RSA’s Hey Wonderful has signed director John Dolan for commercial representation. A versatile filmmaker, Dolan has a body of work encompassing performance-driven narrative campaigns for Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Visa, Ford, ESPN, Miller Lite and Mini, along with visually striking campaigns for BMW, Peugeot, Corona and The North Face.
The director’s early work covers the gamut of smart comedy seen in Got Milk’s “Carny” and VW’s “Pursuit,” and most recently the inspired visuals of Peugeot’s “Hands” and The North Face’s “Never Stop.” Dolan’s commercials have won numerous awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD and One Show Pencils, and AICP Show honors.
After graduating from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dolan studied at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, discovering a passion for improv. He wrote and directed his first short, then began directing spec commercials to build his reel. At around the same time, he became aware of more and more commercial directors having careers in feature films, so he knew he was on the right track. He began his commercialmaking career in 2000 at Anonymous Content; nine years later, he left to join Partizan where he was represented until earlier this year. In addition to directing short-form content, Dolan is developing his first feature film, a thriller entitled One Way Rider, based on his original screenplay.
“I want to do work that’s story-driven, character-driven and visually sophisticated,” Dolan said. “David Bowie once said, ‘Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.’”
The move to Hey Wonderful reunites Dolan with the production company’s managing director/exec producer Michael Di Girolamo, who represented the filmmaker when he began his career. “My relationship with John has come full circle,” Di Girolamo said. “When we first worked together, his talent was obvious, and over the years I’ve watched John grow into a cinematic director with a keen eye towards clever and sophisticated visual storytelling.”
Dolan related, “RSA’s Hey Wonderful is a perfect fit. The company has the boutique management style I want, with the firepower of RSA across commercials, branded entertainment, VR and film and television.”
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