Gwyneth Takes Center Stage in ‘Country Strong’

While Gwyneth Paltrow prepares for her upcoming role as a substitute teacher on the hit show Glee, there’s a lot of buzz about her new film, Country Strong. She stars as a fallen country singer, Kelly Canter, who tries to make a big comeback after being arrested and a stint in rehab, with the help of a young singer-songwriter, played by Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy, Eragon). The cast includes Hollywood’s newest favorite Southerner, Tim McGraw (The Blind Side, Four Christmases) as Canter’s husband, and TV’s best-dressed drama queen, Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) as the fresh-faced opening act of the tour. Directed by Shana Feste (The Greatest), the film, which was originally called Love Don’t Let Me Down, will have a limited release on December 22, just in time for this winter’s awards season. The wide release comes just weeks later on January 7, 2011.

In July, the movie’s same-named anthem, “Country Strong,” debuted on airwaves, proving that Paltrow sounds like a Nashville natural and could possibly be among this year’s top Oscar contenders. The song also includes backing vocals from the legendary likes of country veterans Vince Gill and Patty Griffin. Like Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line and Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, perhaps there’s good karma in playing a troubled country singer on the big screen.

The 1998 Academy-Award winner is no stranger to singing, aside from being married to one of the world’s most popular and talented musicians of today, Chris Martin of Coldplay. She recorded three songs for the karaoke dramedy Duets and is featured on the soundtrack, has sung alongside Jay-Z, and offered background vocals to Sheryl Crow’s 2002 album C’Mon C’Mon.

The actress is most recently known for her role as Pepper Potts in the Iron Man films, but has kept under the Hollywood radar appearing in lesser-known movies like Running With Scissors, The Good Night, and Two Lovers for the last few years now. While enjoying motherhood (to Apple and Moses), she has become an ambassador of uber-healthy organic living and fashionable jet-setting on her website www.GOOP.com.

Paltrow steps back into the spotlight in what seems like a challenging major role, hopefully worth the wait. Having previously tackled such impressive characters in Proof (earning her a Golden Globe nomination), Sylvia, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Emma, Hollywood needs their all-American golden girl back! Check out the trailer for Country Strong now!