Kristin Burr, the former Disney veteran whose credits include Sweet Home Alabama, The Prestige and The Muppets, has signed a multiyear overall deal with Lionsgate.
Under her Burr! Productions banner, Burr will develop and produced features, having already set up the dark comedy MILK — aka Mother I’d Like to Kill — from 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg. Based on Trachtenberg’s idea, Patrick Aison (Wayward Pines, Jack Ryan) penned the screenplay about a former assassin that must manage the pressures of being a new mom while avoiding her former co-workers who have been sent to kill her.
“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,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Nathan Kahane said Wednesday in a statement.
Added Erin Westerman, the studio’s president of production: “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.”
Burr, who joined Disney in 1997 and rose through its ranks to become executive vp production, left the studio to become a producer in 2017. One of her final projects at Disney was Rob Marshall’s musical Mary Poppins Returns, while other recent credits include Disney’s Christopher Robin and Paramount’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
Burr is the latest filmmaker to partner with Lionsgate, following the studio’s deals with Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and their Point Grey banner; John Wick filmmaker Chad Stahelski; and 50/50 director Jonathan Levine.
