EXCLUSIVE: Animal Pictures, the production company of Natasha Lyonne, has promoted creative executive Max Ferguson to Head of Development.
Ferguson joined Animal Pictures a little over three years ago and quickly distinguished himself as a key creative force behind the company’s distinctive storytelling approach. He started his career in UTA’s TV Talent department after graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in screenwriting and producing, in a pivot from the professional trajectory he originally envisioned, beginning with a competitive program in astrophysics.
“Max is an extraordinary human being and filmmaker,” Lyonne told Deadline. “He’s got integrity, great taste in material, compassion and a sense of humor. I’m grateful to walk alongside him out in the field.”
Mixing elements of prestige, pop, and pure invention in the projects it takes on, Animal Pictures has become synonymous with auteur-driven film and television, with hits like Peacock’s Emmy-winning Poker Face, Netflix’s Emmy-winning Russian Doll, Apple TV’s Emmy-nominated Loot, and Prime Video’s animated series The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, created by Cirocco Dunlap and starring Keke Palmer, Stephanie Hsu and Kieran Culkin.
On the film side, Animal produced a Robert Altman Award winner in Azazel Jacobs’ His Three Daughters, starring Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen and Lyonne, which premiered to critical acclaim at TIFF and was quickly snapped up by Netflix. They’re also behind the Emmy-nominated, Lyonne-helmed stand-up special Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees, which was released in 2024.
Upcoming, Animal Pictures has Force Majeure, a retro comedy co-created by and co-starring Lyonne and Matt Berry, as a pair of crackerjack spies, for Sky. They’re also prepping Lyonne’s directorial feature Uncanny Valley, co-written by Brit Marling, and co-conceived with tech philosopher Jaron Lanier, which unfolds in a parallel present where a missing girl sparks mayhem inside a global augmented-reality game. That film is being produced in house by Asteria Film Co., the hybrid AI studio Lyonne co-founded earlier this year.
Also in motion is director Ana Lily Amirpour’s adaptation of the graphic novel Basketful of Heads, a project we first reported on that Animal will produce with Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road.
Speaking to his time at Animal, Ferguson said, “It’s been a privilege to work with someone as singular as Natasha. I look forward to continuing to deliver on celebrated content that arrives with flair, depth, and commercial bite, while taking new strides in engaging with an industry that finds itself at a new creative & technological crossroads every year. Animal Pictures will continue to operate at the highest level in how stories are shaped and shared.”
Repped by CAA, Animal Pictures recently inked a first-look deal with Sister, the company behind titles like HBO’s Emmy winner Chernobyl and Netflix’s hit Keira Knightley action thriller series Black Doves.
