Emmy-nominated actress Lily James has teamed with theater and film producer Gala Gordon to formally launch their own banner, Parodos Productions.
The British, female-led production company will, according to Gordon, have a clear aim to “champion stories of female resilience,” with plans to work across film, TV and theater.
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For James, Parodos lands at a moment in her career when she says she was “longing for more agency and really wanting to take charge of the stories I want to tell.”
The first feature out of the block for Parodos is the upcoming big screen “Cliffhanger” reboot, fronted by James and due for release next year. Parodos produces in in association with the other production companies, with James and Gordon both executive producing. In the company’s upcoming development slate are film and TV projects with the likes of Working Title Films, Made Up Stories, Fifth Season, Altitude Films and author Lisa Taddeo.
Parodos’ official launch comes just ahead of the Toronto world premiere of writer/director Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s Hulu feature “Swiped,” telling the story of Whitney Wolfe Herd, the U.S. entrepreneur and senior Tinder exec who would go on to launch the female-focused dating app Bumble. Herd is being played by James, who is credited as producer, while Gordon exec produces.
But James and Gordon’s relationship goes further back, years before James had broken out on TV in “Downton Abbey” or would make a name for herself on films such as “Baby Driver,” “Darkest Hour” and “Yesterday” or Gala had becoming a rising name on stage, first as an actress and later producer.
“We were actually at drama school together and then both went off on our separate paths,” says James. “And then two things happened in tandem. Gala had started producing and was doing amazing work in London and then brought a couple of projects to me, one of which we’ve now got in development with Working Title. And I was just struck by how galvanizing and inspiring it was to work alongside her to develop these ideas as two young women, bringing all the experience that we’ve garnered — there was this amazing synergy, a shared taste alignment, a shared ambition, a shared feeling of what we want to change and do and say.”
And so, the pieces of Parodos started coming together in 2023 in New York’s Lower East Side while James was shooting David McKenzie’s recently released thriller “Relay” alongside Riz Ahmed.
“Lily would go to the set and I’d be reading material in the day, and in the evening we’d come together and really start executing things,” says Gordon. “What felt so profound and special about this partnership, for me, was because of the years accrued and the actual foundation of having trained at the same place that we so adore, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. We have such a such a brilliant blueprint and history together and thematically feel so aligned.”
Parodos’ focus on “female resilience,” according to its founders, was developed while searching for IP and stories that they wanted to option — be it life rights, podcasts, books or plays.
“Actually, I think the word ‘resilience’ is is so important to us,” says Gordon, pointing to Herd’s story as a prime example. “In life, personal and professional, we collectively experience a lot of adversity and challenges, but it’s what you do with it that matters and it’s about how you make a difference.”
Initially, the plan for Parodos is for James to star in its projects, using her star power to to find financing and get them off the ground, but this may change as time goes on.
“The ideas we’re coming up with are also roles I want to play,” she notes. “But I am really excited by the idea that when it doesn’t have to be me in the films, I can have a cup of tea behind the monitor.”
As for the name, Parodos offers a dual meaning that taps into its history — a word used in ancient Greek to mean both the side entrance to a theater and the moment when a chorus comes together to sing their first song in a Greek tragedy.
“For us, it just felt so apt, because it paid homage to our theater roots, and how we can pivot from stage to screen and use those relationships we’ve built over the years and translate them over to America,” says Gordon, who notes that Michaela Cole and Phoebe Waller Bridge are among the “unapologetic voices” to have successfully made such a transition.
“But then also there’s this camaraderie of a chorus coming together and very much saying: we’re here to learn,” she adds. “We’re so excited about the the people that we’re in business with, of which there’s such a variety, and to really grow with established producers and studios in the industry. And to try and champion stories of female resilience that are executed in a bold, brave way.”
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