Bruna Papandrea (born 1971) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

and the founder of production company Made Up Stories. Prior to Made Up Stories, Papandrea co-founded the production company

Pacific Standard ''Pacific Standard'', founded as ''Miller–McCune'', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was ...

with

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

Early life and education

Papandrea was raised in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, by a

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

Career

She moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the 1990s after establishing a career in film production. She briefly returned to Australia to produce the 2000 film '' Better Than Sex'', which was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Film, before moving to London in 2001. She served as a production executive at the film studio Mirage Enterprises and later returned to New York to work for GreeneStreet Films, a production company for independent films, as a creative director. At GreeneStreet she executive produced the 2006 romantic comedy '' Wedding Daze'' before joining another independent production company, Groundswell Productions, in Los Angeles in February 2006. There she was responsible for producing '' Smart People'' (2008), ''

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

'' (2008), '' The Marc Pease Experience'' (2009), and '' All Good Things'' (2010). In 2011, Papandrea produced '' Warm Bodies'', a zombie comedy film directed by Jonathan Levine and released in 2013. In 2012, she and actress

co-founded Pacific Standard, a

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

-based production company focusing on creating films made by and about women. Their first two projects at Pacific Standard were '' Gone Girl'' and '' Wild'', both adapted from books whose rights were acquired by Papandrea and Witherspoon before publication. Both films were released in 2014, by which time they had also completed production on the 2015 comedy film ''

Hot Pursuit Hot pursuit (also known as fresh or immediate pursuit) is the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by peace officer, law enforcement officers, or by belligerents under international rules of engagement for military forces. Such a situa ...

''. In 2016, they 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 Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Big Little Lies'' and a film adaptation of the novel '' Luckiest Girl Alive''. Papandrea launched her current production company, 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. The company is also committed to inclusivity in less-acknowledged departments behind-the-scenes such as transportation teams and gaffers. Papandrea has expressed intent to start a foundation, Made Up Solutions, to provide opportunities for women from low socio-economic and diverse backgrounds. In April 2020, Papandrea and Gregg Fienberg founded the "It Takes Our Village" initiative, along with numerous A-list Hollywood producers to help raise money for below-the-line crews affected by COVID-19. Papandrea credited "below-the-line crews" as "the backbone of our industry". “They are our community – and our community is in need. This initiative is personal to me as I’m a working-class girl who grew up with unions protecting my family. I want to help provide that protection to those who are a vital part in creating stories; the stories that are providing escapism and comfort to people around the world." On October 12, 2023 an open letter was published by Creative Community for Peace, whose mission statement is "to galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel." The open letter states: "More than 2000 leaders from the entertainment industry have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace in support of Israel." Papandrea joined the petition. On October 23, 2023 Papadrea signed a second petition, 'NoHostageLeftBehind'. The petition consisted of 'Several Hundred Hollywood figures' petitioning for President Joe Biden to secure the release of more Israeli hostages.

Recognition

2015: Papandrea received the Australians in Film International Award. 2018: Papandrea was honored by G'Day USA, receiving Outstanding Achievement in Film & TV Award. 2020: Papandrea won the Don Dunstan Award, and appeared "In Conversation" with one of the patrons of the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

Margaret Pomeranz Margaret Pomeranz (born Margeret Anne Jones-Owen, 15 July 1944) is an Australian film critic, writer, producer, and television personality. Early life Pomeranz was born Margeret Anne Jones-Owen on 15 July 1944 in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney ...

in mid-October during the 2020 event. 2020: Papandrea was named to Variety's L.A. Women's Impact Report 2020. 2020: Papandrea was named as one of 40 Australians who mattered in Film & TV for 2020 by The Age's Good Weekend. 2021: Papandrea received the Australian Women's Film Festival (AWFF) Groundbreaker Award. 2021: Papandrea was included in The Hollywood Reporter's 2021 Women In Entertainment Power 100 2021: Papandrea was included in Deadline's DISRUPTORS 2021 class 2023: Papandrea was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2023 Australia Day Honours. 2024: Received the

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...

