Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo will topline a film adaptation of the hit play “Prima Facie,” which she will also executive produce.
Participant and Bunya Productions are producing the film, in association with Erivo’s Edith’s Daughter. The film will be directed by BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker Susanna White. Acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller, who wrote the award-winning stage play, adapted the screenplay. Bunya’s Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey and Jenny Cooney will produce the feature alongside Participant; Miller, Erivo, Solome Williams and Participant’s Jeff Skoll will executive produce.
Jodie Comer is currently starring in the Broadway production of “Prima Facie,” which follows Tessa, an ambitious and confident defense attorney from working class roots. A rising star in the high-powered London legal system, Tessa skillfully defends her clients, including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver...
Participant and Bunya Productions are producing the film, in association with Erivo’s Edith’s Daughter. The film will be directed by BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker Susanna White. Acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller, who wrote the award-winning stage play, adapted the screenplay. Bunya’s Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey and Jenny Cooney will produce the feature alongside Participant; Miller, Erivo, Solome Williams and Participant’s Jeff Skoll will executive produce.
Jodie Comer is currently starring in the Broadway production of “Prima Facie,” which follows Tessa, an ambitious and confident defense attorney from working class roots. A rising star in the high-powered London legal system, Tessa skillfully defends her clients, including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver...
- 5/15/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Cynthia Erivo will star in a film adaptation of the theater sensation “Prime Facie,” Variety can report exclusively.
Participant and Bunya Productions announced Monday that Oscar nominee Erivo will take on the role originated on the West End by actor Jodie Comer. Erivo will also executive produce the project through her banner Edith’s Daughter.
BAFTA winner and Emmy nominee Susanna White will direct. Suzie Miller has adapted her own critically-acclaimed stage play for the screen.
“Prima Facie,” which translates to “at first sight,” tells the propulsive story of ambitious and confident defense attorney Tessa. From working class roots, the rising star in the high-powered London legal system skillfully defends her clients — including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver justice along the boundaries of consent.
“I am thrilled to be joining Suzie, Susanna, Participant, Bunya...
Participant and Bunya Productions announced Monday that Oscar nominee Erivo will take on the role originated on the West End by actor Jodie Comer. Erivo will also executive produce the project through her banner Edith’s Daughter.
BAFTA winner and Emmy nominee Susanna White will direct. Suzie Miller has adapted her own critically-acclaimed stage play for the screen.
“Prima Facie,” which translates to “at first sight,” tells the propulsive story of ambitious and confident defense attorney Tessa. From working class roots, the rising star in the high-powered London legal system skillfully defends her clients — including those accused of sexual assault. But after she is raped by a colleague, she discovers that the law does not deliver justice along the boundaries of consent.
“I am thrilled to be joining Suzie, Susanna, Participant, Bunya...
- 5/15/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The dust is settling from the recent and resuscitated Golden Globe Awards, but for some members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it may take longer to recover.
Host Jerrod Carmichael hit the stage and dove straight into the deep end by addressing the organization’s recent controversy and reforms head-on. “This show, the Golden Globe Awards, did not air last year because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which I won’t say were a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died [in 2020]. So, do with that information what you will.”
Carmichael, who claimed he was only asked to host because he’s Black, then revealed his salary for the gig (500,000, though some sources say it was as high as 750,000) and confirmed that he declined three requests to meet with HFPA president Helen Hoehne ahead of the show. Being name-checked so prominently at...
Host Jerrod Carmichael hit the stage and dove straight into the deep end by addressing the organization’s recent controversy and reforms head-on. “This show, the Golden Globe Awards, did not air last year because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which I won’t say were a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died [in 2020]. So, do with that information what you will.”
Carmichael, who claimed he was only asked to host because he’s Black, then revealed his salary for the gig (500,000, though some sources say it was as high as 750,000) and confirmed that he declined three requests to meet with HFPA president Helen Hoehne ahead of the show. Being name-checked so prominently at...
