Starstruck producer-agency Avalon has taken a minority stake in the production outfit co-run by Adolescence director Philip Barantini.
It’s All Made Up Productions joins the Avalon stable and has plans to open an office in Barantini’s home town of Liverpool, we revealed last year, with a number of projects in development. Avalon, which produces Starstruck and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and reps the likes of Rose Matafeo, Rob Delaney and Lee Mack, did not disclose its percentage stake in It’s All Made Up.
Barantini officially opened It’s All Made Up with finance exec Samantha Beddoe last year and the company has a hefty slate. Barantini is currently riding high off the hit success of Adolescence, which in just three weeks has become one of Netflix’s top 10 most-watched shows of all time. The ex-actor’s other credits include Boiling Point, Accused and Enola Holmes.
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Beddoe, meanwhile, began her career in production finance, controlling and running production budgets for Disney, Lucasfilm, FX Networks and the BBC. She EP’d the Boiling Point film as well as co-produced Accused with Barantini for Netflix. Additional credits include What’s Love Got To Do With It, Atlanta and The Acolyte.
Barantini said: “We want to tell powerful stories that resonate and provoke through film, television and documentaries on the biggest scale possible. We are deeply passionate about the industry and where we come from and this partnership with Avalon will take us to the next level.”
Avalon CEO Laura Kennedy added: “Sam and Phil are incredibly talented producers, with exceptional taste and creative vision. We are thrilled to be partnering with them on the growth of their company, and their slate of upcoming projects.”
It’s All Made Up Productions, which was advised by ABP Advisory’s Hasham Khan on the deal, is repped by Independent Talent in the UK and by CAA and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole in the U.S. The company is managed by Untitled in the U.S. Lucy Strauss, Alistair Mavor and Ria Sadrudin from Lee & Thompson handled the deal. Avalon was advised by David Strong at Marriott Harrison.