HiFi Project–headed by three partners, creative director Paul Robb and EPs Birgit Roberts and Jack Bradley–has expanded its boutique Santa Monica shop into a bicoastal operation, opening a studio in NYC staffed by newly hired exec producer Andrea Minze and composer Robert Di Pietro.
Robb noted that while HiFi planted its roots in L.A., "We've always had our eyes on other large markets. It is important to us, however, that we grow in a way that fully supports the long-term health of the company. More importantly, in a way that lends itself to garnering the highest quality talent available. We had a plan. We wanted to grow smartly, not just quickly. By adding East Coast partner Jack Bradley, and then pausing to set up a second shop in Minneapolis, we feel we now have the momentum necessary to take on the advertising mecca of Manhattan."
HiFi's first item of business in New York was putting the right team in place. Enter Minze, previously the head of creative/music supervisor at Tonic Music in London, following a seven-year stint as agency creative at GSD&M. Minze has worked on projects with notable recording artists like Alabama Shakes, Johnny Jewel, SBTRKT, and The Rolling Stones as well as such notable brands as BMW, AT&T, Nike, Dior, Axe, Dell, Kohler, Bacardi, and VW.
"Jack and I were both agency producers before jumping into the music world," noted Roberts. "Our similar backgrounds, our common understanding of how commercial production works, was the first thing that drew us to Andrea. When you look at what she has accomplished as a music supervisor and producer, and you speak to her about her belief in music, building relationships and how it all has the power to push us beyond the status quo, there is no question she is the perfect fit to help lead this team."
Minze recalled, "I met Birgit on my very last production as a copywriter in advertising. We hit it off immediately. Fast-forward a few years and I was lucky enough to meet the rest of the team, and I knew it would be a great fit."
The other half of the Big Apple team is composer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Di Pietro. DP, as he is probably better known, has shared the stage and recorded with big name artists like Norah Jones, Josh Rouse, Jesse Harris, Elysian Fields, Ursa Minor, and Vanessa Carlton. Di Pietro has performed on Letterman, Leno, Conan, The Today Show and Live From Abbey Road. He made an appearance in Seth MacFarlane's TED and helped score Matthew Barney's cult film Cremaster 4. He has composed music on national campaigns for Best Buy, Mazda, Chevy, Tropicana, Wendy's, Macy's, and many others. Di Pietro has freelanced at such shops as Amber and The Lodge.
Hitting the ground running, HiFi New York's music can already be heard on campaigns for Saatchi, JWT, Digitas, Havas, mcgarrybowen, and McCann.
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