Reese Witherspoon will produce a movie version of Dolly Parton‘s Run, Rose, Run — Parton’s new novel (with James Patterson). Parton will star in a key role in her return to the screen after more than a decade.
“Dreams really do come true! 💫 I could not be happier to share that @HelloSunshine is adapting #RunRoseRun by @DollyParton and @jamespattersonbooks into a movie!” Witherspoon wrote about the new project.
Witherspoon and her production outfit Hello Sunshine know how to pick ’em. And she’s apparently partial to projects that feature “American Sweetheart” types.
The choice is likely no accident. Witherspoon herself has experience in the role of America’s Sweetheart — a complimentary title that goes to a woman both stylish and plucky, and who embodies the American spirit while not letting anything get in her way.
In fact, Witherspoon’s portrayal of Elle Woods, the pink-clad sorority sister and Harvard-educated star of Legally Blonde, is one of the primo examples of the America’s Sweetheart style.
There have been many America’s Sweethearts over the years — a Google search reveals nearly 10 million results — with the prototype being, perhaps, young Shirley Temple. But since then two women who have certainly held the role are the inimitable country star and icon Dolly Parton, and the TV icon of the 1990s and beyond, Jennifer Aniston — Witherspoon’s co-star on “The Morning Show,” on which Hello Sunshine is a producer.
As actresses, these professionals know they’re in good hands with Witherspoon. She’s been there.