- 1/18/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Imagine thinking you’re diverse because your 87-person exclusive club has a few people from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Japan and a smattering of other countries. That’s what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s defense for their lack of members of color has been until very recently. You might as well just say you’re not racist because you have a “Black friend.” According to HFPA member Jenny Cooney in an interview with Australia’s Today Show earlier this month, the lack of Black journalists was “not anything we focused on.”
Following an avalanche of scrutiny regarding the complete lack of Black members since at least 2002, HFPA members have continued to put their Golden feet in their mouths. The last known Black member of the HFPA was Lowell Staine, a native of Belize who died in February 1998, and no evidence has emerged to suggest any other Black members belonged to the group before that time.
Following an avalanche of scrutiny regarding the complete lack of Black members since at least 2002, HFPA members have continued to put their Golden feet in their mouths. The last known Black member of the HFPA was Lowell Staine, a native of Belize who died in February 1998, and no evidence has emerged to suggest any other Black members belonged to the group before that time.
- 3/18/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
An Australian member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association said on an Australian morning TV show that the organization hadn’t previously considered the absence of Black journalists “a problem” to be “focused” on.
Jenny Cooney, appearing on Today Australia Monday, was asked about the HFPA’s lack of diversity, as issue that drew anger and attention from Golden Globes presenters Sunday night. Addressing the topic, Cooney said that “the fact that there was not a Black member was not really anything we focused on because we were accepting and welcoming everybody from around the world that was based in L.A. that wrote for foreign publications, that was just our criteria.”
Watch the interview above.
Cooney continued, “The fact that there were no Black members we didn’t really consider a problem. Now of course we realize that we should have been much more proactive about really going out...
Jenny Cooney, appearing on Today Australia Monday, was asked about the HFPA’s lack of diversity, as issue that drew anger and attention from Golden Globes presenters Sunday night. Addressing the topic, Cooney said that “the fact that there was not a Black member was not really anything we focused on because we were accepting and welcoming everybody from around the world that was based in L.A. that wrote for foreign publications, that was just our criteria.”
Watch the interview above.
Cooney continued, “The fact that there were no Black members we didn’t really consider a problem. Now of course we realize that we should have been much more proactive about really going out...
- 3/3/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The controversy over the lack of Black representation at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the body that organizes the Golden Globe Awards, rumbles on as an Australian HFPA member admitted that the organization did not see the lack of Black journalists as a “problem” and that the body was previously not really “focused” on upping Black representation.
In an interview on the Australian morning show Today Australia, HFPA member Jenny Cooney was asked directly about the controversy and why, given the global discussion over the issue of Black and minority representation over the last year, the organization had not ...
In an interview on the Australian morning show Today Australia, HFPA member Jenny Cooney was asked directly about the controversy and why, given the global discussion over the issue of Black and minority representation over the last year, the organization had not ...
The controversy over the lack of Black representation at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the body that organizes the Golden Globe Awards, rumbles on as an Australian HFPA member admitted that the organization did not see the lack of Black journalists as a “problem” and that the body was previously not really “focused” on upping Black representation.
In an interview on the Australian morning show Today Australia, HFPA member Jenny Cooney was asked directly about the controversy and why, given the global discussion over the issue of Black and minority representation over the last year, the organization had not ...
In an interview on the Australian morning show Today Australia, HFPA member Jenny Cooney was asked directly about the controversy and why, given the global discussion over the issue of Black and minority representation over the last year, the organization had not ...
Dacre Montgomery with Geraldine Viswanathan in ‘The Broken Hearts Gallery.’
If Sony Pictures’ rom-com The Broken Hearts Gallery, now screening in cinemas, had been made five years ago, Geraldine Viswanathan doubts that a woman of colour like her would have been cast as the lead.
The Newcastle-raised 25-year-old, whose father is an Indian-born doctor and mother is Swiss, plays Lucy, a New York art gallery assistant who clings to souvenirs from numerous failed relationships.
Nursing another broken heart, Lucy befriends Nick (fellow Aussie Dacre Montgomery), an emotionally-closed guy who is trying to raise the money to renovate his dream hotel. Lucy sets out to build the gallery of the title in his lobby as her relationship with Nick changes.
