Australian prodco Factor 30 Films rebrands as Magnetic Stories and eyes international growth

Melissa Kelly and Adam Bishop

Australian independent production company Factor 30 Films has rebranded as Magnetic Stories and expanded its team as it prepares for international growth.

The West Australia-based company has hired former Screenwest development manager Adam Bishop as its new development executive to drive an expanding film and television slate.

Bishop joins the company with UK and Australian experience as a script specialist working with broadcasters and agencies. In Australia, he has also consulted for Screen Australia, Screen Queensland and Australians in Film (US).

Bob Campbell

The company has also recruited former Screentime co-founder and industry production stalwart Bob Campbell as a business mentor to help grow Magnetic Stories’ international reach and development. A representative for Magnetic Stories told C21 it is “actively seeking coproductions with the UK and Ireland.”

Magnetic Stories producer Melissa Kelly said the company was focusing on a mix of film and television projects and specifically “bringing Western Australian IP and original stories to global audiences.”

Kelly confirmed Magnetic has agreed a partnership with local author Alan Carter and Fremantle Press for two book adaptations: Prime Cut, which will be coproduced by Campbell, and Marlborough Man, a copro with Northern Pictures.

Magnetic Stories has also recently optioned true crime story Pink Diamond Heist, a six-part adaptation based on an ABC podcast by Sinéad Mangan, with production partner Decade Films. The crime narrative is set in Western Australia in the late 1980s, unearthing the details of a A$200m (US$126m) diamond heist from Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine.