We’re looking forward to introducing you to Marie Halliday. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Marie, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Fanfiction! Honestly, I could gush about the fanfic space for hours, but I’ll rein in the geek and just say I’m endlessly inspired by the works and community organization coming out of sites like AO3. It’s so punk rock and such a desperately important antidote to rising censorship and ongoing threats against freedom of speech. Without fairy smut, tyranny wins. [laughs] But seriously.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
It’s funny, I did an interview with you guys a little over a year ago, but I feel like I’ve lived ten lives since then.
Since we last chatted, the film I produced – The Great Lillian Hall – premiered on HBO Max, we picked up a bunch of award nominations, and our brilliant writer took home the WGA Award (go Elisabeth, go!). It was surreal because HBO Films was my very first industry job, and suddenly I was back in that orbit…only this time as a producer instead of an assistant.
Not long after, something that had been quietly gnawing at me for years came to the forefront. I’d started writing more during this period, which meant I was suddenly on the other side of the table – experiencing the same system I’d been part of for over a decade, but now as a creative. And what I saw confirmed my unease: how often the traditional development process works against the very thing it’s meant to protect – the soul of the story. Too often, the artist’s voice is left out of the room, and notes become a balancing act between competing agendas instead of a path toward making the work stronger. Bit by bit, the heart of the project gets chipped away, and I knew I didn’t want to keep bending myself, others, or the work to fit those rules.
So at the end of 2024, I went rogue and launched Curious Witch Films. On the producing side, I’m finally in the driver’s seat, choosing projects that light me up instead of ones I’m assigned. And with an incredible team, we’ve built a consultation wing for writers, directors, producers, and other creatives who’ve had enough of the standard-issue notes process. We’re especially passionate about working with people in the thick of it – stuck, searching, or tangled in their own draft – rather than parachuting in at the end with a list of surface fixes. Every artist works differently, so instead of a one-size-fits-all template, we craft tailor-made creative plans that respond to their process and needs. Sometimes that looks like structured feedback; other times it’s about experimenting, playing, even inventing new ways of approaching the work. What we offer is is collaborative, psychologically aware, and witchy in the best sense: curious, intuitive, unafraid to dig into the messy middle where the real magic lives. And yes, I throw in a free tarot reading for the clients who want it.
At the heart of it, I believe in making space for art that exists simply because it needs to. Expression can be a lifeline in the darkest of times, and the act of creating just to create is something worth fiercely protecting. The name Curious Witch comes from exactly that – approaching development with curiosity instead of judgment, and stripping away the fear of failure so you can find your truest artistic voice. I proudly wear a term that’s been used to marginalize sensitive, empathic, intuitive women as a badge of honor. Here, no one’s asking you to make your story “safe” or “ready for market” before it’s actually ready. We protect the soul of your work not in spite of the market, but because authenticity is the only thing that consistently breaks through.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The overly apologetic people-pleaser who lives in my brain. She got me in a lot of doors, then overstayed her welcome. So I’m retiring her with gratitude…and a reminder that she’s not invited back. Begone, sweet wench!
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
“Tell me how you’re actually feeling, not what you think I want to hear.”
I wish I’d learned sooner that letting people see you sweat or cry or rage doesn’t make you weaker – it makes you real.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
My writing partner’s. He’s batshit in the best way.
What makes our collaboration unique is that we almost never have a straight, point-by-point conversation about the work. He taught me to meet creativity with creativity, art with art. For example, if I’m struggling to find the voice of a character, he’s not going to hand me a polite notes doc with a compliment sandwich and line edits. Instead, he’ll show up to dinner in character and stay there until we crack it. (I told you, he’s batshit.) We’re forever reinventing how we work to keep the fire lit.
That kind of wild, out-of-the-box thinking has been a paradigm shift for me — and it’s the spirit the company was built on. It’s chaos. And it’s perfect.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What will you regret not doing?
What I’ll regret not doing is using my privilege and platforms (like this interview) to say the things too many people are afraid to say. Hollywood loves to market itself as progressive, feminist, inclusive — but that’s perception, not progress. Behind the glossy optics, the same systems of racism, misogyny, and exploitation keep grinding on.
Right now, I see a culture of fear everywhere: people out of work, scared to speak, scared of being blacklisted. If you’re lucky enough to have a job, you’re terrified of losing it. And the silence isn’t abstract, it’s strategic. As an indie producer, I know how fragile financing is, and if you trace the money far enough, it leads back to the same institutions upholding the violence we claim to oppose. In this moment, calling a genocide a genocide has tangible repercussions. That’s by design.
But I’m my own boss now. I can say it without waiting for permission. I may lose some work over it, but that’s fine — I’ll just give myself a promotion and still be able to sleep at night.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.curiouswitchfilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiouswitchfilms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-halliday-57902840
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@curiouswitchfilms
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
