Fresh from the ongoing box office and awards season success of “Hamnet,” Liza Marshall‘s London-based Hera Pictures is expanding.
The independent production company has hired Martha Hood in the newly-created role of head of development, film to lead the development of its expanding feature slate.
Working closely with the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Marshall and the senior team, Hood will “identity and nurture bold, authored projects for global audiences,” according to the announcement.
Hood joins Hera from Blueprint Pictures where she served as an in-house senior development executive working across the company’s film slate, including the multi-BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated “The Banshees of Inisherin,” BAFTA-nominated “All of Us Strangers,” “Wicked Little Letters” and Joel Coen’s upcoming “Jack of Spades,” among many others.
“Following the extraordinary response to ‘Hamnet,’ this is a pivotal moment for Hera as we expand our feature ambitions and build a slate of bold, internationally resonant films,” said Marshall. “Martha is an exceptional creative executive with great taste and a genuine passion for filmmaker-led storytelling. She understands how to nurture and support talent while thinking strategically about the global marketplace. I’m thrilled she’s joining us to help shape the next chapter of Hera’s film division.”
Added Hood: “It’s a huge privilege to join Liza and the brilliant team at Hera Pictures at such a significant moment for the company. Hera has built a reputation for its exceptional taste, its commitment to championing distinctive voices and ambitious storytelling, and I’m excited to help shape and grow the film slate as the company enters its next chapter.”
Based on the book by Maggie O’Farrell and directed by Chloe Zhao, “Hamnet” — which Marshall and Hera lead produced — recently won outstanding British film and leading actress for Jessie Buckley at the BAFTA film awards, for it secured 11 nominations, the most ever for feature directed by a woman. It also has a PGA Award nomination, a WGA nomination, a Screen Actors Guild win for Jessie Buckley, two Golden Globe awards (best picture and best actress, a Critics’ Choice Award for Buckley and numerous additional major awards nominations, alongside the people’s choice award at TIFF. It goes into the Oscars with eight nominations, including best film. At the global box office, it recently surpassed $90 million.
Hera is soon to get to go into production on its next feature, the seductive thriller “The Return of Stanley Atwell,” starring Nicholas Galitzine (“The Idea of You,” “Mary & George”), written and directed by Brian Welsh (“Beats,” “Black Mirror”), and based on a story by Steven Soderbergh, who also serves as executive producer. Meanwhile, it recently acquired the rights to O’Farrell’s upcoming novel “Land.”
Speaking to Variety, Marshall discussed her ability to see the screen potential in books long before they’re published, as she did with “Hamnet,” which she first read in 2019. “You’ve just got to go with your gut. That’s all you can go on,” she said.
English (US) ·