Reese Witherspoon acquires film rights to Dolly Parton novel

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This combination of photos shows Dolly Parton performing at Austin City Limits Live during the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas on March 18, 2022, left, and Reese Witherspoon at the premiere of "Sing 2" in Los Angeles on Dec. 12, 2021. Parton is teaming with Witherspoons Hello Sunshine media company for an adaptation of the best-selling novel she co-wrote with James Patterson, Run, Rose Run. Published in early March, the Nashville-based book centers on a bond between an aspiring country singer and a retired country superstar loosely inspired by Parton's own life. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK – With some support from her friend Reese Witherspoon, Dolly Parton is looking to be a movie star again.

Parton is teaming with Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine media company for an adaptation of the best-selling novel she co-wrote with James Patterson, “Run, Rose Run.” Published in early March, the Nashville-based book centers on a bond between an aspiring country singer and a retired country superstar, a character Parton has said during media interviews that she was anxious to play on film.

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"James and I love Reese and look forward to working with her and her wonderful team,” Parton said in a statement Monday.

Witherspoon, who grew up in Nashville and won an Oscar for playing country great June Carter Cash in “Walk the Line,” said in a statement that Parton had long been one of her idols.

“Dolly Parton is not only an icon to me, but a true inspiration to women and girls everywhere,” Witherspoon said. "My admiration for her grew to even greater heights when reading ‘Run, Rose, Run,’ a gripping and heartbreaking book I couldn’t put down. I couldn’t feel more honored to be working alongside her and James to bring this remarkable story to the screen.”

Parton has mostly acted in television in recent years, including a guest appearance on “Grace & Frankie," but in the 1980s and 1990s starred in such feature films as ”9 to 5," “Steel Magnolias” and “Straight Talk.”