| Bunim/Murray Productions | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Entertainment |
| Founders: | |
| Hq Location City: | Glendale, California |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Key People: |
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| Owner: | Banijay |
| Parent: | Banijay Americas |
| Footnotes: | [1] |
Bunim/Murray Productions is an American entertainment production company based out of Glendale, California and owned by French television media conglomerate Banijay since 25 March 2010.[2] Considered as a pioneer in the reality television genre with local hit programs like The Real World, Road Rules and Bad Girls Club, it was founded in 1987 by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray after an agent named Mark Itkin of the William Morris Agency put the two together to develop a scripted soap opera for MTV. When that was too expensive, they decided to try an unscripted soap and The Real World was born. "We knew within 20 minutes of shooting that we had a show," Bunim said.[3] The company has expanded into music management, managing the pop punk/emo band A Cursive Memory.
The company's initial success was on the creation of The Real World. Attempts at scripted series, including Jam Bay, a show that would have co-produced with Universal Television for ABC, never went past the pilot stage.[4] On June 28, 1999, the company attempted to enter into the syndication business, by planning on to partner with Columbia TriStar Television Distribution to launch a reality strip Love Hurts.[5] In 2001, Bunim/Murray partnered with Artists Television Group, on the unaired WB television show Lost in the USA, but it was cancelled and it was hit with a $1 million lawsuit.[6] On December 16, 2002, the company announced that they would partner with film studio New Line Cinema on the company's only theatrical project, The Real Cancun.[7]
In October 2011, two years after aired, contestant Tonya Cooley filed a lawsuit against fellow contestants Kenny Santucci and Evan Starkman, MTV, and Bunim/Murray Productions, claiming that she was sexually assaulted during filming. Cooley claimed in the lawsuit that Santucci and Starkman inserted a toothbrush into her vaginal canal while she was passed out from heavy drinking, and stated that she was subjected to an environment in which degrading and harassing behavior was directed at female contestants, including bathing suits stripped off their bodies. A representative for Bunim/Murray said that "after a thorough investigation, we have found Tonya Cooley’s claims to be completely baseless."[8] Cooley also alleged that the show's producers encouraged and rewarded such behavior, and that when she raised concerns she was told to "just deal with it." A representative for Viacom blamed Cooley for the alleged assault against her, stating in court that "in addition to failing to avail herself of VMN's policies and complaint procedures, Plaintiff failed to avoid the injuries of which she complains. For example, while she was a contestant on The Ruins, Plaintiff was frequently intoxicated (to an extent far greater than other contestants), rowdy, combative, flirtatious and on multiple occasions intentionally exposed her bare breasts and genitalia to other contestants." The lawsuit was settled out of court one year later.[9]