34 MAY 2017
I was going to do those scenes. I’ve
never done sex scenes like that before
and I was feeling a lot of anxiety the
closer we came to starting production.
I even called my lawyer and told him
that he had to get me out of the film
because I didn’t feel I could do it. It
was so much more sexually explicit
than I’ve been in any movie!”
But her husband and others she
is close to at her Pacific Standard
production company were able to allay
her anxieties and director Jean-Marc
Vallée said, “She took on everything
that she had to do and never backed
down once.”
Reese believes that the sexual aspects
of the role were essential to defining
the character’s evolving sense of
personal liberation.
“Wildmade a point that there’s
nothing necessarily wrong with having
sex with a lot of different guys. There’s
something liberating about being able
to say that and women shouldn’t feel
ashamed or be made to feel ashamed
about having an active sex life. Women
should learn to own their sexuality as
well as their aspirations in life.”
Her experience onWildgave her an
added sense of mission when it came
to creating similar kinds of projects
that would give more opportunities for
female actors. She currently has more
than 25 film projects and five TV series
in various stages of development and
she is determined to help advance the
cause of women fighting to become a
greater force in Hollywood.
“We should be telling a lot more
stories about women like this and
that’s why I love writers like Lena
Dunham and what she’s done onGirls.
She’s done a lot to change our way
of thinking about women’s attitudes
towards sex and being very open and
realistic about female sexuality...
“I want to create shows like this to
show how important women are in
our world.That’s what I tried to focus
on withBig Little Lies. I feel like it
was such a unique opportunity to
have women at every age, every colour
talking about motherhood. That is the
common denominator. Motherhood
is the great equaliser. Parenthood is a
great equaliser.”AW W
Reese visited the South Island with
co-stars Oprah Winfrey and Mindy
Kaling to filmA Wrinkle in Time.It seems only fitting given Reese
Witherspoon’s determination to
create strong acting roles for women,
that the female director of her latest
film,A Wrinkle in Time,
is making Hollywood
history of her own.
Ava DuVernay (44), a
Golden Globe nominee,
becomes the first black
woman to direct a big
budget live-action
film with her work on
A Wrinkle in Time–a
Disney adventure film,
which will be released
next year.
New Zealand is one of
the locations for the film
and Reese – along with
Ava and co-stars Oprah
Winfrey and Mindy
Kaling – spent two weeks in Wanaka,
the Southern Alps and Hunter Valley
Station near Lake Hawea in February
shooting scenes.
For Reese – who did a horse trek
through the alps, sampled local wine
and visited art galleries when she wasn’t
filming – it was an emotional trip.
She took to social media to shareher love for New Zealand, declaring
it “the most beautiful country in the
world” and saying she was “touched”
by the hospitality of Kiwis. Of all the
countries she has worked
in during her 26 years of
acting, New Zealand is her
favourite, she says. “The
food is wonderful, the
landscapes are gorgeous,
but most importantly the
people have been so kind
and so friendly and opened
up their homes, and
we’ve all been so touched
about what a beautiful
experience it’s been,” she
told a local radio station.
The film’s cast and crew
were treated to a powhiri
when they arrived in New
Zealand and Reese made
the most of the Southern Lakes scenery,
posting many pictures to social media.
“The land is so gorgeous; you can’t
capture it in pictures. I keep telling
people if you go to New Zealand don’t
just bring your iPhone, you need a
major camera because it’s an amazing
experience. That’s why my Instagram is
so full; I can’t stop taking pictures.”Reese at work in “amazing” New Zealand
TEXT BY INTERVIEW HUB. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTY IMAGES.“
We’ve all
been so
touched
about what
a beautiful
experience
it’s been.
”