2011 Movie Preview: ‘Water for Elephants’
Reese Witherspoon called Tai a ‘calm, … easygoing presence’ during filming, unlike some of the other animals in the circus movie.
On the last day of shooting “Water for Elephants,” Reese Witherspoon was so upset that she broke down in tears. She hadn’t been that saddened by a movie wrapping in years, the actress said, but she had become particularly attached to one costar: an 8,800-pound elephant named Tai.
“The day I had to say goodbye to her, I wept all day,” Witherspoon admitted. “It was one of the most extraordinary filmmaking experiences of my life. You work with actors and directors, but to have this nonverbal complete relationship with an animal that we were all very connected to was very magical.”
Based on a bestselling historical novel released in 2006, the film, due out April 22, centers on a former veterinary school student named Jacob ( Robert Pattinson), who falls for circus performer Marlena (Witherspoon). Because of the characters’ shared affinity for the big top, both actors had to be comfortable interacting with a variety of animals — horses, camels, and, of course, elephants.
Save 50% on today’s deal: $10 for Comfort Fare at Dinah’s in Glendale. Tasty and delicious.
Before production began, director Francis Lawrence planned a meeting with the stars and Tai at the 10-acre Perris, Calif., elephant ranch where she lives.
Reese shares lessons of the heart
YOU don’t become the queen of romantic comedies without learning a few things about matters of the heart and Reese Witherspoon is knowledgable.
Witherspoon – newly engaged actress and mother of two – is well-versed in the mysteries and mores of love, and she spends hours discussing and debating them with her girlfriends.
“I’m literally the girl who talks constantly about relationships. I hang up with one (friend), and I pick up the phone and call another one. It’s an ongoing dialogue all day long,” she says. “I don’t understand a woman who doesn’t talk about love and relationships.”
She has been through a divorce (from actor Ryan Phillippe) and breakups (most notably with actor Jake Gyllenhaal), but Witherspoon isn’t one to get hung up on past amorous calamities. She views them as life lessons.
“You gotta be glad that you went through them, and you gotta be glad that you learned from them. You gotta learn what you want,” says Witherspoon, 34, whose fiance is talent agent Jim Toth.
And like so many of the romantically challenged, you have to figure out if he’s the one for you.
That’s the perplexing question Witherspoon toys with in How Do You Know, a rom-com with the actress playing a past-her-prime softball pro who gets cut from Team USA and finds herself torn between two guys: a self-absorbed jock (Owen Wilson) and a somewhat neurotic businessman (Paul Rudd).
But unlike Witherspoon, who exudes certainty and self-assurance, the character of Lisa is a romantic naif.
I noticed the site had fallen behind on Reese’s many Avon adverts from the last few years, so I thought I’d post this one that I just came across. It’s for the Avon Ungaro perfume and is well over a year old, but it hasn’t been posted here I don’t think, and Reese looks gorgeous in it!
First off, I apologise for the lack of updates there have been here in the last couple of weeks! To make up for it, I have a big update for you today! I’ve added lots of screencaps from various recent interviews promoting How Do You Know (she did a lot – lucky she likes to talk!), including the Ellen DeGeneres Show. We have some gorgeous additional HQs from the How Do You Know press conference, in which Reese looks just adorable. In the Magazine Scans section, I’ve added scans from the recent People issue that had a preview on Water For Elephants – thanks to Helena for these! And in the Movies section we have some beautiful new Water For Elephants HQ stills, as well as screencaps from the WFE Finnish trailer and a new poster for the film, screencaps from the How Do You Know B-Roll, and a few new posters and stills from How Do You Know. A big thanks goes to my friend Brianne for most of the ET/Extra videos I have added screencaps from!
The main new additions are linked below, but if you want to see everything that’s been added then have a peek through the Last Uploads page. So, lots for you to browse!
Come back tomorrow for a small but completely gorgeous photoshoot update 
Also coming soon will be the rest of the photos from the How Do You Know premiere and Hollywood Star event, as well as Letterman HD screencaps.
