LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2025
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49
Paul Riordan
I kind of got into the film industry by accident. I got my degree
in public relations, looking to go into marketing in an agency
role. But the market was tough just after the recession and
ended up working in sales. I did a lot of Microsoft and b2b stuff.
But going into an office every day wasn't the most thrilling.
Then a friend of mine asked if I'd like to try PA work in the TV
world. And I was like, "Sure, why not?" So, I got some work on
reality show Ax Men. I was getting paid to change tires, drive
the production trucks and eat free food. I loved it.
But it's hard breaking into the industry, especially in Seattle
where it's a lot smaller than Los Angeles or New York. So, I
started bartending at the same time. And then slowly my
reputation built, and people realised I was good on set, so
I started climbing the production tree. I was doing some
coordinating for smaller companies, and then they got me
doing locations too from about 2015. But things really started
taking off when Mark invited me on 50 Shades of Grey to be an
ALM (Lisa also edited that movie). Mark showed me the ropes
on everything and has been a mentor to me.
I now work all over the Pacific Northwest, Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and in random places like North
and South Dakota. I also do other production stuff, like line
producing and agency producing. But locations are my bread
and butter.
Lisa Gunning
I was living in the UK and working as an editor of Hollywood
movies and commercials for about 20 years (including Seven
Psychopaths, Nowhere Boy and Breaking and Entering). Then
this director, Anthony Minghella, who I'd been working with,
said I should be a director. He sadly died and, in his honour,
I packed my bags, took my whippet dog and moved to the US
because in England no one was really giving me a chance—
they just saw me as an editor.
Fortunately, I got a few opportunities to direct in the United
States. One of the first jobs on Add Stories for MINI was about
the land, which had this sense of scale that I'm interested in as
a filmmaker. So, I've been typecast as that, pitching for similar
things about the landscapes being a character kind of vibe. I
think that's why the Toyota people were interested because I
tell stories through the landscapes.
I now split my time between LA and the UK, doing mostly
commercial stuff in the former and TV work in the latter,
including the Netflix spy series Black Doves, starring Keira
Knightley and Ben Whishaw.