“If this movie was made even five years ago I don’t know if I would be in the lead,” Viswanathan said in an Australians in Film webinar with Montgomery, moderated by Jenny Cooney.
If Sony Pictures’ rom-com The Broken Hearts Gallery, now screening in cinemas, had been made five years ago, Geraldine Viswanathan doubts that a woman of colour like her would have been cast as the lead.
The Newcastle-raised 25-year-old, whose father is an Indian-born doctor and mother is Swiss, plays Lucy, a New York art gallery assistant who clings to souvenirs from numerous failed relationships.
Nursing another broken heart, Lucy befriends Nick (fellow Aussie Dacre Montgomery), an emotionally-closed guy who is trying to raise the money to renovate his dream hotel. Lucy sets out to build the gallery of the title in his lobby as her relationship with Nick changes.
“If this movie was made even five years ago I don’t know if I would be in the lead,” Viswanathan said in an Australians in Film webinar with Montgomery, moderated by Jenny Cooney.
- 9/17/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘I Am Mother’.
Australia’s production incentives and Indigenous storytelling will be showcased at this year’s virtual IFP Week in New York, thanks to the Australian International Screen Forum and Screen Australia.
Running September 20-24, the event will feature two panels with an Aussie focus, while two local projects have also been selected for the No Borders International Co-Production Market.
In a session moderated by Jenny Cooney, writers Steven McGregor (Sweet Country) and Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road) will discuss the importance of Indigenous Australians telling their own stories, and taking those projects to a global audience.
Kodie Bedford.
Separately, director Grant Sputore and producer Kelvin Munro will break down how they leveraged South Australia’s production incentives and facilities to produce sci-fi I Am Mother, to which Netflix ultimately snapped up the worldwide rights. The discussion will be designed for international filmmakers interested in working with Australians to make...
Australia’s production incentives and Indigenous storytelling will be showcased at this year’s virtual IFP Week in New York, thanks to the Australian International Screen Forum and Screen Australia.
Running September 20-24, the event will feature two panels with an Aussie focus, while two local projects have also been selected for the No Borders International Co-Production Market.
In a session moderated by Jenny Cooney, writers Steven McGregor (Sweet Country) and Kodie Bedford (Mystery Road) will discuss the importance of Indigenous Australians telling their own stories, and taking those projects to a global audience.
Kodie Bedford.
Separately, director Grant Sputore and producer Kelvin Munro will break down how they leveraged South Australia’s production incentives and facilities to produce sci-fi I Am Mother, to which Netflix ultimately snapped up the worldwide rights. The discussion will be designed for international filmmakers interested in working with Australians to make...
- 9/17/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Nominated for two Emmy Awards – Outstanding Variety Special and Writing for a Variety Special for her Netflix stand-up show Douglas, Hannah Gadsby has already recorded her acceptance speech.
Despite winning an Emmy in the same writing category last year for Nanette, Gadsby says: “It’s odds on that I won’t win. I’ll put it in my sizzle reel.”
The comedian was speaking today in an Australians in Film webinar with fellow nominees Hugh Jackman, Sarah Snook and Tony McNamara.
Moderator Jenny Cooney pointed out the Emmy organisers are arranging to send a camera to the homes of each of the 140 nominees and asked where all four will be when the awards are presented next month.
McNamara, who is in the running for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series for Hulu’s The Great, will be at home in the country with his wife and children. Confessing that he is not technically minded,...
Despite winning an Emmy in the same writing category last year for Nanette, Gadsby says: “It’s odds on that I won’t win. I’ll put it in my sizzle reel.”
The comedian was speaking today in an Australians in Film webinar with fellow nominees Hugh Jackman, Sarah Snook and Tony McNamara.
Moderator Jenny Cooney pointed out the Emmy organisers are arranging to send a camera to the homes of each of the 140 nominees and asked where all four will be when the awards are presented next month.
McNamara, who is in the running for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series for Hulu’s The Great, will be at home in the country with his wife and children. Confessing that he is not technically minded,...
