Editing Reese Witherspoon (section)

===2001–2006: Worldwide recognition===
The 2001 film ''[[Legally Blonde]]'' marked a turning point in Witherspoon's career; she starred as [[Elle Woods]], a [[Fashion merchandising|fashion-merchandising]] major who decides to become a law student to follow her ex-boyfriend to [[Harvard Law School]]. Witherspoon said about the role, "When I read ''Legally Blonde'', I was like, 'She's from Beverly Hills, she's rich, she's in a sorority. She has a great boyfriend. Oh yeah, she gets dumped. Who cares? I still hate her.' So we had to make sure she was the kind of person you just can't hate."<ref name="sweethome" /> ''Legally Blonde'' was a box-office hit, grossing US$96 million domestically.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web |title=Reese Witherspoon |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=reesewitherspoon.htm |access-date=December 2, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020183153/http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=reesewitherspoon.htm |archive-date=October 20, 2007 }}</ref> Witherspoon's performance earned her praise from critics, and the press began to refer her as "the new [[Meg Ryan]]".<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Harkness|url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/dvdreviews.cfm?content=135400&archive=22,23,2003|title=Classic Crawford |newspaper=[[Now (newspaper)|NOW]] |date=February 6, 2003 |archive-date=September 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911065807/http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/dvdreviews.cfm?content=135400&archive=22,23,2003 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 1, 2012 }}</ref> Roger Ebert commented, "Witherspoon effortlessly animated this material with sunshine and quick wit",<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010713/REVIEWS/107130303/1023|title=Reviews: Legally Blonde |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]  |date=July 13, 2001 |access-date=February 23, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522085254/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20010713%2FREVIEWS%2F107130303%2F1023 |archive-date=May 22, 2007}}</ref> and the critic from [[Salon (website)|''Salon'']] magazine wrote "she [Witherspoon] delineates Elle's character beautifully".<ref>{{cite news |first=Stephanie |last=Zacharek |url=http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/07/13/legally_blonde/index.html |title=Legally Blonde |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon.com]] |date=July 13, 2001 |access-date=December 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205183719/http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/07/13/legally_blonde/index.html |archive-date=December 5, 2007 }}</ref> Meanwhile, the ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'' concluded, "Witherspoon is a talented comedian who can perk up a scene just by marching in full of pep and drive and she powers this modest little comedy almost single-handedly."<ref>{{cite news|first=Sean|last=Axmaker|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/movies/31039_blonde13q.shtml|title=Enough energy in this 'Blonde' to perk up limp comedy |newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|date=July 13, 2001 |access-date=December 12, 2007}}</ref> The film earned her a second nomination for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama|Best Actress]] at the Golden Globes, and an [[2002 MTV Movie Awards|MTV Movie Award]] for Best Comedic Performance.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Reese Witherspoon|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/reese-witherspoon|website=www.goldenglobes.com|language=en|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416003115/https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/reese-witherspoon|archive-date=April 16, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, Witherspoon featured in several projects, such as the role of Greta Wolfcastle in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[The Bart Wants What It Wants]]", and as Cecily in the comedy ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest (2002 film)|The Importance of Being Earnest]]'', a film adaptation of [[Oscar Wilde]]'s play for which she received a [[Teen Choice Award]] nomination.<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Clark|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/12/PK236774.DTL&type=movies|title=Young and talented, headstrong and 'Earnest' Reese Witherspoon gets what she wants |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]  |date=May 12, 2002 |access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204002716/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2002%2F05%2F12%2FPK236774.DTL&type=movies |archive-date=December 4, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Announces the 4th Annual 2002 Teen Choice Awards Nominees |publisher=[[PR Newswire]] |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-03-2002/0001739538&EDATE= |access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030829132136/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F06-03-2002%2F0001739538&EDATE= |archive-date=August 29, 2003 }}</ref> Later that year, she starred with [[Josh Lucas]] and [[Patrick Dempsey]] in [[Andy Tennant]]'s romantic comedy ''[[Sweet Home Alabama (film)|Sweet Home Alabama]]'', in which she played Melanie Carmichael, a young fashion designer who intends to marry a New York politician but must return to [[Alabama]] to divorce her childhood sweetheart, from whom she has been separated for seven years. Witherspoon regarded it as a "personal role" as it reminded her of the experience of moving from Nashville to Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web |website=IGN |url=http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/371/371856p1.html |title=Interview with Reese Witherspoon |access-date=June 12, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713005004/http://au.movies.ign.com/articles/371/371856p1.html |archive-date=July 13, 2011 |date=September 23, 2002 }}</ref> The film became Witherspoon's biggest live-action box office hit, earning over $35 million in the opening weekend and grossing over $127 million in the U.S.