Laura Jones

Laura Jones (born 1951) is an Australian screenwriter.

Jones started her career writing teleplays for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Her first feature film credit was the original screenplay for High Tide (1987), directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Judy Davis. This was followed by her adaptation of the Janet Frame autobiography, An Angel at My Table (1990), which was directed by Jane Campion. She collaborated again with Campion, this time on The Portrait of a Lady (1996). The following years saw her team up with Armstrong on Oscar and Lucinda, adapted from the novel by Australian writer Peter Carey. She also worked on other literary adaptations for Hollywood.

Jones is a strong supporter of Australian filmmaking. During the 1990s she served on the Australian Film Commission.

She is the daughter of Australian author Jessica Anderson.

Career Laura Jones spent the beginning of her adult life doing odd jobs. During the mid- 70s she was living in Canberra with her husband and daughter, who took up most of her time. In her mid-twenties she bought her first TV and after watching many shows she thought that writing for TV “would be a way of making money without going to work”. Jones’ screenwriting career began after she sent a play to Australian screenwriter Tony Morphett. Morphett got Jones her first screenwriting job for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Certain Women series in 1975.

Jones' career in film began with her original screenplay for High Tide in 1987 that was directed by Gillian Armstrong and “garnered high praise”. and she is now considered one of the world’s best movie adapters. She sees the importance of working with directors who share her passion, for example she has a "strong commitment to collaborative working with female directors, notably Jane Campion and Gillian Armstrong".

In 1997 she wrote the screenplay for Samantha Lang's first feature film The Well, an adaptation of the novel by Elizabeth Jolley. Produced by Sandra Levy and starring Miranda Otto and Pamela Rabe, the film was selected for 30 film festivals, including Sundance Film Festival, and was entered into competition for the Palme d'Or in the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

Jones served on the Australian Film Commission during the 1990s and has been "very active in encouraging women's (and alternative) women's cinema". Title Role Adapted 2007 Brick Lane Screenplay Yes 2002 Possession Screenplay Yes 1999 Angela's Ashes Screenplay Yes 1997 Oscar and Lucinda Screenplay Yes 1997 A Thousand Acres Screenplay Yes 1997 The Well Screenplay Yes 1996 The Portrait of a Lady Screenplay Yes 1990 An Angel at My Table Screenplay Yes 1987 High Tide Writer Original

Television series

Plays