By Laura Patricia Jones
This evening, a very dreary wet Leicester Square was lit up by the gorgeous Reese Witherspoon as she took to the red carpet for the Wild premiere – promoting the latest film from her very own production company Pacific Standard. Dressed in a beautifully elegant black floor-length number with added snakeskin to show off her Wild side, the Hollywood sweetheart was keen to chat about her lead role which appears to be her most challenging yet. A raw and gritty performance lightyears away from anything that could be compared to Legally Blonde or the classic comedies that have defined her career.
In the adaptation of the 2012 bestselling memoir, Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, a troubled woman who meets the challenge of the 1,100 mile hike across the Pacific Crest Trail in the early 90’s in order to come to terms with a difficult past following her mother’s death, a divorce, and a period of heroin binges. Teamed with a clever script from award winning writer Nick Hornby and an inspiring soundtrack, the film is very much an exploration of inner strength and sheer determination.
At today’s premiere and press conference, Witherspoon and Strayed chatted about the excitement and challenges of making this movie together, from Reese undergoing the pain of hiking with a backpack nicknamed ‘the beast’ to Strayed turning up on location to help coach her with the difficult shall we say more ‘promiscuous’ scenes; it’s clear that making this film was a Wild journey both on and off set.
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