Emma Stone and writer, producer and director Dave McCary’s Fruit Tree production company has secured a first look and TV development deal with Fremantle, the companies announced on Wednesday.
The deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for the company’s scripted TV projects and unscripted docuseries, with Fruit Tree working with the company’s global drama division and international distribution team to grow its slate and expand into new territories worldwide.
Founded in August 2020, Fruit Tree’s TV projects include Showtime’s “The Curse,” which Stone starred in alongside co-creators Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, and HBO’s “Fantasmas,” a six-episode surrealist comedy starring creator Julio Torres. Its next TV project will be the HBO documentary series “The Yogurt Shop Murders” directed by Margaret Brown.
Meanwhile, Fruite Free’s film slate includes Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” Torres’ “Problemista” and Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.” Upcoming film projects include “Bugonia,” starring Emma Stone and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos for Focus Features; “Checkmate,” directed by Nathan Fielder for A24, Jesse Eisenberg’s untitled musical comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti and Dave McCary’s untitled feature film with Universal. Last October, Fruit Tree signed a first-look movie deal with Universal Pictures.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with the brilliant team at Fremantle, a studio that continues to be at the forefront of independent television with a deep commitment to inventive storytelling,” Stone, McCary and Fruit Tree president Ali Herting said in a joint statement. “We’re so excited to build a creative home together and develop original narratives that challenge expectation and resonate with audiences worldwide.”
Fremantle Global Drama and Film CEO Christian Vesper and COO Seb Shorr will oversee the partnership alongside De Maio Entertainment’s Lorenzo De Maio and Evan Gelb. De Maio and Gelb will also serve as strategic advisors across Fruit Tree’s slate as well as the primary point of contact in the U.S.
“I’m so thrilled to be welcoming Emma, Dave and the whole team at Fruit Tree to the Fremantle fold,” Vesper said in a statement to press. “The combination of Emma’s indisputable talent and Dave’s sharp creative sensibility makes them a force to be reckoned with and I look forward to pushing boundaries even further together.”
In addition to Fruit Free, Fremantle’s partnership has secured first look deals with Kristen Stewart’s Nevermind Pictures; Edward Berger and his label Nine Hours; Rachel Weisz and Polly Stokes’ Astral Projection; Stefano Sollima, Gina Gardini and Ludovico Purgatori’s AlterEgo; the BAFTA-winning Me+You Productions and Roughcut Television; Fudge Park, Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín’s Fabula; and Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Sorrentino, Johan Renck and Michael Parets’ Sinestra.
The deal was negotiated by Frematle’s vice president of commercial global drama Fran Denny and executive vice president of scripted business and legal affairs Jodie Rosello as well as PJ Shapiro of Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole and WME, who acted on behalf of Fruit Tree.