<ref name="mojo" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Reese Witherspoon biography (page 6) |author=Wills, Dominic |publisher=[[Tiscali]] |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/reese_witherspoon_biog/6 |access-date=December 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507041829/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/reese_witherspoon_biog/6 |archive-date=May 7, 2008 }}</ref> Despite the commercial success, critics gave ''Sweet Home Alabama'' negative reviews. ''[[The Miami Herald]]'' called it "a romantic comedy so rote, dull and predictable",<ref>{{cite news|first=Connie|last=Ogle|url=http://ae.miami.com/entertainment/ui/miami/movie.html?id=72299&reviewId=9832|title= Linin' up good ol' cliches, in a fashion| newspaper=[[Miami Herald]]|date=September 27, 2002| archive-url=https://archive.today/20070623044747/http://ae.miami.com/entertainment/ui/miami/movie.html?id=72299&reviewId=9832| url-status=dead| archive-date=June 23, 2007 |access-date=December 1, 2007}}</ref> and the press opined that Witherspoon was the only reason the film attracted such a large audience.<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger |last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020927/REVIEWS/209270304/1023 |title=Sweet Home Alabama  |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=September 27, 2002 |access-date=December 1, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212113353/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20020927%2FREVIEWS%2F209270304%2F1023 |archive-date=December 12, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Tiscali]] |url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/reviews/sweet_home_alabama.html |title=Sweet Home Alabama |access-date=December 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507042101/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/reviews/sweet_home_alabama.html |archive-date=May 7, 2008 }}</ref> ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' wrote of her, "She is not the movie's main attraction, she is its only attraction."<ref>{{Cite journal|first=David|last=Sterritt|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0927/p15s01-almo.html|title=A down-home dilemma|journal=Christian Science Monitor|date=September 27, 2002|access-date=December 12, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312064543/http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0927/p15s01-almo.html|archive-date=March 12, 2008}}</ref>

The next year, Witherspoon followed up the success of ''Legally Blonde'' by starring in the sequel ''[[Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde]]''. Elle Woods has become a Harvard-educated lawyer who is determined to protect animals from [[Cosmetic industry|cosmetics industry]] science tests. The sequel was not as financially successful as the first film and it generated mostly negative reviews. ''[[USA Today]]'' considered the movie "plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy", but also wrote "Reese Witherspoon still does a fine job portraying the fair-haired lovable brainiac, but her top-notch comic timing is wasted on the humorless dialogue."<ref>{{cite news|first=Claudia|last=Puig|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-07-01-blonde_x.htm|title=Legally Blonde 2 Review|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=July 2, 2003|access-date=December 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904003700/http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-07-01-blonde_x.htm|archive-date=September 4, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, ''Salon'' magazine concluded that the sequel "calcifies everything that was enjoyable about the first movie".<ref>{{cite news |first=Charles|last=Taylor|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/review/2003/07/02/blonde/|title=Legally Blonde 2 |work=[[Salon.com]]  |date=July 2, 2003 |access-date=December 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607001319/http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/review/2003/07/02/blonde/ |archive-date=June 7, 2011 }}</ref> Despite being panned by critics, the sequel took in over $39 million in its first five days in the U.S. box office charts and eventually grossed $90 million in the US.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3089425.stm| title=Witherspoon leads UK première |date=July 23, 2003|access-date=November 4, 2007|work=BBC News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031217193451/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3089425.stm |archive-date=December 17, 2003 }}</ref> Witherspoon was paid $15 million for the role—a starting point which would make her consistently one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses between 2002 and 2010.<ref name="sweethome">{{cite news|first=Claudia|last=Puig|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-09-18-reese-witherspoon_x.htm|title=Witherspoon's 'Sweet Home'|work=[[USA Today]]|date=September 18, 2002|access-date=November 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217050107/http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-09-18-reese-witherspoon_x.htm|archive-date=February 17, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Steven M.|last=Silverman|url=https://people.com/celebrity/julia-roberts-tops-actress-power-list/|title=Julia Roberts Tops Actress Power List|publisher=People|date=December 3, 2002|access-date=February 29, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416074936/http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C625295%2C00.html|archive-date=April 16, 2008}}</ref>