(AACTA), Byron Kennedy Award.

Awards and nominations

2000: Nominated for the Australia Film Institute (AFI) Award Best Film for '' Better Than Sex'' 2017: Winner of the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series for ''Big Little Lies'' 2018: Winner of the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for Best Television Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for ''Big Little Lies (season 1)'' 2018: Nominated for the

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

for Best International for ''Big Little Lies'' 2018: Nominated for the PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Episode Television, Drama for ''Big Little Lies (season 1)'' 2019: Winner of the AACTA Award for Best Film for ''The Nightingale'' 2020: Winner of the

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of film criticism, cinema critics and film review, reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and fr ...

for Best Film for '' The Nightingale'' 2020: Nominated for the PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Episode Television, Drama for ''Big Little Lies (season 2)'' 2020: Nominated for the

for Best Television Series, Drama for ''Big Little Lies (season 2)'' 2021: Nominated for the

Critics' Choice Television Awards The Critics' Choice Television Awards were accolades that were presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fou ...

for Best Limited Series for '' The Undoing'' 2021: Nominated for the

for Best Limited Series or Television Film for '' The Undoing'' 2021: Nominated for the PGA Award's David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited Series Television for '' The Undoing''

Personal life

Papandrea is married to producer Steve Hutensky and gave birth to twins in 2012. She has

systemic lupus erythematosus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

(lupus), diagnosed in August 2010, which causes her chronic joint pain.

Filmography

Before she started her own production companies, Papandrea produced various films with other companies, including: *'' Better Than Sex'' (2000) *'' Wedding Daze'' (2006) *''

'' (2008) *'' Smart People'' (2008) *'' The Marc Pease Experience'' (2009) *'' All Good Things'' (2010) * '' Not Suitable for Children'' (2012)

Films

Television series

Projects in development

* Film adaptation of the thriller novel ''As Long As We Both Shall'' ''Live'' by JoAnn Chaney * Television adaptation of ''The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart'' based on the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

from Australian writer Holly Ringland * Adaptation of the historical epic ''The Lost Queen'' by Signe Pike for television * TV series based on the Jessica Knoll novel ''The Favorite Sister'' * A limited TV series on

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born in England on 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, broadcaster, and author, with dual British/United States citizenship. She is the former editor in chief of '' Tatler'' (197 ...

based on her book ''The Vanity Fair Diaries'' * Film adaptations of the YA

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

books ''Stepsister'' and ''Poisoned'' by Jennifer Donnelly with Lynette Howell Taylor's 51 Entertainment * The multi-generational novel ''The Last Anniversary'' by Liane Moriarty * TV adaptation of Christina Baker Kline's new book ''The Exiles'' * TV show based on Greer Macallister's historical thriller ''Woman 99'' with

Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva (; born January 9, 1989), known professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The CW's supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (20 ...

* TV adaptation of Marie Lu's '' Warcross'' with John Cameron * Feature film adaptation of Christopher Paolini's first adult novel, the

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...

'' To Sleep in a Sea of Stars'' with Snoot Entertainment * Universal's film adaptation of Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's novel, ''Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield'' *TV adaptation of Elizabeth Acevedo's dual-narrative YA Novel, ''Clap When You Land'' *Film adaptation of Gordon Reece's debut novel, Mice, in partnership with Nicole Kidman's Blossom Films *Film adaptation of Erin French's memoir, ''Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking Life From Scratch'' *TV adaptation of Kirsten Miller's upcoming novel, ''The Change'', in partnership with Raelle Tucker

References

External links

* *https://michaelwest.com.au/screen-australia-awards-grant-to-former-harvey-weinstein-associate-for-gender-matters-initiative/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Papandrea, Bruna Living people 1971 births Members of the Order of Australia Mass media people from Adelaide Australian film producers People with lupus Australian women film producers