Tony McNamara

Tony McNamara (born 1967) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, and television producer. He is also an occasional film director and producer. He is known for his work on the scripts for The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023), two films directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Deborah Davis for the former and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the latter. On television, he created the comedy-drama series The Great (2020–2023). Tony McNamara was born in 1967 in Kilmore, Victoria, Australia, and was educated at Assumption College, Kilmore. Following careers in catering and finance, McNamara settled on a career as a writer following a visit to Rome. He studied writing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and screenwriting at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. After writing various television episodes and stage plays, McNamara made his film debut in 2003, directing The Rage in Placid Lake, adapted from his stage play The Café Latte Kid. Following this, he wrote for various television programmes in Australia, most notably The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, Tangle and Puberty Blues. In 2015, McNamara directed his second feature film, the comedy-drama Ashby, starring Mickey Rourke, Sarah Silverman and Emma Roberts. A year later, he returned to television as the creator of the medical drama Doctor Doctor. In 2018, he received critical acclaim for his work in co-writing the historical comedy-drama film The Favourite with Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone. Originally a screenplay by Deborah Davis written 20 years before the film's release, Lanthimos and McNamara worked together to complete the final script. McNamara created The Great, a series revolving around the life of Catherine the Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, which premiered on Hulu on 15 May 2020. It is based on his play about Catherine the Great, which premiered at the Sydney Theatre Company in 2008. McNamara also wrote a film adaptation of the play. McNamara returned to work with Lanthimos as the writer for the 2023 film Poor Things, with Stone as the lead actress again. McNamara has a child from a first marriage and married Australian actress Belinda Bromilow in 2009. They have two children. Description above from the Wikipedia article Tony McNamara (writer), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Works

The Rage in Placid Lake

Placid Lake has always been different. As an odd fish in a sea of mediocrity, his brilliant ideas are bound to get him into more trouble than success. So when he finds himself flying off the school roof and breaking every bone in his body on graduation night, Placid decides to make a bid for the elusive normal life. To his parents' horror, he gets a normal job.

Release Date:2003-05-17

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:31

Cruella 2

Sequel to 2021's Cruella.

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Poor Things

Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

Release Date:2023-12-07

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Vote Count:4506

Cruella

In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

Release Date:2021-05-26

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Vote Count:9466

The Great

A genre-bending, anti-historical ride through 18th century Russia following the rise of Catherine the Nothing to Catherine the Great and her explosive relationship with husband Peter, the emperor of Russia.

Release Date:2020-05-15

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Episode Count:10

Vote Count:1031

The Favourite

England, early 18th century. The close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the two cousins to be the Queen's favourite.

Release Date:2018-11-23

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Vote Count:5546

Doctor Doctor

The story of Hugh Knight, a rising heart surgeon who is gifted, charming and infallible. He is a hedonist who, due to his sheer talent, believes he can live outside the rules. His "work hard, play harder" philosophy is about to come back and bite him.

Release Date:2016-09-14

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Episode Count:20

Vote Count:35

Ashby

When new kid in town Ed Wallis is given an assignment to interview an older person, he turns to his mysterious neighbor, Ashby Holt for help. That new connection leads to unexpected journeys for both of them, as Ashby – who turns out to be a retired CIA assassin – deals with a terminal prognosis, and Ed deals with adjusting to life with his newly single mom and developing relationship with a brainy classmate, Eloise.

Release Date:2015-04-19

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:446

Puberty Blues

Based on Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey's iconic novel, Puberty Blues tells the story of two girls, Debbie and Sue, of innocence lost and experience gained against the backdrop of Australia in the 1970s.

Release Date:2012-08-15

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:8

Vote Count:10

Spirited

Spirited is a romantic look at life and love after death with a rock 'n' roll twist. Uptight dentist Suzy Darling leaves her egotistical husband Steve and moves into a penthouse to start a new life with her children. Seemingly a well orchestrated plan, she quickly discovers that she has to share her penthouse with Henry, who is no ordinary man. Henry is apparently a ghost. Henry awakens form 20 years of deathly slumber when Suzy and her kids move into the apartment. He's a British Rock Star and struggles to understand what is happening to him... or even who he is.

Release Date:2010-08-25

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:10

Vote Count:12

Offspring

An exuberant drama set in Melbourne's Fitzroy, centering on Nina Proudman and her struggle to deal with her fabulously messy family, her hunt for a decent love life and her tendency to overthink and fly off into fantasy.

Release Date:2010-08-22

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:10

Vote Count:24

Tangle

The lives of two generations of two wealthy families intertwine as they clash and connect over money, sex, scandals and secrets in Melbourne.

Release Date:2009-10-01

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:7

Rush

They are trained to be smarter, tactically superior and technologically advantaged - Melbourne's answer for a cutting edge trend in policing worldwide. Rush was an Australian television police drama that first screened on Network Ten in September 2008. Set in Melbourne, Victoria, it focuses on the members of a Police Tactical Response team. It is produced by John Edwards and Southern Star. On 10 November 2011, as with Network Ten setting out DVD promotions for the finale of season 4, David Knox of TV Tonight has announced that Rush would not return after 4 years, as the next episode would be its last.