In 2004, Witherspoon starred in ''[[Vanity Fair (2004 film)|Vanity Fair]]'', adapted from the 19th-century classic novel ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' and directed by [[Mira Nair]]. Her character, [[Becky Sharp]], is a poor woman with a ruthless determination to find fortune and establish herself a position in society. Witherspoon was carefully costumed to conceal her pregnancy during filming.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Edelstein|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/witherspoon-walks-the-line/|title=Witherspoon Walks The Line |work=[[CBS News]] |date=November 13, 2005|access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224160212/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/12/sunday/main1041397.shtml |archive-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref> This pregnancy was not a hindrance to her work as Witherspoon believed the [[gestation]] had helped her portrayal of Sharp's character: "I love the luminosity that pregnancy brings, I love the fleshiness, I love the ample bosom—it gave me much more to play with", she said.<ref name="telegraphindia">{{cite news|title=Mira's early feminist |date=September 6, 2004 |work=The Telegraph |location=Kolkota, India |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040906/asp/atleisure/story_3722983.asp |access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203221405/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040906/asp/atleisure/story_3722983.asp |archive-date=December 3, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Director Nair's Vanity project|work=BBC News |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4056147.stm|access-date=November 4, 2007 | date=December 1, 2004}}</ref> The film, and Witherspoon's performance received mixed reviews; ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote "Nair's cast is splendid. Witherspoon does justice to the juicy role by giving the part more buoyancy than naughtiness."<ref>{{cite news|date=August 27, 2004 |author=Honeycutt, Kirk |title=Vanity Fair |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000619958 |access-date=December 2, 2007 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'' called her work "an excellent performance that's soft around the edges", and the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' concluded that Becky is "a role Reese Witherspoon was born to play".<ref>{{cite web|first=Lawrence |last=Toppman|url=http://ae.charlotte.com/entertainment/ui/charlotte/movie.html?id=164734&reviewId=15989&startDate=NEXT7|title=A 'Vanity Fair' with flair |work=[[The Charlotte Observer]]| date=September 1, 2004 |access-date=December 2, 2007}}{{Dead link|date=March 2017 |bot=Musdan77 |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Carina|last=Chocano |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/chocano/cl-et-chocano1sep01,2,3554055.story |title='Vanity Fair'Review |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 1, 2004 |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310235538/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/chocano/cl-et-chocano1sep01%2C2%2C3554055.story |archive-date=March 10, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, ''[[LA Weekly]]'' wrote "[Witherspoon] ends up conveying so little of what's at once appalling and perversely attractive about the would-be mistress of Vanity Fair" and stated that it may have to do with Witherspoon's vanity, "with an Oscar-less young star's need to be loved more than anyone could conceivably love the 'real' Becky Sharp."<ref>{{cite news|first=Ron|last=Stringer|url=http://www.laweekly.com/2004-09-02/film-tv/becky-we-hardly-knew-ye/ |title=Becky, We Hardly Knew Ye |newspaper=[[LA Weekly]]|date=September 2, 2004| access-date=February 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124010456/http://www.laweekly.com/2004-09-02/film-tv/becky-we-hardly-knew-ye/ |archive-date=January 24, 2013 }}</ref> Some critics thought she was miscast.<ref>{{cite news|first=Emanuel |last=Levy|url=http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/vanity-fair-9/ | title=Vanity Fair |work=Cinema 24/7 |date=September 7, 2004|access-date=February 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407143424/http://emanuellevy.com/review/vanity-fair-9/ |archive-date=April 7, 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Reese Witherspoon 2005.jpg|thumb|upright|Witherspoon attending the premiere of ''[[Walk the Line]]'' at the [[2005 Toronto International Film Festival]]]]

In late 2004, Witherspoon starred alongside [[Mark Ruffalo]] in the romantic comedy ''[[Just like Heaven (2005 film)|Just Like Heaven]]''. Her character, Elizabeth Masterson, is an ambitious young doctor who is involved in a car accident on her way to a [[blind date]] and is left in a [[coma]]; her spirit returns to her old apartment where she later finds true love.<ref>{{cite news|first=Katie|last=Moten|url=http://www.rte.ie/arts/2005/1229/justlikeheaven.html |title=Just Like Heaven (PG) |website=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]]|date=December 29, 2005 |access-date=November 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023101757/http://www.rte.ie/arts/2005/1229/justlikeheaven.html |archive-date=October 23, 2007}}</ref> Next, she was cast as [[June Carter Cash]], the second wife of singer-songwriter [[Johnny Cash]] ([[Joaquin Phoenix]]), in [[James Mangold]]'s ''[[Walk the Line]]'' (2005). She never had the chance to meet Carter Cash, as Witherspoon was filming ''Vanity Fair'' at the time the singer died.<ref name="That's Reese" /> Witherspoon performed her own vocals in the film, and her songs had to be performed in front of a live audience; she was so worried about needing to perform that she asked her lawyer to terminate the film contract.<ref name="faces" /> "That was the most challenging part of the role," she later recalled. "I'd never sung professionally."<ref>{{cite news|title=Reese Witherspoon, live on Breakfast |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4666180.stm |access-date=November 7, 2007 |date=February 1, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106220629/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4666180.stm |archive-date=January 6, 2007 }}</ref> Subsequently, she had to spend six months learning how to sing for the role, including from the help of vocal coach [[Roger Love]].