She Had Us At Hello – A Renée Zellweger Podcast

Starring in 1994’s Shake, Rattle and Rock! as the artsy rock’n’roller Susan Doyle, Renée Zellweger takes us back to the 1950s and shows us what it means to live and breathe music, stand up to crazy conservative moms and townies, and work towards a future that jettisons her out of Small Town, USA.  Also featuring Howie Mandel, Patricia Childress, Max Perlich, Latanyia Baldwin, Nora Dunn, and Stephen Furst. Directed by Allan Arkush and written by Trish Soodik.  Before that, we also discuss this month’s news that Renée will be starring in a new true-crime limited series on NBC called The Thing About Pam (based on the Dateline story and podcast series). 

In this episode, we discuss Renée's first starring role as Jenny in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). We talk about Renée working with fellow Academy Award winner, fellow Texan, and fellow UT alum Matthew McConaughey. Additionally, we discuss why Jenny is such a strong character—both mentally and physically—as she faces a night from hell defending herself from Leatherface and Vilmer. The film was written and directed by Kim Henkel, creator of 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

In our first episode, we discuss all the reasons we decided to make a podcast about the filmography of legendary, two-time Academy Award winner and Grammy nominee Renée Zellweger. We also talk about some smaller roles Renée did early in her career and two cameos she did after she was more established. Because we cover a lot of ground in this episode, we are breaking down each section with timecodes for your listening convenience :) 0:00 - 1:40  Introduction and synopsis of this episode.  1:41 - 2:10  The iconic line, "You had me at hello."  2:11 - 4:18  One year anniversary of Renée's second Academy Award.  4:19 - 24:50  The many reasons we admire Renée Zellweger. 24:51 - 35:40  Our favorite quotes about Renée including quotes from Cameron Crowe, Kennedy Fraser, Tom Edge, Sarah Paulson, and CM Talkington. 35:45 - 50:00  A brief biography of Renée Zellweger. 50:01 - 52:05  How it started, how it's going...   Renée’s roles in: 52:30 - 54:00  A Taste for Killing starring Jason Bateman, Henry Thomas, and Michael Biehn. 54:01 - 58:45  Murder in the Heartland starring Fairuza Balk and Tim Roth. 58:46 - 1:05:45  Dazed and Confused starring Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, Marissa Ribisi, and Adam Goldberg. Written and directed by Richard Linklater. 1:05:50 - 1:23:20  Reality Bites starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garfolo, and Steve Zahn. Written by Helen Childress and Directed by Ben Stiller. 1:23:21 - 1:29:14  8 Seconds starring Luke Perry and Cynthia Geary. Directed by John G. Avildsen. 1:29:15 - 1:38:18  The Low Life starring Rory Cochrane, Kyra Sedgwick, Sean Astin, and Ron Livingston. Directed by George Hickenlooper. 1:38:19 - 1:45:50  Here and Now starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Dear Michael Patrick King and SJP, please consider a Renée cameo/recurring role on “And Just Like That” :)