For her part, Witherspoon is striking while the curling iron's hot. She's jumping right into ''Legally Blonde 2,'' which begins lensing in November for release July 2. That pushes back her plans to star as ambitious British social climber Becky Sharp in an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 classic, ''Vanity Fair,'' for Universal's Focus Features. Director Mira Nair (''Monsoon Wedding'') has delayed production from fall to winter, but says Witherspoon is worth the wait. ''The ability, like Becky, to be the same with the courtiers as she is with the king [is like] the democracy of Reese,'' says Nair. ''She appeals to the kid in the shopping mall as well as to the royalty.''
Not so fast. Didn't Witherspoon just trot out a wobbly English accent in another 19th-century classic? Last summer, Miramax's ''The Importance of Being Earnest,'' costarring Rupert Everett and Judi Dench, grossed a modest $8.4 million.
And while she may be this fall's newly crowned homecoming queen, some warn against premature comparisons to established stars. ''She still has a long way to go before she's crowned Julia Roberts,'' notes Tom Borys, president of Nielsen EDI, a box office tracking service. ''Julia Roberts has been in nine $100 million-grossing films and two more at $90 million.''
But insiders say the actress is on the right track, praising her strategy of balancing big salary-grabbing roles with smaller fare. ''She's a very smart girl and she's made great choices,'' says Hopkins. ''Reese is a movie star who can act, and that's rare.'' As rare as a summer snowball fight in Birmingham. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Armstrong and Karen Valby)
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