Welcome to the Dollhouse: Rose Byrne Launches Woman-Run Film Company
Rose Byrne is known for her quirky, comedic performance in Bridesmaids, but the Australian actor is about to take on a rew role behind the scenes as cofounder of a production company aimed at financing woman-fronted films.
The Dollhouse is the work of Byrne and Australian filmmakers Gracie Otto, Shannon Murphy, Krew Boylan, and Jessica Carrera, who call themselves “five female filmmakers committed to exploring the creative boundaries of film, TV, and theater,” according to the company website.
The primary goal of The Dollhouse is to develop projects—such as its first film, about a woman obsessed with Dolly Parton—with a strong female presence, Otto told ScreenDaily. “This formalizes what we are already doing. Sitting around the dinner table, we have always been sounding boards for each other,” she said.
The Aussie collective is one of several new initiatives launched by actors with the aim of creating more compelling roles for women. Lena Dunham recently cofounded A Casual Romance with Girls producer Ericka Naegle and co-showrunner Jenni Konner to develop projects that “push the ball forward on gender and sexuality in interesting ways,” as she told Variety.
Fed up with a lack of scripts for female actors over the age of 30, Reese Witherspoon founded her own production company, Pacific Standard, with Australian producer Bruna Papandrea in 2012. Together they produced Gone Girl, Wild, and the forthcoming female-driven buddy-cop comedy Hot Pursuit.
Driven by a similar goal—providing more filmmaking opportunities to women of a certain age—Meryl Streep recently funded an inaugural screenwriting mentorship program for women over the age of 40.
It makes sense that Hollywood’s top talent are forming their own companies to fund the movies they want to see on screen: In 2014, women accounted for just 17 percent of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films.
Related stories on TakePart:
• This Is 40: Meryl Streep Just Created a Writers’ Program for Women
• ‘Cinderella’ Isn’t Perfect, but Her Success Shows Female-Driven Movies Can Succeed
• More Women Worked Behind the Scenes on Movies in 1998 Than Do Today
Original article from TakePart
