According to Rachel Griffiths, whether it’s cinema or TV, “older women are having a moment.”
“We all know that’s true: Demi Moore is a brand. There are so many great actresses of that generation. Take Helen Mirren in ‘MobLand’ right now, for fuck’s sake. I loved Pamela [Anderson] in ‘The Last Showgirl’ and Jamie Lee Curtis dancing on that fucking table was the greatest moment I saw last year. I was in awe of that girl!”
Directed by Gia Coppola, “The Last Showgirl” focused on veteran dancers in Vegas.
Griffiths isn’t jealous of her colleagues’ roles, however.
“If it’s good, that means the actor is delivering. For me to go ‘I wish I had it,’ I just never have that thought. She’s already inhabiting it. It’s very rare that you’re thinking: ‘I could have done it better.’ Usually, you’re just bedazzled by the choices you wouldn’t have made.”
Recently seen in Sydney Sweeney-Glen Powell rom-com “Anyone But You,” the Australian actor has become known for hit shows “Six Feet Under” and “Brothers & Sisters.”
Joking about being in a “pretty, dumb” jury at Monte-Carlo Television Festival as opposed to “sad, serious” doc jury – “We’re here because we’re unemployed. Come on, you can say it,” she said to co-juror John Reardon – Griffiths underlined: women watch television.
“I watch television when I’m doing the laundry, when I’m folding socks, when I’m cooking. You know, I didn’t go to the cinema for years. I was too tired. Women are never going to stop demanding to see themselves represented authentically,” she added.
“We Australians, we fought in World War I with a poster that said: ‘Free trip to Europe.’ I came to a jury in Monaco instead – I had it much better than my grandfather.”
During a chat with journalists, Griffiths – whose show “Madam” was awarded at the fest only last year – admitted she hoped to see more diverse shows.
“I would say the selection was different to the broader palette of the stuff I’m digesting. There wasn’t a huge amount of diversity in terms of ethnic communities. There wasn’t a huge diversity of representation. That’s probably just timing, but I wouldn’t necessarily take it as representative of a litmus test of [what’s happening] at this moment.”
Griffiths has been working with Blackfella Films, founded by Rachel Perkins and focusing on Indigenous Australian stories. She exec-produced and starred in “Total Control” alongside Deborah Mailman.
“It’s very close to my heart. It makes stories better when their content is reflective of the places we live. I hope this rollback of diversity and inclusion doesn’t impact our industry, because it makes characters more compelling, and it makes television more interesting. I hope it wasn’t just one moment in history when we got ‘Beef’ and these great casts coming from non-Caucasian backgrounds.”
In her own work, Griffiths refuses to “feed the beast.” “If the algorithm wants more ‘angry’ shows, I’m not going to start doing it.” But she noticed a new demand for returnable procedurals.
“The inclusion of a show like ‘Good Cop/Bad Cop’ [in the competition] shows people are trying to find returnable procedurals that bring you joy and do it in a fresh way. When I’m out pitching and having discussions around the world, I hear: ‘Do you have an idea for a returnable procedural?’,” she says.
“It’s just so hard to make those limited series. They are hard to sell unless you have a big name, like Toni Collette or Colin Farrell.”
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