Visual effects studio The Mill is moving to its own premises in the West Loop area of Chicago during the third quarter of the year. The new location will enable The Mill to double its capacity in color by adding a second suite while also paving the way for expanding the shop’s CG and design teams. Additionally the design and animation direction offering–which The Mill markets under the Mill+ banner–will be bolstered.
Since becoming part of the Chicago community in March 2013, The Mill has occupied space within the quarters of editorial company The Whitehouse, located in the River North district. The Mill and The Whitehouse share similar heritage in the advertising sector having been established a few months apart and within two blocks of each other in London’s Soho district in 1990.
Group CEO of The Mill, Robin Shenfield, commented: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our friends at The Whitehouse for providing us with a temporary home. We’ve strengthened a relationship that has many years on the clock and although we’ll be in a different location from later this year, our strong relationship will continue.“
Shenfield added: “The Mill in Chicago, having grown from 12 people to over 45, has outgrown its home [at The Whitehouse]. Our new premises are being designed from scratch within a five story, 18,000 square foot former warehouse building in the West Loop, a couple of blocks distance from Soho House.”
The Mill’s Chicago managing director Jared Yeater noted “We’re really excited about having an entire building where we can adapt our studio out from scratch, very much as we have done in London, New York and Los Angeles. It’s a great opportunity to design a really creative working environment for ourselves and our clients. As we won’t be occupying all of the space from day one, it affords us the flexibility to keep investing in this community and adapting to the changing needs of our clients.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More