Dolly Parton Talks ‘Dumplin”, Sings ‘Girl in the Movies’ on ‘Ellen’
While visiting the Ellen DeGeneres Show Thursday, Dolly Parton talked Christmas decorating, briefly mentioned the 9 to 5 remake with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and teased a new streaming series called Heartstrings, based on several of her legendary songs. The 72-year-old entertainer, who gave viewers a 360-degree view of her figure when DeGeneres mentioned her age, has been making the media rounds this week in advance of the Netflix film Dumplin’, which will be available Friday, December 7th.
Parton explained how her involvement in the film project grew in stages — from being mentioned in the Julie Murphy-penned book upon which Dumplin’ is based, to then being asked by the film’s producer Jennifer Aniston to use several of her classic songs in the film, and finally writing the theme song with Linda Perry, who produced the Dumplin’ soundtrack.
“I was sayin’ yes to everything,” Parton noted. “But when I met Linda, we just really clicked musically.” Later in the episode, which also featured Aniston, Parton performed the soundtrack’s Golden Globe-nominated “Girl in the Movies,” accompanied by Perry on acoustic guitar.
Parton also teased Heartstrings, an upcoming Netflix series which, like the highly rated NBC film Coat of Many Colors, is based on the lyrics of some of her best-loved songs. The songwriting legend and actress noted that that she will occasionally appear in episodes of the new series.
The Dumplin’ soundtrack is available now. The film begins streaming on Netflix Friday and will also be in select theaters.