Norwegian commercial director Anniken Lien has signed with The Joneses for exclusive U.S. representation
Norwegian commercial director Anniken Lien has signed with The Joneses for exclusive U.S. representation in commercials. Her credits include work for such brands as Volkswagen, Nivea, Kraft, L'Oreal, Nestle and Lego in association with agencies and production companies across Europe….Culver City/Vancouver-based visual effects house Zoic Studios has promoted VFX talent Levi Ahmu to creative director. The move comes on the heels of Ahmu's visually inventive, Zoic-produced :15, “Show Us Your Skin,” for Dove out of David Brown Entertainment, featuring inspired mosaic imagery. Ahmu served as both creative director and live-action director on the Dove spot….Blythe Dalton has been promoted from sr. producer to head of production at MassMarket, overseeing all projects run in-house for the West Coast office….Sam Helfer has joined the New York office of Erwin Penland as a broadcast producer. She previously worked for Deutsch, N.Y., as a content producer for a variety of international clients such as Microsoft, Milk, DIRECTV and Tylenol….Joanna “Joey” Cade has joined Element X Creative, Dallas, as executive producer of VFX. She comes from Reel FX Entertainment and has been a freelance commercial, film and VFX producer….Splice Here, Minneapolis, has added colorist Alexis Van Hurkman…
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 โ 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