10BATTLE OF THE SEXES:
BEHIND THE DESIGN
Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs took to the tennis court in 1973 for an intense duel of sport, spectacle and gender equality, and now Emma Stone and Steve Carell are bringing that grudge match to the big screen. But even though it’s been 44 years, the on-court scenes in Battle of the Sexes look like they’re being broadcast live from the Houstin Astrodome. Because the event was so heavily publicised—an estimated 90 million watched it on television—directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris ( Little Miss Sunshine) took advantage of all the photos and video footage to make their version as accurate as possible. “It was a luxury to have the actual event be so well documented,” Dayton says. “We began by cutting down a version of the real thing into what we imagined might be at the end of our movie.” The since demolished Los Angeles Memorial sports arena stood in for the Astrodome, and the filmmakers set out to re-create everything from specific points scored in the match to costumes, right down to the ’70s-era underwear.
What’s the inspiration behind The Trip of a Lifetime?
This year marked a halfway point in my life—i have now lived 26 years in Australia, 26 years overseas, mostly in Ireland, my husband’s home country. During the past two years, I found myself thinking deeply about what it means to have two home places, two families, on opposite sides of the world ... The story of Lola Quinlan’s return to her own homeland of Ireland for the first time—after 65 years in Australia—grew out of those thoughts.
Cast your mind back to a trip of a lifetime you took.
A train trip I took from Adelaide to Melbourne as an 18-year-old. It was my first trip on my own rather than with my family. I can still recall how excited and terrified I was, but also how wonderful it felt to be in a brand new place. I’ve had the travel bug since.
What do you most miss about Australia?
My family—my Mum, my six brothers and sisters, and all my nieces and nephews. And my friends. My brothers and sisters and I have a family Whatsapp group, which amuses me very much. Especially with the time difference—often I wake up in Ireland and they have all been talking online all day in Australia. Sometimes it’s like reading a very entertaining sitcom script.
Are you already brewing a new story?
Yes, I’m in the early/daydreaming stages of my 13th novel. The characters are all forming, I’m working out the settings, and the dilemmas and tensions are starting to appear. I can’t wait to get back to my attic office again and get started on it full-time.
What do you most love doing away from writing?
Reading. Travelling. Eating. If I can combine all three, even better!
What’s next for you?
As well as my 13th novel, I’m also co-writing a TV drama series with my ( journalist) husband. It’s a murder-mystery set in the food-and-wine world (and I have to confess it also pops up in fictional form in The Trip of a Lifetime.) It’s been a brilliant experience to co-write with my husband. He is not only bringing a journalist’s eye and the male perspective to our twistingturning plot, it turns out he has a cunning criminal mind.
— Karina Machado