Witherspoon with two premieres at TIFF

(Updated)

Reese Witherspoon has a pair of films premiering at TIFF — ‘Wild’ and ‘The Good Lie’.

Today the stars of ‘The Good Lie’ were speaking with the media in Toronto.

The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival Sunday. Reese Witherspoon plays an American woman who helps four Sudanese refugees, and is based on a true story. Witherspoon says she learned a lot about the refugee situation in Sudan while working on the film, and was moved by the script.

Reese Witherspoon: “I would have never agreed to do the movie if I hadn’t spoken to Philippe and understood that he wasn’t making a movie about an American who comes in to save the day for a bunch of Sudanese refugees. It was truly their story.”

As Melissa Raftis mentioned earlier, Witherspoon is expected on the red carpet again tonight for her film ‘Wild’.

In ‘Wild’, Witherspoon takes on the role of a self-destructive woman who attempts to leave behind years of drug abuse and reckless sex with a 1,600-kilometer hike along the Pacific Crest Trail.

She talked about the role during another news conference this afternoon — saying it was rewarding, but more difficult than she expected.

Reese Witherspoon: “When I first showed up on set I thought for sure, you’ve seen movies before, they just stuffed newspaper in the back and it won’t be heavy, it’s no big deal. And Jean-Marc was immediately ‘Why does the backpack not look heavy on your back?’ Well, because I’m going to pretend that it has to be heavy. And he said ‘No, no, it has to be heavy.’ And I said ‘you’re kidding right?”

The film’s director, Jean-Marc Vallée, says ‘Wild’ is a tribute to his late mother who stayed strong during her battle with cancer.