Made Up Stories (company)

In 2012, Bruna Papandrea co-founded Pacific Standard with actress Reese Witherspoon, a production company focusing on creating films made by and about women.[2] Their first two projects at Pacific Standard were Gone Girl and Wild, both adapted from books whose rights were acquired before publication. Both films were released in 2014, receiving commercial success and extensive accolades. The company had finished production on Hot Pursuit (2015), by the time the first two pictures were released.

In 2016, Papandrea and Witherspoon announced that they were ending their partnership, though they would continue to work on the projects that were in the middle of production, including the HBO series Big Little Lies which was received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won eight, including Outstanding Limited Series.

Papandrea launched Made Up Stories in January 2017 to carry on her mission in championing female filmmakers, adapting female-written novels and creating stories featuring multi-faceted female characters.[3] The company is also committed to inclusivity in less-acknowledged departments behind-the-scenes such as transportation teams and gaffers.[4][5] Papandrea has expressed intent to start a foundation, Made Up Solutions, to provide opportunities for women from low socio-economic and diverse backgrounds.[6][7]

In January 2021, the company made history: it became the first ever Australian production company to have the top two films at the Australian box office (with Penguin Bloom andThe Dry).[8]

On the film side, Made Up Stories adapted The Dry based on the debut book of Australian novelist Jane Harper. The book won numerous international awards and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.[9] The film, directed by Robert Connolly and starring Eric Bana,[10] was released in Australia on January 1[11] to a strong box office, making it one of the highest grossing Australian film opening weekends ever.[12] The company also produced the film Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin, based on the true story of the Bloom family from the book of the same name by Bradley Trevor Greive. The film stars Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, and Jacki Weaver. It premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in Australia cinemas on January 21, topping the box office for its opening weekend,[13] and in other key countries, including the United States by Netflix on January 27.[14]

On the television side, Made Up Stories produced the recent HBO miniseries The Undoing which debuted on October 25, 2020. The series stars Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Donald Sutherland and Edgar Ramirez, is written and produced by David E. Kelley, and directed by Susanne Bier. It is based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The company also produced the upcoming Prime Video thriller drama series Tell Me Your Secrets, releasing on February 19, created by Harriet Warner, and starring Lily Rabe, Amy Brenneman, Hamish Linklater, and Enrique Murciano.[15]

Made Up Stories recently completed principal filming on Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the book by Liane Moriarity, for Hulu. The series, written by David E. Kelley, stars Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy, along with numerous other high-profile actors.[16] The company is also in production on two Netflix series. The first project, Pieces of Her, based on the book by Karin Slaughter, features an all-female creative team including director Minkie Spiro and executive producers Lesli Linka Glatter, Charlotte Stoudt and Bruna Papandrea.[17] The show stars Toni Collette and Bella Heathcote.[18] The second project is the six-episode anthology series, Anatomy of a Scandal, based on the book by Sarah Vaughan, created and written by David E. Kelley and Melissa James Gibson, and directed by SJ Clarkson.[19] The show is being produced in partnership with 3Dot Productions' Liza Chasin, and stars Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery, Rupert Friend,[20] and Naomi Scott.[21] The company also is producing Long Slow Exhale for Spectrum Originals and BET, along with showrunner Pam Veasey, director Anton Cropper, and co-executive producer John Dove. The basketball drama series stars Rose Rollins.[22]

• Film adaptation of the thriller novel As Long As We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney[27]
• Television adaption of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart based on the debut novel from Australian writer Holly Ringland[28]
• Adaptation of the historical epic The Lost Queen by Signe Pike for television[29]
• The short story collection Roar by Cecelia Ahern[30]
• TV series based on the Jessica Knoll novel The Favorite Sister[31]
• A limited TV series on Tina Brown based on her book The Vanity Fair Diaries[32]
• Film adaptations of the YA fantasy books Stepsister[33] and Poisoned[34] by Jennifer Donnelly with Lynette Howell Taylor's 51 Entertainment
• The multi-generational novel The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty[35]
• TV adaption of Christina Baker Kline's new book The Exiles[36]
• TV show based on Greer Macallister's historical thriller Woman 99 with Nina Dobrev[37]
• TV adaption of Marie Lu's Warcross with John Cameron[38]
• Feature film adaption of Christopher Paolini's first adult novel, the sci-fi space opera To Sleep in a Sea of Stars with Snoot Entertainment[39]
• TV adaption of Elizabeth Acevedo's dual-narrative YA novel, Clap When You Land[40]