Reese Witherspoon has used the weeks after her arrest in Atlanta for disorderly conduct to reunite with some of the collaborators behind her biggest success. Just one week after agreeing to star in "Three Little Words" with "Walk the Line" director James Mangold, Witherspoon has attached herself to appear opposite "Walk the Line" co-star Joaquin Phoenix in "Inherent Vice." "Walk the Line," as fans will recall, earned Witherspoon her first and only Academy Award for Best Actress.
The news that Witherspoon will star in "Inherent Vice," which first broke on Deadline.com, came as a bit of a surprise. Since January, fellow former Oscar winner Charlize Theron has been rumored to play the female lead in Paul Thomas Anderson's new film. As recently as last week, in a report about Owen Wilson joining the film, Theron was still mentioned as a possibility for the role. (To be fair, she could still appear as well; "Inherent Vice" has more than one female character.)
Based on Thomas Pynchon's novel, "Inherent Vice" focuses on a stoner detective (Phoenix) who gets embroiled in case about the kidnapping of an ex-girlfriend. Phoenix, Witherspoon and Wilson will be joined in the cast by Benicio Del Toro. According to TheWrap, Martin Short and "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" star Jena Malone will also appear.
"Inherent Vice" would count as one of Anderson's most star-studded efforts since 1999's "Magnolia," which featured everyone from John C. Reilly to Tom Cruise. Anderson's last two films, "There Will Be Blood" and "The Master," were more like two-handers with a few other supporting characters memorably sprinkled in throughout the narrative. As first reported by Cigarettes and Red Vines, Warner Bros. is financing the film, something that may account for the all-star lineup.
For more on "Inherent Vice," hit Deadline.com and TheWrap.
