You'd think life couldn't be easier for producer Susan Downey (wife of Robert Downey Jr) when she wants to get a film greenlit for the new shingle she shares with her megastar husband – Team Downey.
But as she explains, there are just as many battles when your producing partner is the one everyone wants – against the pressures of family life if nothing else.
How difficult is it to work with your husband?
We've been doing this for a long time. We met on a movie 12 years ago and this is our 7th movie together.
Even though The Judge is the first Team Downey movie and that does put a little pressure on things, our personal and professional lives are so intertwined we honestly we get off on talking creative. It works out well.
During the period of production you're both tapped out by the end of the day as opposed to one doing that and one being refreshed. It can get exhausting.
But we love the process and we love working together. He's got such an incredible creative energy you want to have around and he thinks like a producer. He's very responsible as a filmmaker with all the experiences he's had. It's all we know at this point.
But isn't it tiring because you never leave work?
Sometimes when you do this stuff - especially when you find a project you're passionate about you - can never truly leave it. We've tried. We've said okay no more talk about the scene or this or that and that lasts 20 minutes and then we're saying 'one last thing before we go to sleep'.
But when you don't know any different or any better you accept it.
How hard is it being a female producer in Hollywood?
Recent studies published show it's not getting much better, especially in America relative to other countries. I found it very interesting because my personal experience is that it's only after I leave a room do I realise I was the only girl there.
I'm focused on the job at hand and I've never been shown any disrespect. I'll take that back – there's probably been one or two meetings I've been in where there's been someone I've ended up not working with and they'll remain nameless.
But that has nothing to do with me. For the most part I've always worked at companies prior to team Downey that have had very male oriented fare. So I don't know, I'm used to the boys.
I went to film school at USC. My first year in production they accept 50 kids and there were four women. I got to my junior year and they upped that to 100 kids and there were eight women. So maybe you just get really used to it. The writing programs tended to have more women.
But there's no barrier, nobody saying 'don't come in to this job'.
If you're a woman and you're going to try to have a career and also have a family you do get derailed a little bit. You have to work a little bit harder. Because as awful as it is for you to go away from your family during certain times and as difficult as it when you bring them and try to balance, the role of mum makes it even harder.
There's a reality to it that I understand, but I don't think it comes from a discriminatory place within the industry. I think it's more of a practical reality to how do you balance everything.
Is it a cultural thing where women don't even think 'I can be a producer or a CEO'?
Maybe, and that's a shame because it's not in my headspace, I've never thought like that and it's entirely possible. And that's what I mean, there's no gate keeping the girls out.
Every woman is different but it's certainly natural to me and a lot of the things that help me hopefully be a good mother are a lot of similar things that help me be a good producer.
You have to be very aware of the people you're working with and their personalities and you want everyone to feel comfortable and taken care of and listened to and at the same time you have a job you have to get done. So it's not just sitting there conducting group therapy. You've got to get through things to get results and if you ever try and get a kid down to bed there are result you need.
Do we see the lack of women in higher positions when we go to movies? Some young actresses say that because there are so few women directors and writers the roles aren't that interesting?
I have a hard time ascribing to that. First of all there are a lot of really powerful women in Hollywood, especially in executive roles. You find it less in the creative side as far as specifically directors and female driven roles in features.
In television it's huge. You go and look at writers or people behind the scenes or production designers. I've worked with equal amount of men and women in those different roles.
It's specific to directors and to a certain degree producers. Does that dictate what's out there in the marketplace? I don't know.
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