Audible has landed another big Hollywood talent deal: The Amazon-owned premium audio service announced a multi-project development and first-look deal with Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons through their Jaywalker Pictures banner.
Under the pact, Dern, an award-winning producer, actor and activist, and producing partner Lemons are set to executive produce audio projects exclusively for Audible. Jason Weinberg and Steven Nossokoff of Untitled Entertainment are also set to executive produce alongside Dern and Lemons. For now, the parties aren’t sharing details of what topics or genres Dern and Lemons may focus on.
“Since founding our company, Jaywalker Pictures, we have focused on giving incredible storytellers avenues to share their talents,” Dern and Lemons said in a joint statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with Audible to continue that mission and look forward to bringing a diverse slate of content to the remarkable platform Zola [Mashariki, head of Audible Studios] and company have created.”
Mashariki added, “Through this latest collaboration with Jaywalker Pictures, Audible continues to double down on its commitment to spotlight extraordinary female storytellers. Laura is a fearless and profoundly gifted performer and creator — an artist with an astonishing and unparalleled way of expressing her point of view and telling unforgettable stories.”
The deal follows Audible’s recently announced production and development deals with partners including Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco, Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions, Charlamagne tha God’s CTHA World Productions, Steph Curry’s Unanimous Media, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company, Topic Studios and Treefort Media.
Audible original series include the forthcoming unscripted podcast “My Body, My Podcast” from Elizabeth Banks; an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman,” which has been renewed for two more seasons; “Sheryl Crow Words + Music” and “Alanis Morissette Words + Music,” which delves into the meaning behind the singers’ best-known tracks; “Letters from Camp,” produced and performed by Jamie Lee Curtis; and “Billie Was a Black Woman,” a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday.
Dern and Lemons founded Jaywalker Pictures in 2017. Most recently, Jaywalker produced feature documentary “The Way I See It,” for Focus Features and MSNBC Films, directed by Dawn Porter and the company served as executive producers on the Oscar-winning animated short “If Anything Happens I Love You.” Upcoming Jaywalker productions include “The Dolls,” a limited series in which Dern is set to star alongside Issa Rae; an hour-long series based on the book “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie,” developed in partnership with Tate Taylor, who will direct; and a drama produced in partnership with Alex Gibney.
