Lionsgate Inks Disney Vet Kristin Burr & Her Burr! Productions To Multi-Year Pact

Anthony D'Alessandro
·4 min read

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Lionsgate has signed producer Kristin Burr and her company, Burr! Productions to an overall multi-year film production deal.

She is the latest filmmaker to partner with the studio, following Lionsgate’s deals with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver and their production company Point Grey Pictures, filmmaker Chad Stahelski, director Jonathan Levine, and producer Stephen “Doctor” Love.

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A Disney exec of 20 years, Burr’s producing credits include Disney’s Christopher Robin and Paramount/Walden Media’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

The deal was announced today by Nathan Kahane, President of the Motion Picture Group, who said, “Kristin will be a key pillar for us as we step up our activity in the live-action family space. She develops films in this arena that elevate the genre and are distinctive, fresh and authentic. She is one of the most talented producers working today and will be a tremendous addition to our development family adding a great resource to our team as we continue to deliver exciting films that focus on our new content strategy.”

Erin Westerman, Lionsgate’s President of Production, added, “I was privileged to work closely with Kristin at Disney and saw firsthand how she helped make her projects the very best they could be. There are few working in our business who can match her vision for story, her incredible eye for talent, or the way she can inspire others with her filmmakers’ passion. It’s a thrill to be reuniting with her professionally.”

“I am thrilled to be working with Nathan and Erin in this next chapter of Burr! Productions,” said Burr. “What Nathan has expertly built at Lionsgate in his time there is directly in line with the kinds of stories I am excited to tell. The fact that he is also a strong supporter of women in our industry who is attentive AND smart is icing on the cake and frankly makes me want to succeed for him even more.”

“Erin has been my partner in crime in many storytelling adventures over the years and I’ve always suspected (hoped) she’d one day be my boss, so nothing makes me happier than to be back in business with her,” added the producer.

Of the Lionsgate projects Burr is working on: Dan Trachtenberg’s MILK (Mother I’d Like To Kill), a dark comedy thriller penned by Patrick Aison about a former assassin who must manage the pressures of being a new mom while avoiding her former co-workers who have been sent to kill her.

Currently, Burr is in production on the Netflix musical Jingle Jangle, starring Forest Whitaker with music by John Legend due out in December. She is also in post-production on Disney’s Cruella starring Emma Stone which will hit theaters on May 28, 2021.

Burr joined Disney in 1997 as a creative exec. Prior to her transition into producing in 2017, she held the title of EVP of Production. At Disney she oversaw development on such hit romantic comedies as Sweet Home Alabama with Reese Witherspoon; The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as well as Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale; the reboot of The Muppets; Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic; and the reimagining of Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. One of her final projects at Disney was shepherding the musical Mary Poppins Returns, directed by Rob Marshall, starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Meryl Streep.

Lionsgate’s EVP of Business Affairs Bonnie Stylides negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio. Burr is repped by Karl Austen and Marissa Linden at Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein.

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