Directing Duo Peter Martin Joins Merchant

Peter Martin is actually two people. The Peter half is American. The Martin half is Australian.

Peter is an alum of the American Film Institute and Sundance Labs. Martin got schooled in advertising as a creative director/writer at places like Deutsch and TBWA/Chiat/Day.

They met at a party, discovered a shared passion for the same kind of movies and filmmakers, and have been directing together ever since.

Peter and Martin love comedy but their true passion is a great idea, regardless of genre.

If you like their reel, you’ll probably like them.

Q> What appealed to you about joining Merchant? 

Peter Martin> We like to keep our enemies close and Tim Godsall, The Perlorian Brothers, and Benji Weinstein are some of the funniest faux foes you could ask for. To get to play for the same team as them and the rest of the impressive Merchant roster is going to be a blast. Also because of Ian. He’s a delight.

Q> Can you give us a brief rundown of your career so far? 

Peter Martin> Whether it’s getting NFL pros to make asses of themselves in the name of pizza, doing a CG epic about a thumb that climbs Mt. Everest, or driving a car through a wall for an Australian chicken chain, every single job experience becomes part of the toolkit. We love that we get to solve all kinds of problems because the more we shoot, the better we get.

Q> Do you have any particular career highlights that you’d like to share?  

Peter Martin> We’ve done too many fun spots to pick favourites. We’ve ridden ATVs in the Sahara while scouting for epic dune vistas, heard great Star Trek stories from William Shatner in between setups, and laughed our asses off playing Jenga till 2AM with Wanda Sykes in Mexico City. It’s really the experiences that come with the work that are our biggest highlights.

Q> What are you most looking forward to achieving with Merchant? 

Peter Martin> Doing the best work we’ve ever done. 

Q> What does the next year look like for you? Any exciting projects in the works we can tease? 

Peter Martin> We’ve had a busy April that for some reason involved shooting a lot of chicken. First for KFC Australia and then for Nando’s. On the heels of that, we shot a fun one for Sobeys in Toronto and are now editing something we just did with a bunch of Jim Henson puppets that should be coming out in a month or so.

Q> Anything else you’d like to add?  

Peter Martin> Let’s do this!

Ian Webb, EP at Merchant said, "We’re excited to have Peter and Martin join our roster – we are huge fans of their vibrant comedy and passion. We take pride in our comedy roster and are confident that Peter Martin will add something fresh with their unique blend of VFX and natural wit. Exactly as they’ve said - we’re excited to make the best work together."

Merchant is a Canadian based production company founded by award-winning director Tim Godsall and executive producer Ian Webb.

For more information on Peter Martin or Merchant, please contact: Ian Webb executive producer, Merchant.