MRG LA MRG NY
1601 North Sepulveda Boulevard One Lincoln Plaza
Suite 509 Suite 9E
Manhattan Beach New York
California 90266 New York 10023
(310) 939-9024 (917) 626-1300
The Michael Russell Group offers clients a full range of marketing services, from motion picture and television campaigns to corporate image building and special events. MRG principals have more than three decades of experience in entertainment and corporate marketing, including public relations, promotions and advertising. The agency maintains offices in Los Angeles and New York.
Entertainment Publicity & Promotion
MRG has overseen the publicity and promotion for “The Annual Golden Globe Awards” for the past 17 years and an aggressive campaign has helped the show rocket upwards in worldwide popularity. One of the many year-round events strategized and produced by the Group was the second “Golden Globes Salutes Young Hollywood" party held at Nobu in 2009 and sponsored by Fuse. The Group has also worked with NBC Special Projects on event production and marketing for a variety of series and specials including “The Annual Primetime Emmys.”
The company is currently working on several entertainment accounts including the acclaimed documentary “Under Our Skin” which was selected for the Oscar® shortlist for Best Documentary despite not having a national distributor.
The company recently represented Argonaut Pictures, producers of “Welcome To The Rileys,” at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The drama stars Kristen Stewart, James Gandolfini and Oscar® nominee Melissa Leo. MRG is also working with the producers of the acclaimed independent feature “Down For Life” starring Danny Glover and with British director Joshua Newton representing his feature film “Iron Cross” that stars two-time Oscar® nominee Roy Scheider in his final role.
MRG also oversaw publicity campaigns for the 2008 Oscar® Best Foreign Language Film nominee “Mongol,” as well as Hollywood accounts including director Roland Emmerich’s Centropolis Entertainment and Picturehouse, Ron (“The Painted Veil” and the Oscar® winner “Philadelphia”) Nyswaner , Sky Pictures, Oscar® nominated director Christopher Nolan (“Insomnia”) and international director Sergei (“Mongol”) Bodrov. MRG has also worked pro bono on publicity activities for Inner-City Arts in Los Angeles since 2003. MRG’s Michael Russell and Stephen LoCascio received honorary inclusion on the wall of major contributors in 2008 in conjunction with the official opening ceremony of the organization’s campus expansion.
The agency also handles press for actress Kate del Castillo who was recently seen opposite Tilda Swinton in “Julia” as well as in a recurring role on Showtime’s “Weeds.” She is a spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris.
The agency served as executive producer and oversaw the publicity campaigns for The Annual Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards for five years with Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, Lucy Liu, Nicolas Cage, and other A-list stars attending.
Last summer, MRG publicized Dan Gordon’s acclaimed Broadway play “Irena’s Vow” starring Tovah Feldshuh.
Corporate Publicity & Promotion
Major past accounts include NuStep and Infinite Mind Software. The Group executive produced the smash hit long-form infomercial, “eyeQ” (a speed reading and processing software program from Infinite Mind), hosted by Pam Dawber. MRG did everything from overseeing creative to fulfillment to media buying. One of the most successful infomercials of all time, it is now in its fifth year and third generation. Russell also launched a major publicity and promotion campaign which turned Barry Sears’ book “The Zone Diet” into an international best-seller. In addition, it oversaw the launch campaign and content development strategies for Scott Blum’s “BuyMusic.com.”
In May, 2009, MRG oversaw publicity and promotion for The One Club’s first ever “Creative Week NYC” collaborating with New York Mayor Bloomberg’s promotional department to produce a week which garnered international attention for events including the 34th Annual One Show at Jazz at Lincoln Center (the Oscars® of advertising), One Show Interactive and One Show Design. MRG also launched The One Club’s inaugural One Show Entertainment in Los Angeles with director Brett (“X-Men”) Ratner and “Mad Men” creator Matt Weiner in 2008.
The company represented Visconti of Italy, the world’s number one producer of luxury writing instruments, at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. MRG oversaw the Visconti Suite at the Carlton Hotel in which celebrities selected limited edition pens including “The Divine Proportion” inspired by “The Da Vinci Code.”
Non-Profit Publicity & Promotion
MRG continues to represent the entertainment industry charity “Stars For A Cause,” which began in 2007. In collaboration with the Chrysler Brand, the agency recently publicized the SFAC auction of a Chrysler 300 “Haiti” edition signed by hundreds of celebrities to benefit the American Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund on Saturday, February 20. This one-of-a-kind vehicle was auctioned by Leake Auction Company for $100,000 at its annual collector car auction in Oklahoma following an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on February 12 in which Oprah and her guests signed the vehicle. Other Chrysler 300 Eco Style cars to be auctioned in upcoming months include vehicles signed by Christina Aguilera, Colin Firth, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Felicity Huffman & William H. Macy.
