Robber’s Dog signs Peter Martin for Australasian representation – directing duo work as a collective
Directors Peter Livolsi and Martin Dix, known professionally as Peter Martin, have signed to Auckland-based production company, Robber’s Dog.
Although still operating under the Peter Martin banner, the pair are now directing as a collective, with Martin and Peter both tackling solo projects in addition to their continued work together.
Aussie expat Martin explains their evolution: “We’ve always admired the way guys like Traktor and The Glue Society do their thing. No matter which director(s) you end up with they always deliver, and because they can split up and offer different iterations of themselves, they’re able to tackle multiple projects at once.
“The selfish part of us will always like working together because we have so much fun that way, but we do love the idea of not missing out on a great script just because of a schedule conflict. Having the ability to split up and operate more as a collective at times will just mean more opportunities to add awesomeness to the Peter Martin reel.”
Before their professional relationship began, Peter and Martin met at a party where their shared love of anything cinematic helped them get over their shared hatred of small talk. At that time, Peter was attending film school at the American Film Institute, whereas Martin was an already well-established creative director in the LA office of creative agency, Deutsch.
Over the coming years, Peter Martin would go on to forge a reputation for producing stylistic commercials for a diverse range of brands and clients including the BBC, McDonald’s, MTV, Dentyne, Daily Juice, Priceline and FedEx to name but a few. Their work has been recognised by The One Show, Cannes, The London International Awards (LIA), AICE Awards, Shoot’s New Director’s Showcase, Adweek’s Best Spots, Student Emmy’s & Academy Awards, The Austin Film Festival Audience Award and Best Short Film Tribeca Film Festival.
Being an Australian native, Martin feels especially motivated to spearhead the collective’s work down under, in New Zealand and in the rest of the Australasian region. But he notes: “Peter fell in love with ‘smashed avo and the footy’ – thanks to a game he saw at the MCG last time he was in town – so he’s got his own strong incentive for getting down there as much as possible.”
In terms of the new working relationship, Martin comments: “Whether a film ends up being directed by Peter, myself, or the two of us, our process doesn’t change. We still chat and brainstorm about every project that comes in as that’s always been one of the funnest parts of the job for us.”
For Robber’s Dog, the Peter Martin signing was a simple move as managing director George Mackenzie has known the pair ever since their time at The Sweet Shop. Says Martin: “George is funny, refreshingly straight-forward, and extremely tall which are our three favourite qualities in an EP. We love the carefully curated roster he and the guys at Robber’s Dog have assembled. They’re all brilliant filmmakers and we’ll do our best not to embarrass them too much.”
Peter Martin is repped by Imperial Woodpecker in the US, Rogue in Europe, Ad hoc in Canada, and now Robber’s Dog in Australasia.