Bicoastal production company m ss ng p eces (mp) has added filmmaker Samir Mallal to its U.S. roster for both live action and VR/experiential/digital. Mallal is a multidisciplinary talent, making waves in commercials, documentary, and VR. Prior to joining mp, he was with Superprime and before that, Smuggler.
Mallal gained notice in the commercial world in 2010 with his Tropicana commercial “Arctic Sun,” which earned him a slot in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes Lions, plus the Best Young Director award and a Gold Lion, and additional industry awards to boot. He soon signed with Smuggler and went on to helm commercials for major international brands including GE, Google, Coca-Cola and Starbucks, working with agencies such as BBDO, Deutsch, Y&R, Droga5, and JWT. He recently teamed with Within for “New Wave,” a cutting edge narrative VR film that pushes the limits of the medium, featuring voiceover that changes dynamically with the viewer’s position and field of view. As a creative leader in the space, he has spoken on storytelling in VR at both CES and MIT. Mallal began his career in the documentary realm, and has co-directed three feature length documentaries produced through the National Film Board of Canada, including “Nollywood Babylon” which debuted in the documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize. Mallal continues to bring that documentary eye to narrative work.
“In talking to the team at m ss ng p eces, I was so impressed with their energy and openness, their collaborative nature, just their whole way of doing things, and I decided it would be the perfect fit for me,” said Mallal. “The industry is changing and I have projects in the works ranging from VR originals to narrative film/TV and m ss ng p eces is flexible enough that they can handle anything–there are no limits to what I can pursue.”
“I’ve been tracking Samir’s career since I first saw ‘Arctic Sun,’ which blew me away,” said Brian Latt, mp EP/partner. “His talent for bringing out emotion and creating stunning visuals is unparalleled in the industry. We are so excited to be working with him as he embarks on the next phase in his career.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More