I am currently obsessed with audio books, and the Reese Witherspoon Book Club (Hello Sunshine) has provided more than its share of entertainment. The books are great, but it is the bigger context that I appreciate more.
Movies are my thing. I see them all. (Well, that’s not completely true. I am not a horror movie girl. But I see the rest.) And Reese has figured out the secret to amazing movies and mini series. Find the best books. Buy the rights. Make the movie yourself.
After the success of Legally Blonde, she made sure to be a producer on the sequel. But it was Wild where she discovered her current formula for success. Book. Rights. Movie.
Gone Girl
Big Little Lies
Little Fires Everywhere
Something in the Water
Reese has spoken openly about the trajectory of her film career before the formula. “Mostly forgettable movies.” The scripts she was getting were not what she wanted to make. So she started making her own films. Amy Adams is doing the same thing.
There is a lesson for us in the formula. Less in the formula, I suppose, than in the importance of finding your own formula.
Find your own projects. Be your own producer.
Sometimes it can feel like life is happening to us. Like we are less in the driver’s seat and more in the backseat. Unless I am on vacation, I have never wanted to be the one letting others take the lead. I guess that’s why Reese and Amy and all of the CEOs and politicians and other strong women saying, “My turn,” inspire me.
Find your book.
Buy the rights.
Make your film.
Be That Person 