Company is wrapping jobs, will continue to maintain its Tel Aviv studio
Visual effects house Gravity in Brooklyn, NY, is closing. The studio is completing its active projects, honoring those commitments while winding down operations this month.
Zviah Eldar, CEO/chief creative officer of Gravity, declined SHOOT’s request for an interview. She did, however, confirm that Gravity will continue to maintain its VFX studio in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Eldar sent out a letter via email to the industry at large, noting that “in spite of the effort and dedication of a wonderfully talented group of artists, producers and executives, the same wave that swept away” assorted other VFX companies in recent years “has now taken Rhinoceros Visual Design and Effects LLC, a.k.a Gravity NY. We were unable to turn the tide even with radical restructuring efforts and dramatically reduced overhead expenses.”
Eldar went on to write, “We are proud of the work we did in both the advertising and feature industries. Our focus was on collaborating with our clients, making them feel at home and producing great work at a fair price. And the work WAS great.
“We thank all our valued friends who trusted us with their projects including the folks from Team Detroit, KBS+P, Y&R, The Weinstein Company, Sony, Universal, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, DDB, Draft/FCB, Arnold, HHCC, plus countless other agencies, studios and brands.
“Most of all, thanks to our team who sacrificed lots of personal time, family time, vacation time and countless nights of sleep while they animated, designed, effected and produced. They were a talented group who worked hard, played hard and tried to laugh everyday.
“You can’t ask for much more than that.
“It is my hope that when you meet someone who worked at Gravity NY, you will acknowledge that they persevered in difficult times, performed with grace under pressure and above all: loved the craft.”
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