Cast & Crew, provider of technology-enabled payroll, accounting and production management solutions to the entertainment industry, has appointed John Berkley as president, effective September 5. In this newly formed role, Berkley will report to CEO Eric Belcher and be responsible for driving Cast & Crew’s growth strategy and the evolution of its product portfolio, overseeing the functions of Product, Marketing, Program Management, Corporate Development & Strategy and the Final Draft business unit.
Berkley has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles at prominent software and technology companies. As a member of the senior executive team at payment technology innovator Mercury, he led product, go-to-market, operations and program management during a period when that company achieved substantial growth and industry thought leadership. Prior to Mercury, he was sr. VP of product at Responsys, where he played a central role in leading the company through its IPO and entrance into multiple new markets. Berkley has also been a CEO, executive and advisor at a number of high-profile internet and software startups. As an operating executive at Silver Lake (Cast & Crew’s lead investor), Berkley has been working on site at Cast & Crew for nearly a year, coordinating the company’s go-to-market strategies for its digital products, among other responsibilities.
Belcher said, “I’ve known John for several years, and worked closely with him at Cast & Crew this year, so I know he will be a terrific addition to our executive team.”
Berkley shared, “I am so excited to be joining the company at this moment in its growth. We have gone through significant strategic, operational and business-scope changes over the past few years–all of which have set the stage for the company we are becoming. Most importantly, I look forward to working with Cast & Crew’s exceptional employees and clients, as we help bring to life the digital future of the entertainment industry.”
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More