DNEG Feature Animation has appointed two new senior creative hires to bolster its leadership team. Ted Ty joins as global head of character animation based in Montreal, while Archie Donato relocates from Los Angeles to join the team as VFX supervisor on a major new project in London.
DNEG Feature Animation is currently in production on a number of high-profile animated projects, including animated musical feature Under the Boardwalk for Paramount Animation, and is in development on the very first animated adaptation of The Great Gatsby with Oscar-winning director William Joyce.
These new hires follow the appointment of former Skydance executive David Prescott, who joined the team last year as sr. VP of creative production.
Ty joins DNEG Feature Animation with over 25 years of experience and a deep understanding of both 2D and 3D animation. Ty started his career at Walt Disney Animation where he worked as a 2D animator under the mentorship of animation legends such as Mark Henn, Ruben Aquino and James Baxter on animated features such as Mulan and Lilo & Stitch. Following a move to DreamWorks, he contributed to major 3D animated features such as Puss in Boots, How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Rise of the Guardians.
Ty is a noted and prolific animation instructor, having taught animation masterclasses at CalArts, CTNX Expo, DreamWorks, SCAD, Pixel Quebec and iAnimate.net. He is also a master teacher at YoungArts Foundation. His most recent work was as head of animation and co-director of animated action-comedy feature Fireheart.
VFX supervisor Donato brings a cinematic perspective and a background in live action filmmaking to his new role for DNEG Feature Animation, as well as experience at ILM, Digital Domain, Rhythm & Hues and 17 years at DreamWorks Animation. During his time at DreamWorks, Donato contributed to many of the studio’s biggest films, most notably as CG Lead on Kung Fu Panda, Megamind, Monsters vs Aliens and Shrek Forever After, lighting supervisor on Rise of the Guardians and CG supervisor on Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Most recently, Donato has turned his talents to VFX supervision for episodic content on shows like Home Before Dark for Apple TV+, Messiah for Netflix and The Loudest Voice for Showtime.
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