The Woman in the Wall indie Motive Pictures, founded by CEO Simon Maxwell and backed by Fifth Season, has hired Alex Marshall in the new role of Chief Operating Officer, and Sid Strickland as Development Producer.
The hires coincide with a recent move to an expanded Central London office as Motive continues to grow its development and production slate across the UK, US and international markets.
Alex Marshall joins from Archery Pictures, where he worked across the television and film slate, including Riviera (Sky), The State (Channel 4) and Fate: A Winx Club Saga (Netflix). Prior to this, he supported Mark Herbert and Peter Carlton at Warp Films during their move into television with This Is England for Channel 4. In his new role Marshall will be responsible for overseeing all of Motive’s operations and helping to shape the company’s strategic direction as it continues to scale.
Sid Strickland has worked in development and production in the UK television & film industry for 10 years on shows including Save Me (Sky Atlantic), The Last Kingdom (Netflix) and No Escape (Paramount+). In film, Strickland has produced on EV (BFI Flare 2021), The Cunning (Aesthetica & Slamdance 2023) and forthcoming S-H-E-D backed Rubinstein’s. As Development Producer, he will report into Co- Executive Producer Harriet Creelman, working across some of Motive’s upcoming productions both in the UK and US, as well as establishing a new slate of projects.
Motive was founded in 2019 by Simon Maxwell who was previously Head of International Drama at Channel 4, where he commissioned a raft of ambitious drama series including the global hit Humans, the highest-rating drama on the channel in 20 years.
The expansion comes after a string of international series launches for Motive Pictures including The Woman in the Wall for BBC One and Showtime, One Night for Paramount+ and upcoming series Get Millie Black written by Booker Prize-winning author Marlon James for Channel 4 and HBO which is set to premiere on HBO this Autumn.
Motive is currently in production on Young Sherlock, for Prime Video, directed by Guy Ritchie with Matthew Parkhill as showrunner and featuring a cast that includes Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Donal Finn, Colin Firth, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, and Zine Tseng.
It has also recently announced a development deal for Gary Stevenson’s highly acclaimed autobiography The Trading Game.
Alex Marshall says; “’Helping to further grow a company that is on such a trajectory with an ambitious slate is an exciting prospect, which I couldn’t resist.”
Sid Strickland says; “Motive has a dynamic creative and business strategy with international reach. It’s a company I believe is pushing the envelope on how we’re developing and making drama, which is so essential for the evolution of our industry, and I’m so delighted to be joining Simon and the team.”
Pippa Considine
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