XYZ Films & NZ Outfit Tavake Acquire Rights to MADAME MOM

XYZ and Tavake, the Auckland-based producer of THE PANTHERS and sister company of Four Knights Film, have acquired the adaptation rights to the unpublished memoirs "Madame Mom" by Antonia Murphy, author of the Huffington Post article "I'm an Ethical Pimp."

Antonia, the author of "Dirty Chick: Adventures of an Unlikely Farmer" published by Penguin Random House, moved from the U.S. to New Zealand, where sex work is decriminalized, and in 2016 founded an escort agency built on a philosophy of protecting women's legal rights, emotional well-being, and financial independence.

"A human rights-based escort agency is a radical concept, and for years people were shocked and scared by what we were doing," Murphy says. "But the culture has changed in the past few years. People want honesty. I'm so thrilled to finally be able to tell our story."

A half-hour dramedy adaptation is underway with Shoshana McCallum (International Emmy-winner for Inside) and Harry McNaughton (The Pact) writing. It is Tavake and XYZ's first series collaboration. Tom Hern (Shadow in the Cloud, The Panthers, Guns Akimbo, The Dark Horse), Halaifonua Finau (The Panthers) and Crystal Vaega (The Panthers) are exec producing for Tavake, with Nick Spicer and Marci Wiseman for XYZ. Eric and Susan Carlson are also executive producers. Murphy is a consulting producer on the project.

"As producers, we're always on THE HUNT for exceptional human beings with unique stories to tell. Antonia is most certainly one of those people," Hern said. "We're excited by the prospect of taking audiences into the thick of the legal sex work industry with humour, humanity and lots of heart," added Vaega.

XYZ has recently complemented its feature activities with a bespoke slate of television projects including documentary series and adaptations of its own feature IP, often working alongside former Blumhouse TV Co-President Marci Wiseman.

"Madame Mom promises to be a wry, dark comedy looking at motherhood, feminism, and the controversial topic of legal prostitution through an entirely unique lens. Combining the edge of shows like Weeds and Shameless, and the indie spirit of Red Rocket, we couldn't resist bringing this project to life," said Wiseman and Spicer.

Antonia is represented by Alice Tasman at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency and UTA.

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