Release Date:2008-09-02

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:13

Vote Count:13

Moving Wallpaper

Moving Wallpaper is a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–2009. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called Echo Beach, each episode of which aired directly after the Moving Wallpaper episode about its production. The second series was based around the production of a "zombie show" called Renaissance. Ben Miller confirmed in May 2009 on his Twitter account that no further series will be made. The title, "Moving Wallpaper", is a disparaging term applied to uninspiring TV shows, or to television in general, referring to the perception that modern television viewers are "mindless absorbers of images", as if staring at wallpaper.

Release Date:2008-01-10

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:4

Echo Beach

Echo Beach is a British teen drama series that aired on ITV in 2008. Set in the fictional Cornish coastal town of Polnarren, it ran for twelve weekly episodes from 10 January to 21 March 2008. The show was created by Tony Jordan and produced by Kudos for ITV.

Release Date:2008-01-10

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:12

Vote Count:5

Love My Way

Love My Way is a Logie Award winning and critically acclaimed Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons. Love My Way was about a group of thirty-somethings dealing with the ups and downs of life. The series revolves around an extended family unit - Frankie Paige and Charlie Jackson are the separated parents of Lou, and Frankie also lives with Charlie's brother, Tom. As the series began, Charlie's new wife Julia is about to have their first child. Frankie's mother, Di and Charlie's mother Brenda and father Gerry also have a strong presence in the ongoing story, as does Julia's ex-lover Howard, who enters into a relationship with Frankie. Produced by John Edwards and Claudia Karvan, Love My Way starred Karvan, Sam Worthington, Dan Wyllie, Asher Keddie, Brendan Cowell, and Alex Cook. As the program was made for subscription television in Australia, it contained stronger material than most Australian programs: regular swearing, drug use and sexual references. When the series was launched, much was made of the connection between Love My Way and The Secret Life of Us: both sharing a star, as well as significant creative talent. However, the series is not a continuation of Secret Life, although it does share some thematic concerns.

Release Date:2004-11-22

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:8

Vote Count:8

Danny Deckchair

Based on a true story, the tale of a cement truck driver named Danny, whose long awaited vacation is cancelled thanks to his scheming girlfriend, Trudy. Danny escapes his grim life in suburban Australia and blasts into the skies in a chair tied with helium balloons. A mighty thunderstorm blows him clean off the map, and spits him out far away over the lush green town of Clarence. In this new town, he rockets into the world of Glenda, the town's only parking cop. While the media back home becomes obsessed with the story of his disappearance, Danny gets to reinvent himself in this new town, and in his great adventure, he discovers a true soul mate in Glenda. Fate catches up with him eventually, as Danny's true identity is revealed and Trudy--now a tabloid celebrity--comes to the idyllic town to claim Danny and drag him back to Sydney. Danny, however, is a changed man; he's discovered what it means to be happy and has found a new self-worth.

Release Date:2003-05-16

Department:Writing

Job:Script Consultant

Vote Count:71

The Secret Life of Us

The Secret Life of Us is an Australian television drama series about the lives of 20-30 somethings living in the early 2000s.

Release Date:2001-07-16

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:7

Angst

An aspiring horror movie writer searches for love in a world of heartache, desperation and fluffy toys.

Release Date:2000-08-30

Department:Crew

Job:Additional Dialogue

Vote Count:2

Dating the Enemy

Television show host Brett and his laid-back science journalist girlfriend Tash despair that they will ever truly understand each other. On their first anniversary, under a full moon, a frustrated Tash declares her wish that they could swap lives. The next morning, Brett and Tash awaken to find Tash's wish has come true. Forced to confront the unfamiliar sensations of their "new" bodies, both must navigate strange new experiences with friends and co-workers.

Release Date:1996-09-19

Department:Crew

Job:Thanks

Vote Count:29

The Beat Manifesto

A comedy about jazz, poetry and sheep.

Release Date:1995-01-12

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

The Roses

Ivy and Theo, the picture-perfect couple who have successful careers, great kids, and an enviable sex life. But underneath the façade of the perfect family is a tinderbox of competition and resentments that’s ignited when Theo’s professional dreams come crashing down.

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

The Hawkline Monster

Two unlikely hero gunslingers are hired by a 15-year-old girl named Magic Child to kill a monster living in the ice caves under the basement of a house inhabited by a young woman named Miss Hawkline, only for there to be more to the girl, the owner and the house than meets the eye.

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

Avengelyne

Based on the comic book character. An angel who fights the forces of evil and often finds herself face-to-face with demons and monsters.

Department:Writing

Job:Screenplay

The Seven Five

The Seven Five is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name from director Tiller Russell and producer Eli Holzman. That film centered around a corrupt NYPD precinct in the '80s and its ringleader Michael Dowd, who was arrested in 1992 with a handful of other dirty cops who stole money and drugs. He served 14 years in prison, and his arrest exposed widespread corruption among the New York police force.

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

All Together Now

All Together Now was an Australian sitcom that was broadcast on Nine Network between 1991 and 1993. The premise involved an ageing rocker trying to maintain his music career while living with his son and daughter. For an undetermined number of initial episodes filmed prior to public broadcast, the show title was "Rhythm and Blues" and had a different theme song.

Release Date:1991-01-22

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:30

Vote Count:5