Motive Pictures, the British independent production company founded by Simon Maxwell and backed by Fifth Season, has hired executive producer Lila Rawlings.
Rawlings will join Motive to work across the slate, as the company scales up its team in the wake of its first wave of productions, including the Ruth Wilson drama The Woman in the Wall.
Rawlings comes to Motive from Alfonso Cuarón’s UK-based film and TV company, Esperanto Filmoj, where she was head of Creative: Film & TV, overseeing a slate of projects with Sarah Solemani, Jack Thorne and Charlize Theron.
She also served as executive producer on The Shepherd, one in a series of films financed by Disney, directed by Iain Softley and starring John Travolta.
Prior to this, Rawlings was executive [roducer at Left Bank Pictures where she oversaw the development and production of a number of projects, including Sitting in Limbo, a BAFTA- winning drama for BBC One inspired by the story of Anthony Bryan and other individuals affected by the Windrush Scandal, and Electric Dreams for Amazon, Sony TV & Channel 4.
Before this, Rawlings was development executive at Film4, working with Tessa Ross across all developments on the slate, and also held the position of head of Development for Drama and Film at Century Films and at Dakota Films.
The first of Motive’s productions to hit international screens will be The Woman in the Wall, a gothic thriller for BBC One and Showtime, starring Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack, which examines the legacy of one of Ireland’s most shocking scandals, the Magdalene Laundries; and One Night, for Paramount+, which stars Jodie Whittaker and tells the story of three women who must deal with a shared trauma that resurfaces 20 years after the events.
The production company is also in post-production on Get Millie Black for Channel 4 and HBO, a crime noir from Booker Prize-winning author Marlon James.
Simon Maxwell says: “Lila is a world-class EP of impeccable taste, who’s forged a career working with some of the most singular talents in the industry, with an international outlook that’s perfectly in sync with Motive’s ethos and ambitions. We’re so happy that she’s joining our team just as we’re ready to build on the success of our first three productions and drive our drama output towards exciting new horizons.”
Rawlings adds: “Simon and the team, together with Fifth Season, have built the company up into one of the most dynamic outfits to have emerged out of the UK over what have been a challenging few years. Having worked together previously, I’m happy to rekindle our collaboration and to continue to work with a range of talented writers, directors and financiers with international ambition.”
Pippa Considine
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