FROM PANTOMIMES TO HOLLYWOOD Jodi Matterson

Jodi Matterson

You may not recognise her face but you may be familiar with the work of producer and current parent Jodi Matterson whose credits include movies such as “The Dry” and TV shows like “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Wolf Like Me”. Committed to creating opportunities for women in the industry both here and overseas, Jodi takes SPAN News behind the scenes of a career in film making.

Tell us a little bit about your career journey so far.

After I finished school, I started putting on kids’ pantomimes, events and birthday parties to support myself through studying Journalism. I was staging a major event for the Starlight Foundation with fairies, pirates and tall ships on Sydney Harbour when I met a film producer who offered me a job as her assistant. I immediately jumped at the opportunity, didn’t hesitate to quit my degree and it completely changed my life. Working as a producer’s assistant became my film school and I was absolutely hooked from day one. Learning the industry, I worked for various producers here in Australia and in the UK and then at 25 years old, I was lucky enough to develop and produce my first feature film. For the next 14 years I worked as an independent producer making feature films, television shows and commercials. In 2017, I joined forces with LA-based producers, Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky, to form the production company Made Up Stories.

As a producing partner of Made Up Stories, your company prioritises featuring women’s stories and creating opportunities for women in the industry behind the scenes. Why does this matter to you?

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is that I get to identify potential talent and I can create a space for people. It really is wonderful when I can give to women, who are in all stages of their careers, the right opportunities and support to show what they are capable of.

L-R: Steve Hutensky, Jodi Matterson and Robert Connolly

Even though we are known for creating female driven content, I am a firm believer that women filmmakers should be able to tell any story that they are passionate about and that shouldn’t be confined to being female driven narratives.

What has been the most interesting film you have worked on?

I have been so lucky that I have been able to work on so many varied film and television projects in all different places around the world with incredibly talented people – no two projects and no two days are ever the same. I swing from working on things like my current show, “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart”, starring Sigourney Weaver, that deals with breaking cyclical abuse to real life inspiring stories like “Penguin Bloom” with Naomi Watts to a crazy zombie film called “Little Monsters” with Lupita Nyong’o.

Being based in Australia, what challenges do you encounter working with people and organisations from all over the world?

The time zones! I work VERY long hours because being partially on LA time, our days start around 5.30 – 6am and then we get the UK at the end of the Australian working day.

What are your top three tips to those wishing to pursue a career as a film producer?

1. Be willing to start at the bottom, take every opportunity to learn and never be afraid to ask questions. 2. Find a mentor. I have been very lucky in my career to have a number of amazing people who have been incredibly generous with their time and expertise to help me on my path. 3. This piece of advice is not popular with parents – but I often tell people who want to break into producing not to have a backup career because it really is very difficult, particularly when you are starting out. If you have a safety net to fall back on, chances are you won’t stick it out!