Production company name?
Princess Pictures.
When was the company founded?
October 2003 (we just had a 20th birthday party!).
Where are you based and which states did you film in for 22 / 23 / 24 productions?
We are based in Melbourne, have filmed in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
How many full-time equivalent staff and how many does it expand to during production?
We have 12 full time staff.
What is your ownership model and who are key principals?
We are a fully independent partnership of Laura Waters and Emma Fitzsimons.
Describe the genres you specialise in for production?
In live action we are genre agnostic, but strive to find material which is ground breaking and gives voice to stories that haven’t been heard. We have a deep history in comedy, but recently produced our first big drama series and are in post on our first film in a decade. We also have a Melbourne based animation studio which we built with Bento Box where we have been producing our own adult comedy series and taking service work for US studios like Amazon and Fox. Currently we are developing a broad slate of film and television, both animation and live action, adult and children’s programming.
What have been some of your notable credits and with which broadcasters / streamers?
We’re very proud of recent global animation series like Koala Man (Disney+ Hulu/Star), Smiling Friends (Max) and YOLO (Max). We’re also proud of our legacy in creating the first LGBT sitcom called Outland for the ABC, the first narrative comedy set in Alice Springs focussing on First Nations issues called 8MMM, the first comedy opera series – The Divorce, Australia’s first documentary musical, Australian Epic, the first self-shot children’s series My Year 12 Life and My Year 7 Life and supporting the work of John Safran (Race Relations, The Goddam Election), John Clarke (Sounds Of Aus, Sporting Nation), Peter Helliar (It’s A Date, I Love You Too, How To Stay Married), Hugh VanCuylenburg (G.E.M.) and TikTok series like #matched from Muslim director Kathuar Abdulalim and writer Nazli Sevlic. We’ve also launched three Audible series, including The Orchard, Lonely Hearts Radio and The Outrageous True Story Of Milky Moore and won awards for YouTube series like Flats and The Graceland Happiness Project and secured an Emmy nomination for Wrong Kind Of Black.
Laura Waters has produced all six of Chris Lilley’s series for ABC/BBC/HBO and Netflix.
What’s coming up on your slate and how many projects are in active development?
We are currently in post on Son Of A Donkey for Netflix and Together, a body horror film starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, as well as preparing for the launch of Last Days Of Space Age on Disney+ (Star/Hulu). We have several live action and animated comedy series in active development, and a children’s animated series that we’re very excited about. We’re also building a film slate full of comedy, romance, groundbreaking biopics and horror films. We’ve been developing shows with several US and UK production partners which are pushing the boundaries of our imagination and opening up new kinds of financing models.
Do you receive unsolicited material, what are you looking for, how should people pitch projects?
We do not receive unsolicited material, but we are always open to hear from people with original stories to tell.
What change would you most like to see when it comes to commissions?
We understand that commissioners are building platforms with a specific identity, while we are focussed on pushing the boundaries on unique types of storytelling. Sometimes those worlds align, obviously we’d be excited if they aligned with more regularity.
links to content on ABC
TV Tonight
