Design-driven animation and production company Laundry–under the aegis of partners PJ Richardson and Tony Liu–has brought Reza Rasoli on board as creative director and live-action director.
After steering the creative direction of Laundry since its launch 13 years ago, Richardson and Liu knew the time was right, given the company's growth, to welcome their first full-time staff creative director in Rasoli. Over the past decade, Rasoli has produced award-winning content for broadcast, web, social, print, and events worldwide. Prior to Laundry, Rasoli was creative director and live-action director at Pet Gorilla, where he helmed a mix of live-action and interactive projects for such clients as Google, IBM, HBO, and METRx. His animated piece for Vans’ 50th anniversary, entitled “The Story of Vans,” was honored with a One Show Merit Award and D&AD Award, and was shortlisted for an AICP Award for Design. More recently, his anthem spot for UnityPoint Health aired during the Super Bowl in the Midwest region.
As a director, Rasoli has also collaborated with such studios as Brand New School and Blind. He has also served as co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer on scripted comedy-driven animation for Disney and Nickelodeon.
While studying Digital Media at Otis College of Art + Design, Rasoli co-founded Three Legged Legs with two other artists. The collective became known for their pioneering and innovative work in short-form content, catching the attention of Green Dot Films, where they were repped as directors for three years and worked on notable projects, including the GE “Samurai” short, and a spot for Method and Virgin America.
Since 2015, Rasoli has been an adjunct teacher at Otis College of Art + Design, where he leads classes in Storytelling, Motion Design, and Experimental Animation. Forever an artist at heart, he regularly contributes paintings to galleries on both coasts, including Gallery 1988 (Los Angeles & New York), iam8bit (Los Angeles), Spoke Art (San Francisco), and Bottleneck Gallery (New York).
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