- 8/26/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
A new wave of Australian drama series has shined a light on Indigenous cultures, with Aboriginal-led productions reshaping the domestic market while finding a global platform for Indigenous stories.
What that might mean for Indigenous Australians was the focus of “Mainstream, Genre and Indigenous Perspectives: New Wave Australian Series,” a panel that took place Tuesday during the Berlinale Series Market, moderated by Jenny Cooney, executive vice president of Bunya Productions.
The panel featured Wayne Blair, director of “Mystery Road 2,” which premiered this week in Berlin; Darren Dale, co-creator and producer of “Total Control”; and Tony Briggs, actor (“Cleverman”) and creator and producer of “The Warriors.”
“Total Control” is a six-part drama series about a female senator, played by Aboriginal actress Deborah Mailman, caught up in the rough-and-tumble world of Australian politics. Blair held the series up as an example of the new possibilities for Indigenous creators. “Even to see an...
What that might mean for Indigenous Australians was the focus of “Mainstream, Genre and Indigenous Perspectives: New Wave Australian Series,” a panel that took place Tuesday during the Berlinale Series Market, moderated by Jenny Cooney, executive vice president of Bunya Productions.
The panel featured Wayne Blair, director of “Mystery Road 2,” which premiered this week in Berlin; Darren Dale, co-creator and producer of “Total Control”; and Tony Briggs, actor (“Cleverman”) and creator and producer of “The Warriors.”
“Total Control” is a six-part drama series about a female senator, played by Aboriginal actress Deborah Mailman, caught up in the rough-and-tumble world of Australian politics. Blair held the series up as an example of the new possibilities for Indigenous creators. “Even to see an...
- 2/26/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Courtney Botfield and Chris Kunz.
Bunya Productions has brought on Courtney Botfield to head up its distribution arm and Chris Kunz to help drive the company’s development slate.
The two new positions have been funded via Screen Australia’s Enterprise program. Bunya was the major recipient of Business & Ideas funding in July, which also allowed the company to hire Jenny Cooney to drive the company’s profile internationally as an executive VP, Bunya Productions La.
Bunya intends to also the Enterprise funding to establish talent development incubators in Queensland and South Australia, capitalise on existing and build new IP, and enhance digital marketing to increase online engagement.
As head of distribution and sales, Botfield will develop the IP and distribution arm across a slate of film, TV and online productions as well as other IP extensions including podcasts, theatre and events. Botfield, a former recipient of the Natalie MIller Fellowship,...
Bunya Productions has brought on Courtney Botfield to head up its distribution arm and Chris Kunz to help drive the company’s development slate.
The two new positions have been funded via Screen Australia’s Enterprise program. Bunya was the major recipient of Business & Ideas funding in July, which also allowed the company to hire Jenny Cooney to drive the company’s profile internationally as an executive VP, Bunya Productions La.
Bunya intends to also the Enterprise funding to establish talent development incubators in Queensland and South Australia, capitalise on existing and build new IP, and enhance digital marketing to increase online engagement.
As head of distribution and sales, Botfield will develop the IP and distribution arm across a slate of film, TV and online productions as well as other IP extensions including podcasts, theatre and events. Botfield, a former recipient of the Natalie MIller Fellowship,...
- 9/12/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
The feisty comedian rose to fame more than 30 years ago as one of TV's biggest stars, but Roseanne Barr is still making headlines today. The Roseanne actress — whose 2018 reboot of Roseanne was cancelled on May 29 after she published a racist tweet — was previously a tabloid staple during the original run of her sitcom, which aired from 1988 to 1997. And in 2012, she even found herself in the political spotlight when she chose to run for president. Now, her political stance is again a contentious topic, but it seems there's one big supporter of her TV character's pro-Trump views. The Roseanne cast. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) Roseanne, 65, received a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump himself when Roseanne earned record ratings upon its return to TV. But does she get hurt when critics push back? "I need to have really thick skin," she said in a recent interview. "I have thin skin, but...
- 5/30/2018
- by Closer Staff
- Closer Weekly
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