Chief creative officer
Publicis New York
1) Well, bell bottoms are back. As are drop-waisted skirts. Sorry…you mean advertising? I think our industry—most industries?—got pulled into this new vortex we’re living in. We’ve all had so many conversations about the divide, about the mood of cynicism and negativity. But there’s still so much remarkable positivity out there. I really believe that. I see it in our clients, in what they want to do. The best brands will organically make that part of their stories. The other big thing that happened, I think, is the increase in the pace of information, in our need to synthesize and react quickly and intelligently. We’ve always had to work fast. But I think more and more we’re forced to juggle a vast flow of data, news, updates, chaos. For our clients, how do we pare away the noise? How do we stay topical, relevant, not get caught in the storm? Please tell me I don’t have to come up with an answer to that one now.
2) The short answer is that we’re still adapting. I think we all are. There are watershed changes going on in culture, politics, sports, music. We’re still adapting, still learning. It’s incredibly exciting. The longer answer is that 2017 was a really definitive year for Publicis. Our legendary CEO, Maurice Levy, handed the day-to-day running of Publicis Groupe to Arthur Sadoun, who is a pretty remarkable bloke in his own right. Arthur has a vision for a radical A.I. platform called Marcel. If it’s half as successful as all the fuss it’s caused, it’s going to be a world beater. And I’d never bet against him. What else? We won our first Gold Lion in a good while at Cannes for our work for Doctors of the World. Look, as much as things change—and there has been so much change—our business is about three things; people, ideas, and creativity. We seek the best blend of all.
4) You can only push something so hard before it bounces back the other way. I think we’re going to see a kind of negativity backlash. It’s out there, right now. And it’s getting tired of the ugly. Look at the Facebook numbers. We share the positive stories, the funny stories, vastly more than the negative ones. One of the things I love about America is this unending sense of optimism. I’m English. We’re made different. Kind of expect the worst. Americans have this wonderful attitude that things are going to be okay. So maybe it’s living here for a few years but mark me down for a new year of awe-inspiring work that moves us forward.
5) I’m so bad at these questions. I’m not a big resolution guy. I try to make small ones every day, to be honest. Talk less. Listen more. Be kind. Stare at my phone less. Avoid worm holes where I’m five stories deep on TMZ. (Why, exactly, did I spend five minutes looking at photos of Kanye’s new home renovation?) If I did have to answer your question, though, I guess it would be to remember that there are a helluva lot worse ways to make a living. To make someone laugh, to make them cry, to reach them in some way. We’re damned fortunate.
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