- Movies > How Do You Know? > B-Roll Screencaptures
- Movies > How Do You Know? > Stills
- Movies > Water For Elephants > Finnish Trailer Screencaptures
- Home > Movies > Water For Elephants > Stills
- Magazine Scans > Scans from 2011 > People – January 10th 2011
- Magazine Scans > Scans from 2011 > Clippings from 2011
- Public Appearances > Events in 2010 > How Do You Know Press Conference
- TV & Interviews > Talk Shows > Talk Shows from 2010 > The Ellen DeGeneres Show – December 17th 2010
The current issue of Entertainment Weekly – the January 21st edition with Pirates Of The Carribean on the cover – has a feature on the big new movies of 2011, and of course, Water For Elephants is featured! I’ve found a scan online and added it into our Gallery:
Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd talk about the mysteries of love with Patrick Stoner and how it’s played in “How Do You Know”.
The Sunday Telegraph Interview
Life teaches Reese Witherspoon all she need knowREESE Witherspoon is hooting with laughter. She’s just heard how co-star Jack Nicholson answered the inevitable question prompted by the new romantic comedy How Do You Know: how do you know when you’re in love?
“When you call your lawyer and start enquiring about pre-nups,” is how the legendary actor responded.
Witherspoon’s answer is a little more thoughtful. It’s also topical, because she’s just announced her engagement to her boyfriend of a year, Hollywood agent Jim Toth.
He proposed over the Christmas holidays with a four-carat diamond ring, outshone only by the huge smile the actress has been wearing ever since.
“I’m old enough to know I have no idea,” laughs the 34-year-old, looking ultra-chic in a black Proenza Schouler dress and sky-high Louboutin heels.
“In my 20s, I used to think I knew everything. Now I’m learning that as you get older, you begin to have the perspective that you don’t really know anything.
“Life is this great journey; you just never know what’s going to happen. So I kind of rely on my friends and family – they seem to know better than I do. They’re like, ‘You’re really happy!’
“And I think as you get older, what you want changes too. What you’re looking for in a relationship in your 20s is totally different from in your 30s.”
Haven’t seen the film myself, so can’t comment, but I have read both the book and the script of which Water for Elephants – the new film starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon – is based on, and can I just say, I think it’s a very solid, enjoyable yarn. I’m already predicting it might be one of my favorite films of the year – it’s story seems to encompass everything I require in a yarn.
The film – and source material – tells of a veterinary student, played by Pattinson, who abandons his studies after his parents are killed and joins a traveling circus as their vet.
Two different sources confirmed for me today that the film is undergoing reshoots this month.
One told me, “I’m being told that director Francis Lawrence has been asked to reshoot some of the movie – someone wants the film, which is a very stylistic almost jigsaw-puzzle of a film, to appeal to a broader audience than what it will in it’s current form (read : more commercial). That doesn’t mean it’s a poor film, in fact I could be a brilliant piece, it’s just a studio making sure they get the most bums on seats possible.”
Another, who has somewhat of a link to the production, says “It’s all good. The film is brilliant, man. Oscars 2012. Mark My Words. But yeah, what you’ve heard is true – we are doing new stuff. It’s all secondary character stuff”
The first scene to be reshot “involves a 9-month old baby (blue-eyed) who is going to playing with a small dog – a Jack Russell, I believe”, I was informed earlier today.
So… um, they’re adding cute stuff? or a pre-credits sequence? Young Robert Pattinson? Whatever the case, I’m fairly confident this is gonna be a must-watch flick.
The reshoots begin January 14.
Michelle Williams is on the cover of the latest issue of US Marie Claire, and in her interview she talks about some advice that Reese gave her, and how it affected her:
On Reese’s advice in a troubled time: “To give credit where credit is due, I was sharing a difficulty I was experiencing with Reese Witherspoon, and she said, ‘Yes, I understand, but think about how much more difficult this would be without the luxury of a reliable, steady income.”
On a changed perspective on life: “When things are difficult for me as a single parent, I always reflect on how much harder it would be if I didn’t have money—if I couldn’t afford a babysitter to go to yoga class or out to dinner with a girlfriend.”
This Means War (2012)
Mud (2013)
Untitled Peggy Lee Biopic (201?)
