“Home Again” finds Reese Witherspoon starting over. The Oscar winner plays Alice, a recently separated woman who returns to her hometown of LA with her two daughters. In the midst of a wild night out celebrating her 40th birthday Alice invites three young aspiring filmmakers to crash with her, and they end up staying in her guest house and having an important influence on her and her daughters.

We talked to the film’s writer-director Hallie Meyers-Shyer about growing up with a female filmmaker as a mom, whether or not “Home Again” is a romantic comedy, and why she thinks “change is coming” to Hollywood.

“Home Again” is available on DVD and Blu-ray today.

This interview has been edited. It was transcribed by Lyra Hale.

W&H: You come from a film family. Usually people get into the family business or they run screaming from the family business. Did you always know that this would be something that you would do?

HMS: Yes, I did. I never ran from it. I was always extremely interested in the filmmaking process and film history. I think since I took such an interest in it at a young age my parents really nurtured that interest and educated me a lot in film history.

We watched a lot of screwball comedies from the ’30s and watched Alfred Hitchcock [films], so I really got a good background in it. And when I was ready to do it myself it felt right.

W&H: Your parents, and specifically your mom, is known for the romantic comedy genre. Is that something you felt really comfortable easing into? And is that a place you think you’re going to do more films or do you want to explore other genres?

HMS: I think you write what you have an interest in, what you think you’d be best at. It was less that I was trying to follow in their footsteps and just more I like comedy in general, and I don’t think this is a straight down the line romantic comedy. It’s not really a love story or about finding love. It’s more of a starting over story.

For me it just starts with a character and this was the character that I had. And I just wanted to talk about divorce, relationships, family, and new relationships. So this is the story that I came up with.

W&H: It’s so interesting because automatically my brain went to the word “romantic comedy” when I knew it wasn’t a romantic comedy. Women get pigeon-holed in these genres.

HMS: Yeah, definitely. Romantic comedies are my favorite genre. I think it’s such a wonderful genre when it’s done right, when it’s done well, and when you get great actors. The genre has such an amazing capacity for relatability and so for me I love hearing that but I definitely don’t feel like I made a rom-com.

W&H: Right. I don’t love that term anyway. I feel it’s really gendered. So, I really enjoyed the film and I think this role fits Reese Witherspoon like a glove. When you were writing it, did you think about her? Or was that just luck?

HMS: I would sort of secretly think about her and dream about her because she is perfect for this part in every way. Not only did she excel at the genre, and she’s such a gifted comedian. Also for this particular character, being a young mom and divorced, I really feel that Reese could relate to this character. She really was the perfect person for it.

But you know, it’s my first film. I didn’t imagine I could get Reese Witherspoon, but we sent it to her. It was a long shot, but she came on board with us, which was really a game-changer for me.

W&H: Talk a little bit about your parents’ influence. I noticed that your father was director of the second unit and your mom produced the movie. What did it mean for you to see a woman directing as you were growing up? I know a lot people didn’t have that opportunity. You could see that this was something you could do from a young age.

HMS: Definitely. I think that was such an amazing experience because when I decided I wanted to direct, it didn’t seem to me that that was a far-fetched idea at all. I grew up with a woman directing and it’s a very natural job for a woman. It seems like a woman’s job in my house. For me that was a no-brainer. My dad is a really great director and I think it was an awesome asset. He helped me a lot with my story boards.

Any director will tell you that if you can, ask for help. If somebody says, “Hey. What if you put the camera over here? What about this?” [it’s helpful to hear that perspective.] Another idea is so valuable, especially when you’re directing your first movie. So to have those second opinions come from people that I really trust was an amazing asset for me.

Second unit is something that’s really not talked about that much but it’s a really important thing to get right. You can’t go back and get that again and you can’t be there for it because you’re directing your movie. So my dad came and he worked a day on the movie, but just to know that that was being taken care of and being well executed by someone that I trust so much was terrific.

W&H: It took your mom a while to become a director in the world that she lived in at that time. Do you feel like women have more opportunities to direct than what you saw with your mom?

HMS: I don’t think that was because of the time, honestly. I think that was because she was raising children and she was a producer and a writer, and I think she didn’t want to. Directing is a little bit more demanding of your time and I think she didn’t want to do that until my sister and I were a bit older. So that’s why she made that choice.

I don’t think people would’ve asked this question ten years ago. It is the question of the times now, so I think that the fact that the conversation around having more female directors, being female directors, I think it’s really wonderful. I don’t think the numbers are following the conversation quite as much as they should be, but I think we’re on our way.

W&H: What is it like living in Hollywood now with all the conversation going on about sexual assault and sexual harassment and the real potential for systemic change? What’s going on with you and your friends and your community? I think people are really interested in this.

HMS: I think it’s fascinating to watch that the silence breakers are Time’s Person of the Year. I think it’s wonderful. I mean, I really think a change is coming and I think people speaking up about it and the conversation is so progressive. It’s the first time anything like this has ever really happened and I really hope that it does ignite this change.

W&H: Talk a little bit about what you see your next kind of film being? Do you want to continue writing? Directing? Or do you want to be a director for hire? I mean, this is something a lot of women have to make decisions about, which is, “I’m writing, so I can direct.” And then doing the directing for hire which sometimes leads to larger type budget films.

HMS: I don’t consider myself someone that’s writing so that I can give myself a platform to direct because for me I’m a writer, first and foremost. I respect [writing a script to create a directing opportunity for yourself], but I’m also frustrated by that concept because writing is not something you just do to do. It’s an enormously difficult job that takes time, effort, structure, and characters.

For me, my heart and soul is in writing. So I would never just write something so that I could try and get something made. I really care about writing and take my time with that. I’m really excited to get back to writing since I just directed and did that whole [process] that you do after you direct and it goes in post-production and the press.

I’m excited to get back to just me and my computer.

My next thing is definitely going to be a comedy and it’s hard to say, but I relate less to, “I’m going to this genre or this thing” and more of just, when I come up with a character and sort of build a story and world around them.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors based on your experience? And writer-directors in particular?

HMS: Well, I definitely think that only you can tell your story so if you are a writer-director, it’s such a wonderful asset to have, [because you don’t need to be] looking for somebody else’s script. You have it in yourself. So definitely keep writing and make sure you’re writing for you and not for other people and not based on what you think somebody’s gonna buy, but more the story that you really want to tell.

For women directors I think it is a very good time in a lot of ways because there’s so many platforms and a lot of companies now are sort of female-centric and female focused. The financer that financed this movie, her whole company is about making female stories.

W&H: Erika Olde.

HMS: This didn’t exist five or ten years ago — people that are concentrating on telling women stories. So I think that’s really wonderful.

W&H: I agree with you. I think that’s something that we just need to get more money into those people’s hands.

HMS: Yeah.

W&H: That’s the key.