TAKING ACTION
Papandrea is genre agnostic. “We should just be putting interesting women at the centre of all genres,” she says. “I’d make any type of film if it were complex and character-driven. Those are the barriers we need to keep breaking down – I want to see more female action movies. It’s in the works, but of course we should have a female action hero, not just Wonder Woman.”
Papandrea is a big fan of Turkish-French film-maker Deniz Gamze Ergüven, who directed the critically acclaimed film Mustang. “I’d love to work with her, but there are so many, though: she is just one. Actresses I’d like to work with… well, who doesn’t want to work with Meryl Streep? Kerry Washington, too. There are people I just love, like Marion Cotillard.”
Next up is Big Little Lies, which will screen on HBO next year. “It’s full of great women and will be a pretty great seven hours [episodes],” says Papandrea, who is co-producing the series with Nicole Kidman, who also plays the lead role. “Basically, it features five women and is set in a seaside community school around first grade. There’s a death at the beginning and you think it’s about a mystery, but it’s about pulling back the layers and revealing these women, their ‘perfect’ lives and who they really are. I hope it’ll spark a conversation, because there are so many good women at the centre of it, and it’s just a really good drama.”
All four women agree that finding a new level of confidence is important, and so Papandrea is part of the Australians in Film MentorLA program, which means she gets to work with a young female producer. “I feel I was spoilt for choice – there are all these great producers,” she says. “My goal is more female directors, more women behind the camera in general and to keep expanding what we’re doing in every genre.”
Of working with Witherspoon, Papandrea says: “I’m not intimidated by actors, I’m more intimidated by the best writers – they’re like rock stars to me. I’m like: ‘How did you do that and how can we film it?!’” As a production duo? “We’re definitely fierce. Reese is good, she’s got balls, she’s confident.”