<ref name="faces">{{cite news|title=Faces of the week |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6113620.stm |access-date=November 5, 2007 |date=November 3, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213153356/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6113620.stm |archive-date=February 13, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Stars Learn to Sing for Roles ... or Do They? |date=February 8, 2006 |author=Donaldson-Evans, Catherine |work=Fox News Channel |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/stars-learn-to-sing-for-roles-or-do-they |access-date=November 5, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203032648/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C184170%2C00.html |archive-date=December 3, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-begin-again-vocal-coach-20140625-story.html|title=Vocal coach Roger Love helps put the sing in Hollywood performances|date=June 25, 2014|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230150820/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-begin-again-vocal-coach-20140625-story.html|archive-date=December 30, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Witherspoon's portrayal of Carter Cash was acclaimed by critics, with Roger Ebert stating that her performance added "boundless energy" to the film.<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051117/REVIEWS/51107006/1023 |title=Walk the Line |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=September 27, 2002 |access-date=December 1, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212120132/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051117%2FREVIEWS%2F51107006%2F1023 |archive-date=December 12, 2007 }}</ref> She won Best Actress at the [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Academy Awards]], [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama|Golden Globes]], [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|British Academy Film Awards]], and a [[Screen Actors Guild]] award for her performance.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=2006 Film Actress in a Leading Role {{!}} BAFTA Awards|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/2006/film/actress-in-a-leading-role|website=awards.bafta.org|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428200124/http://awards.bafta.org/award/2006/film/actress-in-a-leading-role|archive-date=April 28, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="academy-award-bbc" /><ref name=":1" />

Witherspoon and Phoenix received a nomination for "collaborative video of the year" from the [[CMT Music Awards]].<ref name="academy-award-bbc">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4824306.stm |title=Movie stars up for country award |publisher=BBC |access-date=July 17, 2008 |date=March 20, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521194812/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4824306.stm |archive-date=May 21, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cmt.com/microsites/cmt-music-awards/2006/nominees.jhtml |title=2006 Nominees |publisher=[[Country Music Television]] |access-date=July 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719195902/http://www.cmt.com/microsites/cmt-music-awards/2006/nominees.jhtml |archive-date=July 19, 2008 }}</ref> Witherspoon has expressed her passion for the film: "I really like in this film that it is realistic and portrays sort of a real marriage, a real relationship where there are forbidden thoughts and fallibility. And it is about compassion in the long haul, not just the short easy solutions to problems."<ref name="about.interview">{{cite web |first=Rebecca |last=Murray |url=http://movies.about.com/od/walktheline/a/walklinrw111405_2.htm |title=Reese Witherspoon Interview |publisher=[[About.com]] |date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=February 23, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820081417/http://movies.about.com/od/walktheline/a/walklinrw111405_2.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2007 }}</ref> She also stated that she believed Carter Cash was a woman ahead of her time: "I think the really remarkable thing about her character is that she did all of these things that we sort of see as normal things in the 1950s when it wasn't really acceptable for a woman to be married and divorced twice and have two different children by two different husbands and travel around in a car full of very famous musicians all by herself. She didn't try to comply to social convention, so I think that makes her a very modern woman."<ref name="about.interview" /> After the success of ''Walk the Line'', Witherspoon starred in the fantasy ''[[Penelope (2006 film)|Penelope]]'', as Annie, the best friend of Penelope ([[Christina Ricci]]), a girl who has a curse in her family. The film was produced by her company [[Type A Films]], and filming began in March 2006.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Exclusive: Penelope Set Pics |date=March 15, 2006 |magazine=Empire |url=https://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=18285 |access-date=December 31, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231234128/http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=18285 |archive-date=December 31, 2014 }}</ref> The film premiered at the [[2006 Toronto International Film Festival]],<ref name="faces" /><ref>{{cite news|first=Moira|last=Macdonald |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/television/2003244619_toronto06.html|title=From Toronto: Let the film festival begin! |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=September 6, 2006 |access-date=December 12, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622034054/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/television/2003244619_toronto06.html |archive-date=June 22, 2011 }}</ref> but went unreleased until February 2008.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jennifer M.|last=Wood|url=https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/mark-palansky-penelope-christina-ricci-20080229/|title=Deconstructing Penelope|work=[[MovieMaker]]|date=February 29, 2008|access-date=December 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224113310/https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/moviemaking/directing/articles-directing/mark-palansky-penelope-christina-ricci-20080229/|archive-date=February 24, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Gregg|last=Goldstein|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/penelope-slides-summit-149560|title=Penelope' slides to Summit| work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=September 6, 2007 |access-date=February 1, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110052325/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/penelope-slides-summit-149560 |archive-date=November 10, 2012}}</ref>