For the past 10 years, music videos, TV commercials, and short film and web projects have kept Arturo Perez Jr. busy. Perez will now premiere his first major motion picture Mean Girls, and chances are it’s going to be…fetch.

Perez is the co-director of Mean Girls, a feature film based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was based on the 2004 comedy of the same name. Joining Perez on their new adventure is his wife, co-director Samantha Jayne.

If you’ve somehow never heard of Mean Girls before, the movie musical follows Cady Heron, a 16-year-old girl who maneuvers her way through public high school for the first time and ends up in a clique known as The Plastics lead by “queen bee” Regina George. The original movie starring Lindsay Lohan is now a pop culture touchstone.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Perez got his start by filming live music sessions known as Take Away Shows featuring musicians or bands playing on the street, in a garden, or in another unique setting. In 2015, Perez, was chosen by Oscar winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to participate in the HBO series Project Greenlight.

Asked on the red carpet about adapting a Broadway show to the big screen, Perez said what was important to him and Jayne was that they made the movie “its own thing.”

“The [original] movie is fantastic. The Broadway show is fantastic as well,” Perez told The Hollywood Reporter. “We wanted [Mean Girls the movie musical] to be its own experience. We’re excited for people to finally see it.”

Mean Girls premieres at theaters nationwide on January 12, 2024.