If you won an Oscar for portraying a legendary singer, as Reese Witherspoon did with June Carter in Walk The Line, wouldn’t you jump at the chance to play another famous warbler? Witherspoon has – she’s working on getting a film about Peggy Lee up and dancing through development with Nora Ephron attached to write and direct.
Witherspoon, in fact, was the one who managed to negotiate the rights to Lee’s life from her estate and got it across the desk of Legally Blonde producer Marc Platt. The pair then managed to secure Ephron’s services.
Peggy Lee might not be quite as well known as Johnny Cash’s other half outside of musical circles, but she had quite the iconic career, including possibly her most famous track, Fever. She got her start working with Benny Goodman’s band before moving on to recording albums and film soundtracks. She also stepped in front of the camera for movies including 1953’s The Jazz Singer and 1955’s Pete Kelly’s Blues.
She also provided songs and her vocal talents to Disney's** Lady & The Tramp**, though controversially she later had to sue to win video sales royalties a few years down the line.
There’s no word on when this one will actually arrive in cinemas, though with Witherspoon driving it along and Ephron attached, it should have an easier ride than some.