Producing duo MrMr has joined the global directing roster at Stink Rising. It's apropos that Lambert and McGuirk launch their careers as directors at Stink Rising in that they helped create the shop back in 2018.
Lambert and McGuirk first met in 2017 in Marrakech on a ghost tour. They reconnected in 2019 when Lambert was hired by Stink Films as the head of music and tapped McGuirk to come on as the producer. A year later, Lambert and McGuirk left Stink and founded their own production company, MrMr Films, where they produced high-end campaigns and music videos with directors such as Lope Serrano aka CANADA, Felix Brady, Georgia Hudson, Terrence Neale and Salomon Ligthelm for Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Samsung, and Remy Martin’s Super Bowl campaign featuring Serena Williams. Together Lambert and McGuirk won numerous awards at UKMVAs, Clios, D&AD awards, 1.4 awards, AICP Awards and Ciclope Festival, among others.
In the last few years, MrMr co-directed music videos with artists such as Wet Leg and Self Esteem, eventually growing into fully fledged films, including a short for Suede’s album “Autofiction.” Lambert and McGuirk are in development on multiple feature films and have been busy writing.
As writers and directors, their knack for stylish humor and character driven storylines comes through in their first short film “Eat It,” a gut busting comedy with heartbreak and cherry pie at its core. Released today, the film has been recognized at the Birmingham Film Festival, Oslo film festival, Oaxaca Film Festival and New York Shorts so far and continues its festival run.
MrMr have the sort of flair that comes from years of working in music videos, but at the heart of it all, their films are about having big feelings and making bad decisions. They will continue to produce their own work as well as directing it. This gives MrMr a unique advantage–they close the gap between the creation of the idea and the execution, meaning as a duo they are able to fully realize an idea and have an understanding of how to bring a concept to life.
In a joint statement, Lambert and McGuirk shared, “It’s nice to be back and pestering all our old co-workers to try and get us scripts. Jokes aside, we’ve seen first hand the skill and care of the Stink EPs and we’re incredibly grateful they are giving us their time and talent.”
Blake Powell, Stink global head of film, added, “Katie and Martha have long been part of the Stink family and I’m excited to have them back, this time as directors. They are sharp, ambitious directors who have a highly valuable background in production with an eye for creatively driven stories.”
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More