MRG worked on three “SFAC” summer events in London, New York and Los Angeles with co-sponsors Moet & Chandon, Cunard Cruises and Bonhams & Butterfields to benefit The Prince’s Trust. Sir Ben Kingsley hosted the London event. Participants for “Stars for a Cause” include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, The Jonas Brothers, Kate Winslet, Tom Cruise and many other A-list celebrities.
The Group oversaw all aspects of publicity and promotion for the first three annual José Iturbi International Music Competitions at UCLA (2007-2009) presenting the highest cash prizes of any classical piano and singing competition worldwide.
MRG recently worked with “Variety” on the 2009 fundraiser celebrating “The Power of Women” and their impact on philanthropic and charitable causes that took place at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons. Honorees (all attending) were Sigourney Weaver (introduced by “Avatar” director James Cameron), Christina Aguilera, Anne Hathaway, Christina Applegate, Sherry Lansing, Maria Bello and “Mad Men” star January Jones.
MRG is currently overseeing the 9th Annual “Women Who Care” Awards Luncheon to take place at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on May 6.
Interactive & New Media
The group currently represents Famous Frames Mobile Interactive, the first digital media studio with capabilities to produce, acquire, license and distribute original animated content of all kinds. While working as Senior Vice President at Rogers and Cowan (1995-1997), Russell’s interactive accounts included Webby Award-winner Scott Zakarin (grapejam.com), Troon (Absolut Panushka.com), the Artists Rights Foundation Digital Technology Symposium and MSN in Seattle. Event marketing campaigns during that period included the launch of GameWorks in Seattle and Las Vegas for Stephen Spielberg and DreamWorks SKG, the New York launch of “Independence Day” for 20th Century Fox Merchandise & Licensing, the Hollywood Reporter’s YoungStar Awards benefitting the Starlight Children’s Foundation (an event MRG executive produced), the John Huston Awards saluting Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese & the Artists Rights Foundation’s Digital Technology Symposium. Russell’s filmmaker clients at Rogers and Cowan included 1492 Pictures/Chris Columbus (“Nine Months,” “Jingle All the Way”), Neil Jordan (“Michael Collins”), Doug Liman (“Swingers”), Mark Rydell (HBO’s “Crime of the Century”) and Caravan Pictures/Roger Birnbaum.
International Outreach
MRG oversees Entertainment Outreach for the Government of Iraq. In the last two years, the Group arranged for two delegations of Hollywood executives to visit Kurdistan to begin a dialogue between the countries to assist in the development of Iraq’s film industry. The agency recently organized an event at the United Nations commemorating the 21st Anniversary of the Halabja genocide in Iraq generating worldwide media coverage.
MRG LA:
Michael Russell has held senior level executive positions at major studios including Executive Director of marketing and publicity for Paramount Pictures, Vice President of 20th Century Fox, Vice President of Orion Pictures and Publicity Director for Disney. He subsequently worked as Senior Vice President of Rogers & Cowan overseeing all aspects of its worldwide film division.
Russell’s 100+ national publicity campaigns for motion pictures include “Mongol," "Notting Hill,” “What Dreams May Come,” “The Game,” “Barney’s Great Adventure,” back-to-back Orion Oscar® Best Picture winners “Dances With Wolves” and “The Silence of the Lambs;” “Home Alone 2,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Ghost,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The Godfather Part III,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” and “The Untouchables.” He has also worked on a multitude of Oscar® publicity campaigns.
MRG NY:
James Grant is Vice President of MRG heading up its New York office. He has worked as West Coast Publicity Director of Orion Pictures where he strategized publicity campaigns for several films including the directorial debut of Jodie Foster in “Little Man Tate.” He also worked on the successful Best Actress Oscar® campaign for Jessica Lange for “Blue Sky” and worked on publicity for Miramax’s “A Rage in Harlem.” Grant subsequently worked with heiress Aileen Getty overseeing her philanthropic work to bring increased awareness to women with AIDS. In that capacity, Grant generated international media attention for Getty by orchestrating several key media gets including major features in “Vanity Fair," “People” and appearances on Oprah and CNN among other shows.
A former journalist, Grant worked for four Time/Warner publications – “People,” “In Style,” “Entertainment Weekly” and as West Coast Bureau Chief of “Life” magazine. He has discussed the entertainment industry as a featured guest on “Entertainment Tonight,” “Larry King Live,” “CNN Showbiz Today,” “The E! Network,” “The John McLaughlin Report,” “A.M. Los Angeles” and in “The New York Times,” “USA Today” and other publications.
He began his career at Davidson & Choy publicizing "Dreamgirls," "Little Shop of Horrors", "Extremities," "Private Lives," and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He subsequently worked in marketing for the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation.
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