Reese Witherspoon is working on yet another adaptation of a woman-penned book. Following in the footsteps of “Gone Girl,” “Wild,” and “Big Little Lies” comes word that the Oscar and Emmy winner is exec producing a series adaptation of Tembi Locke’s “From Scratch” for Netflix with major talent attached. Zoe Saldana will topline the series and also exec produce. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news.
Based on Locke’s best-selling memoir of the same title, “From Scratch” sees an American woman fall for a Sicilian man while studying abroad in Italy. The pair settle down in the U.S. “When she unexpectedly loses him to illness, she is challenged to pull herself through grief so she can raise their daughter as they would have raised her together: with hope, joy, and infinite love,” the source details.
Attica Locke, whose writing credits include “When They See Us” and “Empire,” will adapt the book and serve as showrunner. She and Tembi Locke are sisters.
“This is a profound true story of love and family, deprivation, and nourishment, that needs to be brought to life on the screen as Tembi Locke brought it vividly to life for me on the page,” said Saldana.
Saldana has a number of blockbusters under her belt. She’s starred in the “Avatar,” “Star Trek,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “Avengers” franchises, among others.
The “I Kill Giants” star has shared her thoughts about how to move forward in the wake of #MeToo and #TimesUp. “I don’t want to hear another man tell me, ‘Oh you were my muse.’ I don’t want to be your fucking muse anymore. I don’t want you to just post me on your wall and look at me. I want you to listen to me!” Saldana observed, “The high road for a woman for centuries was silence … The new high road is speaking up.”
Saldana has also spoken up about being denied child care by a studio and sexism and ageism in Hollywood. “When men — producers — say, ‘You’re old,’ to me that is the most laughable, fucking ridiculous thing a moron could ever say,” she said. “By the time you’re 28 you’re expired, you’re playing mommy roles,” she explained. “We’re not the ones putting ourselves in those places. We’re allowing ourselves to be put in those positions. I just won’t allow it.”
Witherspoon can currently be seen in “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+. She toplines Hulu’s upcoming series adaptation of Celeste Ng’s “Little Fires Everywhere” alongside Kerry Washington. The “Big Little Lies” star exec produces both projects.
