About Mockingbird Pictures

 

Mockingbird Pictures was formed in the Spring of 1999.

The name is inspired by three things. First, Harper Lee’s novel and the film starring Gregory Peck entitled “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The subject is integrity, and the execution of both pieces pure artistry. It is the marriage of those two concepts that we aspire to achieve. Second, the mockingbird is the only songbird that regularly changes his tune. We feel it is important to flow with our circumstances: to live, and learn, and be open to the people and opportunities surrounding us. Finally, the mockingbird is a fierce defender of its nest. This is how we feel about our projects, as well as the many individuals who work with us on each of them.

We have comedies and thrillers amidst our slate, as must every company with an eye towards diversification in the marketplace. There is great value in entertainment. And yet, many of our projects – indeed, the ones that we feel most committed to – reflect our desire to tell stories that will impact our audiences in ways that stay with them well beyond their time in the theatre.

We want the process of filmmaking to be rewarding. Our goal is to have every filmmaker, crew member, and financier that works with us want to repeat the experience. This means being responsible to the budgets, and yet flexible enough to meet the constantly changing needs of artistic enterprise.

So, the goal remains the same: artistic integrity in product and process.

Julie Lynn formed Mockingbird Pictures in the summer of 1999, with Bonnie Curtis joining in 2011.

In June of 2018, Mockingbird premiered its first-ever television series with Skydance Media on AMC:  “Dietland,” created by Marti Noxon and based upon the novel by Sarai Walker.

Ms. Lynn and Ms. Curtis are finishing up their work on the 2019 “Terminator” reboot directed by Tim Miller for Skydance, Paramount and Fox. Mockingbird is in early production on its first animated film, “My Father’s Dragon,” based upon the beloved children’s book by Ruth Stiles Gannett Kahn, which will be adapted by Meg LeFauve and directed by Cartoon Saloon’s Nora Twomey for Netflix.

Mockingbird’s 2017 releases were the Skydance/Sony presentation of Daniel Espinosa’s “Life” (SXSW premiere), Rob Spera’s “The Sweet Life” (LAFF premiere), Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield” (Telluride and Toronto premieres), and Marti Noxon’s “To The Bone” (Sundance premiere).

Mockingbird productions include Rodrigo Garcia’s “Last Days in the Desert,” Vic Levin’s “5 to 7,” Mr. Garcia’s “Albert Nobbs” (nominated for three Academy Awards), Arie Posin’s “The Face of Love,” Mr. Garcia’s “Mother and Child,” Robin Swicord’s “The Jane Austen Book Club,” Brad Silberling’s “10 Items or Less,” and Mr. Garcia’s  “Nine Lives.”

Mockingbird Pictures have played at many festivals, including Toronto, Sundance, Telluride, AFI, Tribeca, LAFF, Deauville (Grand Prize), San Sebastian (Closing Night) and Locarno (Grand Prize), and have been nominated for Independent Spirit Awards, as well as Oscars.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Lynn co-produced HBO’s presentation of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “WIT,” and supervised the horse races on Gary Ross’s “Seabiscuit.”

As time allows, Ms. Lynn serves as a story consultant for Pixar Animation Studios, on films including Pete Docter’s “Up.”

Ms. Lynn started in Hollywood as Creative Executive for producer Mark Johnson. Before moving to Los Angeles, Ms. Lynn practiced law at the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression in Charlottesville, Virginia. She received her JD from the University of Virginia’s law school and a BA from its college.  Ms. Lynn serves on the board of the Virginia Film Festival, the board of The Thomas Jefferson Center, the LA Advisory Committee for Americares, and is active within both the PGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Ms. Lynn is married to Douglas Smith, an author and professor of American History. They have two children, Zoe and Jack.

IMDbPro Profile

Bonnie Curtis was born in Texas and graduated as Valedictorian from Abilene Christian University with a BA in journalism. She moved to Los Angeles with her first love in mind: film.

