Countdown to Vanity Fair

witherspoon puts you under a spell to see her movie

My 9th most anticipated film of 2004 opens Wednesday, September 1. Vanity Fair, the new film from Focus Features, is a $25 million adaptation of the classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray. It stars Reese Witherspoon as one of literature's greatest female characters Becky Sharp, whom is born into a life of poverty but uses schemes and her wit to ascend the London social ladder. Directed by acclaimed international filmmaker Mira Nair, it promises to be a hugely entertaining period piece. Infused with Nair's own gorgeous, Bollywood-influenced helming, Vanity Fair is already a front-runner in the technical categories for next year's Academy Awards. Visit the film's website to learn more and view the sumptuous trailer.

+Double Golden Globe nominee Reese Witherspoon returns to the more interesting films that filled out her early career. Up next is the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line and a thriller set in Antarctica called Whiteout. Visit a place where movies are rented or sold and find Freeway, Election and Legally Blonde. Rent them. Or buy them.

+Mira Nair is in negotions to direct the next Harry Potter film The Order of the Phoenix. It seems the director is on a roll. Back in 2002, Nair earned huge raves for two very diverse films: the first was Monsoon Wedding, a more personal film examining some of the traditions in her own heritage. After that was Hysterical Blindness, a film that earned Uma Thurman a Golden Globe and a SAG nomination. It is an amazing character study that shows Nair's acute ability with actors, most notably Thurman as well as the supporting cast that includes Juliette Lewis and Gena Rowlands.

+Screenwriter Jullian Fellows adapted Thackeray's classic novel for the big screen. He won an Oscar for his screenplay for Gosford Park.

+Vanity Fair features a diverse, international cast made up of a who's-who of classically trained actors and up-and-comers: Jim Broadbent (Iris), Eileen Atkins (The Hours, Cold Mountain), Geraldine McEwan (The Magdalene Sisters), Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Bend It Like Beckham), James Purefoy (A Knight's Tale) and Kate Winslet-lookalike Romola Garai (Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights) as Becky's best friend, Amelia.

Fun fact: Witherspoon found out mere weeks before filming commenced that she was pregnant with her second child. The downside: early reviews say it is fairly obvious she is pregnant in certain scenes. The upside: Ample cleavage. And yes, the magazine took its name from the novel.


witherspoon and nair read the classic magazine instead of the book for pointers