Framestore Pictures has added documentary film director and artist Nicole Mackinlay Hahn to its roster.
Signing Mackinlay Hahn comes on the heels of several key additions to the Framestore Pictures roster, all part of the vision of EPs Jennifer Siegel and John Duffin, who came on board in 2014 to spearhead the global company’s operations out of Framestore’s New York, Los Angles and London offices. Siegel and Duffin have sought out to cultivate a roster of directors with diverse backgrounds that can solve a single creative vision and execution from inception to completion.
Mackinlay Hahn’s first feature documentary, Hardihood, examines the passion, courage and audacity behind women in extreme sports. She shot the Mirror/Africa in 12 countries in Africa for an interactive installation project concerning workers in the garment industry. The installation was featured in Barney’s New York, the New Museum, and the London College of Fashion. This led to The Welcome Table Project, a series of short films that were featured at the Tribeca Film Festival/Interactive. For the last few years, Nicole has worked with U2 directing exclusive short films. Recently her short film, Burkina, featuring a series of intimate portraits of a group of Burkinabé women, made its worldwide premiere at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
“Nicole is the perfect complement to the director talent on our roster,” said Siegel. “Her background as a documentarian is really intriguing. She posses an undeniable skill for capturing impactful cultural moments that ultimately benefit society, and it’s going to be so interesting to see that vision carried over into the world of advertising.”
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