Maximum Effort is a

film production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and vi ...

and digital marketing agency founded by

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...

and George Dewey. The company name is a reference to a catchphrase from Reynolds' film ''

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...

'' and subsequent film series.

History

Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey launched Maximum Effort in 2018, after having collaborated on the marketing campaign for the first two ''Deadpool'' films. They worked on a series of successful low-budget ads to promote the 2016 film and its 2018 sequel, which at the time were the highest-grossing R-rated films ever. Dewey, formerly senior vice president of

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development duri ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and president of digital marketing at Annapurna Pictures, was named president of the company, and Reynolds is creative director. Maximum Effort's marketing arm was acquired by advertising software company MNTN in June 2021, with Maximum Effort Marketing keeping its name while operating as an agency within MNTN. Reynolds was named MNTN's chief creative officer, and Dewey MNTN's chief brand officer.

Film production

Maximum Effort was one of the production companies on the 2018 film ''

Deadpool 2 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero comedy film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to ''Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment overall in the ''X-Men'' film series. T ...

'', directed by

David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film ''John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...

and starring Reynolds and Josh Brolin, 2021's '' Free Guy'', directed by Shawn Levy and starring Reynolds and Jodie Comer, and on 2022's ''

The Adam Project ''The Adam Project'' is a 2022 American science fiction action comedy film co-produced by Skydance Media, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment. It was directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay written by Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennif ...

'', directed by Levy and starring Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner and Walker Scobell. Upcoming Maximum Effort Productions projects include the musical ''

Spirited ''Spirited'' is an Australian television Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy-drama series made for subscription television channel W that aired for two seasons, 2010 and 2011. The series stars Claudia Karvan as dentist Suzy Darling, wh ...

'', directed by

Sean Anders Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. Career He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film '' Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 film '' Daddy's Ho ...

and starring Reynolds and Will Ferrell. In May 2021, Maximum Effort Productions closed a three-year first-look development deal with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

for all their feature films.

Marketing

Maximum Effort Marketing has created ads for Reynolds' brands Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile, films such as ''Deadpool 2'' and ''Free Guy'', and for

Match.com Match is an online dating service with web sites serving over 50 countries in twelve languages. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match is ...

, R.M. Williams, and the

NAACP Legal Defense Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Altho ...

. One of the Aviation Gin spots went viral, as a spoof on a Peloton holiday commercial that had received significant backlash, with both ads starring the same actress, Monica Ruiz. A spot for Mint Mobile featured

Rick Moranis Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...

, in a rare public appearance for the actor, and an advertising stunt for Aviation Gin and Laughing Man Coffee had a faux

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

war between Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. A video for

went viral at the end of 2020, as it featured Satan dating the year 2020 and debuted

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

's re-recording of her song "

Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...

". In December 2021, following the release of the '' Sex and the City'' revival series '' And Just Like That...'', and the death of

Mr. Big Mr. Big may refer to: Entertainment In film and literature * Mister Big (James Bond), a villain in the novel and film ''Live and Let Die'' * ''Mister Big'' (1943 film), a 1943 musical * ''Mr. Big'' (2007 film), a 2007 documentary In televisi ...

on a Peloton bike, shares in Peloton fell. Maximum Effort quickly devised an advertisement for Peloton featuring

Chris Noth Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on ''Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...

. Reynolds provided the voiceover promoting the health benefits that cycling can have, and noting that Chris Noth/Mr. Big was still alive.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

{{reflist Mass media companies established in 2018 Film production companies of the United States Television production companies of the United States Advertising agencies of the United States Digital marketing companies of the United States 2018 establishments in New York (state)