. Then you watch Reese turn around and lift up other women in the other episodes, and sometimes the conversations are a little awkward, but maybe that's because we don't have a lot of role models showing women how to visibly support each other, so the fact that Reese is diving in and putting it on screen in these times is just *blurry screen*
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 11:35 AM on December 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
IIRC, this particular chip on Kevin Smith's shoulder had to do with Witherspoon's alleged rudeness to his then-gf, Joey Lauren Adams. After some film premiere, Adams went up to Witherspoon and complimented her performance; Smith, on Adams' arm that evening, said Witherspoon sneered and turned away.
(Hazier recollection: possibly both actresses had auditioned for the film, but Witherspoon got the part? So when Adams went out of her way to be gracious afterward, like in a the right person got the job, you did justice to the character way, and was met with disdain, Smith was really angry? Meanwhile, Witherspoon herself was still bitter that some other movie role had gone to Adams?) (Now I'm thinking of a universe where Adams had Witherspoon's career trajectory...)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:01 PM on December 13, 2019
(Hazier recollection: possibly both actresses had auditioned for the film, but Witherspoon got the part? So when Adams went out of her way to be gracious afterward, like in a the right person got the job, you did justice to the character way, and was met with disdain, Smith was really angry? Meanwhile, Witherspoon herself was still bitter that some other movie role had gone to Adams?) (Now I'm thinking of a universe where Adams had Witherspoon's career trajectory...)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:01 PM on December 13, 2019
You can just Google the story, it's still up on his website. He documents the whole feud in detail, including when (at the age of no less than 30) he repeatedly begged Selma Blair for Witherspoon's address so he could egg her house. He even fantasizes about getting tackled by Ryan Phillipe (but he's quick to clarify no homo).
It's really quite embarrassing and if I were a 50 year old man I'd certainly delete it and do that thing where you apply to the EU to have old embarrassing facts deleted from the internet.
posted by muddgirl at 7:39 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
It's really quite embarrassing and if I were a 50 year old man I'd certainly delete it and do that thing where you apply to the EU to have old embarrassing facts deleted from the internet.
posted by muddgirl at 7:39 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Deleting such a long-standing thing would likely also get called out. It's no-win, so maybe let the record stand rather than trying to edit history is Smith's attitude.
posted by hippybear at 8:51 PM on December 13, 2019
posted by hippybear at 8:51 PM on December 13, 2019
Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming: I had started the first episode and there was something about Whitherspoon's very early interactions with Dolly that had me nope-ing out but your comment has pulled me back to watching and this first episode is great and Witherspoon is much more genuine than I was expecting her to be before I read this article.
So thanks for mentioning it. I'll probably watch the whole series.
posted by hippybear at 8:56 PM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
So thanks for mentioning it. I'll probably watch the whole series.
posted by hippybear at 8:56 PM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
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