Hitting theaters this Friday, the ugly duckling fantasy story Penelope is the second film to come out of Witherspoon's company and stars Christina Ricci in the title role of a wealthy girl who's been physically cursed and can only find normalcy after discovering true love.

Also taking on a supporting role in the film, Reese Witherspoon was more than eager to talk to the press at the film's recent junket to promote Penelope where the lovely blonde actress shared her thoughts on everything from casting Christina Ricci and getting the movie made to what she's got coming down the cinematic pike and the advice she'd give to teen girls who are in the same position as Penelope.

Was Penelope the first film your company has produced, or is it the first indie film?

REESE WITHERSPOON: This is the first independent film. We produced Legally Blonde 2 and then this was the first film that we found the script, found the director, and did all the heavy lifting.

What was it about this story that made you want to do it?

WITHERSPOON: I read the script. My producing partner Jennifer Simpson brought me the script about four years ago. She had been working with my company, she found the script, and she loved it. It was a script that other people had read, there were a lot of ideas about how to make it. People tossed around making it an animated movie. When she brought it to me I just thought it was great. It was perfect for our company because at the center it was a wonderful, fantastic, cinematic movie. At the center it also had a really great female character who was strong, ambitious, but definitely had a journey to go through to get to the place where she would find herself.

Did you ever think about playing that character yourself?

WITHERSPOON: Yeah, I actually did. I thought about it but I got busy with other commitments and the movie had to go forward. We decided to cast it but I always knew I wanted to be in it in some capacity. It was kind of fun for me to get to play a smaller character and get to be a broad.

Is it nice to come in and do a supporting role instead of carrying the film?

WITHERSPOON: Yeah, I carried the weight in other ways. Like, how are we going to get distribution and that kind of thing? It’s fun, it’s sort of very freeing to play a supporting character. Those are the kind of parts I came up playing, so it was kind of nice to return to that. I love those kinds of characters. Like Barbara Stanwyck, you don’t know if she’s going to kiss you or stab you in the neck. I love those kinds of characters.

Was it hard to try and get a deal on a movie like this?

WITHERSPOON: Not too bad. People loved the film at the Toronto Film Festival, so we got a great response, so that helps. Everybody who sees it just loves it and wants to bring their kids to it.

Is it true that there were a few mishaps with the Vespa when you were filming on it?

WITHERSPOON: Yeah, it’s because I’m height challenged. My feet wouldn’t touch the ground on the Vespa. They tried to lower it as low as they possibly could and my feet still couldn’t touch the ground on the Vespa. We had to put it on a rig. Christina [Ricci] is pretty short too and she had to sit on the back. Somebody went off, so we had to rig it up, and do it good old movie style. I think that was it.

What was the casting process behind landing Christina?

WITHERSPOON: She was my first choice. I was so excited, it’s great when you have this hot script in your hand, and you’ve got this great character. You are like, ‘Oooh, my choices!’ So Christina was my first choice. We were lucky when we sent her the script. She and I sat down for lunch and I thought, ‘She is not going to want to do this.’ Here is this weird pig face. I think that people around her were thinking she didn’t want to do it. She just came in and was like, ‘No, I’m excited! I want to do this. I want to wear this pig face, I think it’s great, and it’s awesome.’ I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ And she just was fearless. That is what I have always loved about Christina, she has a real intelligence to her work. She always plays a very intelligent woman, also very sharp, very witty, and she’s always just been great. We grew up auditioning together. We had known each other for years from sitting in the waiting room, waiting to get cast, or not cast, in movies. We made a friendship. It was great to finally have that collaboration we had talked about for so many years.

Is there anything that you both have in common as actresses, and how are you different?

WITHERSPOON: Losing a lot of parts to other actresses, being really grumpy, and miserable about it. No, I think we have a similar sensibility. She is younger than I am. In The Opposite of Sex she’s got this great force of nature about her. You do want to wrap your arms around her and love her, that’s why I’m so excited about this film. I do think it’s an opportunity for audiences to really embrace her. She’s great and she’s got great taste, too.

What about casting James McAvoy?

WITHERSPOON: James, we were just lucky to get James. The casting director suggested him and at the time I didn’t know who he was. Christina had seen some of his work and she was a big champion of his. So was Jennifer Simpson, my producing partner. I watched some of his stuff and thought he was great. Of course he has become this big movie star now. I tease him and say, 'I got you when you were cheap.' That’s not going to happen again. I’ll never get him again. He’s so great and I’m so happy for him to be having all this success. He’s really versatile. You can believe him as a doctor, but also as a super spy. He’s just wonderful.

Reese Witherspoon and the Beauty of Penelope Page 2