Bicoastal creative studio Carbon has opened a VFX, post and design studio in Chicago. The Midwest operation is being headed by EP Phil Linturn and creative director Liam Chapple, a pair of European production experts who reflect the new office’s emphasis on conveying fresh, global perspectives to the Chicago market. Linturn joins Carbon after spending well over a decade at visual effects shop Glassworks, rising up from EP to COO of its European network, which includes offices in London, Barcelona and Amsterdam. Meanwhile Chapple’s outstanding work at London design and animation studio Mainframe caught Carbon’s eye. During his tenure at Mainframe, Chapple led design and direction on notable projects including a groundbreaking campaign for iconic British department store Harrod’s and a Promax BDA-winning BBC promo for the Wimbledon tennis championships….
Sonido, a leading audio production house in Brazil, and Argentina’s entertainment and music shop Argentine Antro are opening in the United States with a new brand: Sonido Antro. The new venture starts with two studios, one in NY, the other in Miami. The head of the new operation is Sonido’s founder, Lucas Duque, who has moved to the U.S. and is dividing his time between NYC and Miami. Roger Leao manages the NYC operation along with producer Fab Dupont and Carlos Feitoza while Estela Romand is responsible for the Miami studio. Sonido Antro US already finished his first work for Bulova in partnership with agency Vault 49 and had already started projects for TBWA Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Mexico. The production company also recently signed campaigns for Dell and KFC for Y&R Bravo/Miami and Ogilvy, respectively….
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