Curtis immediately found production work on the films “Dead Poets Society” and “Arachnophobia” before being hired as Steven Spielberg’s assistant in 1990 embarking on what would become a 15-year professional relationship with the acclaimed director. After the films “Hook” and “Jurassic Park,” Curtis became a Production Associate on “Schindler’s List” and served as Associate Producer on “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” and “Amistad.” In 1998 she Co-Produced the epic blockbuster “Saving Private Ryan,” for which she received the Producer of the Year award from the Producers Guild of America. Next came “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” followed in 2002 by “Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise.  

Fulfilling a longtime desire to work with a first-time filmmaker, Curtis produced “The Chumscrubber” with Lawrence Bender (“Good Will Hunting,” “An Inconvenient Truth”) for first-time director Arie Posin in 2005. The film starred Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes and Jamie Bell, was an official selection for both the Sundance Film Festival and South by Southwest Film Festival, and won the “Audience Award for Best Film” at the Moscow Film Festival.

Next up was “Albert Nobbs,” starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Brendan Gleeson, which Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother and Child”) directed in Dublin, Ireland. She produced the film with Close, Garcia’s longtime producer Julie Lynn and Alan Moloney (“Breakfast on Pluto”). The film received three Academy Award nominations.

Following “Albert Nobbs,” Curtis partnered with Lynn under Lynn's production company label: Mockingbird Pictures. Since joining forces, the two have produced “The Face of Love,” which Curtis's “Chumscrubber” director, Posin, co-wrote and directed. The film stars Annette Bening, Ed Harris and Robin Williams and was released March 2014. Following that came the release of “5 to 7,” a romantic dramedy starring Anton Yelchin, Berenice Marlohe, Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Olivia Thirlby and Lambert Wilson. The film was written and directed by longtime TV-writer Victor Levin (“Mad Men,” “Mad About You”) and was released April 2015.

Next came “Last Days in the Desert,” written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, starring Ewan McGregor, Ciarán Hinds, Ayelet Zurer and Tye Sheridan. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Broad Green in May 2016.  “The Sweet Life,” directed by Rob Spera and starring Chris Messina and Abigail Spencer  premiered at the 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival and was digitally released by The Orchard in April 2017. 

Curtis and Lynn next produced “Wakefield,” written and directed by Robin Swicord and adapted from an E.L. Doctorow short story, which was released on May 19, 2017 by IFC. The film starred Bryan Cranston and Jennifer Garner. “To the Bone,” written and directed by Marti Noxon, starring Lily Collins, Carrie Preston, Keanu Reeves and Alex Sharp was up next—the film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix for a sale of $8 million. 

Curtis and Lynn entered the studio business next—producing the Skydance Media film “Life” alongside David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. The film was released by Sony in March of 2017 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds.

Curtis and Lynn entered into first look deal for film and television with Skydance Media after completing "Life" and immediately executive produced Marti’s Noxon’s “Dietland” for television with Skydance and AMC in 2018, and are currently executive producing the Terminator reboot for Skydance, Paramount and Fox, which will be released November of 2019.  

“My Father’s Dragon” will be their first foray into animation, and Netflix has just green lit the start of production on the film with Cartoon Saloon. They have several projects in development at Skydance in both film and television, as well as at Sony, Fox and Netflix.

In 2002 Ms. Curtis was featured as one of 30 “Great Women of Film” in Helena Lumee’s best-selling book from Watson Guptill Press. In 2004 she was the recipient of the Women in Film Topaz Award from the Dallas chapter. She has co-chaired GLSEN’s (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) Respect Awards and has served as an Honor Society Member for the organization since 2005 and currently serves on the organization’s National Leadership Council. In March 2015, Ms. Curtis was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas.

Ms. Curtis lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Kim Lincoln, and their daughter Maggie.

IMDbPro Profile

Lindsey Palmer has an undergraduate degree in Religion from Haverford College. Upon her graduation, she interned at the Middle East Institute, a foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC, before moving to Los Angeles. She worked first at William Morris Endeavor and then Creative Artists Agency before writing an original screenplay for Walt Disney Studios. In the spring of 2019, she joined Mockingbird Pictures, led by principals Julie Lynn and Bonnie Curtis.