BLOK, the comedy directing duo comprising Paul Casey and Richard Jobson, has signed with production company Easy Mondays for exclusive U.S. representation in the branded space. The pair started in television before joining forces in the commercial world, delivering content for clients such as Hendrick’s Gin, Walkers Crisps, and more. Prior to joining Easy Mondays, BLOK was represented by CoMPANY Films and briefly by The Mill.
“BLOK brings a unique and fresh comedic sensibility that synchronizes beautifully with our directorial roster,” said Easy Mondays’ founder/executive producer Asori Soto. “Paul and Rich are a lot of fun; you fall in love with them as soon as you meet them and even wanna go on vacations together. More importantly, it’s a pleasure to see them working; they finish each other’s concepts on the fly, just as anyone’s idea of twin brothers. They are just so funny, just genuinely fantastic guys. They have such a colorful, unique POV on everything.”
Indeed, Casey and Jobson are very much like twin brothers. Despite being born a year apart (and of different parents), they share everything, from their sense of humor, to well-groomed facial hair, and filmmaking ideas.
Before there was BLOK, Casey and Jobson spent many-a-year making long-form comedy series across the world for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky and Netflix. Then, in 2019, BLOK was born. Based in London and Stockholm and split as director + DP, BLOK makes performance-driven, comedy commercials, often combining multiple worlds, extraordinary characters, seamless transitions, quite a bit of art direction and set-building, as well as a smattering of VFX.
BLOK took their name from the powerhouse Jennifer Lopez classic “Jenny from the Block” and play it on a continuous loop at their annual, two-man Christmas party. The guys first met on a job in the Arctic Circle where they bonded over the mildly traumatic experience of witnessing the castration of a reindeer by a young Sami tribe member, using only her teeth. Some people would forsake comedy at that point. Fortunately, Casey and Jobson soldiered on.
In addition to Easy Mondays, BLOK is represented by Outsider in Britain, Markenfilm in Germany, Rebolucion in Latin America, and Circle Productions in Canada.
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