The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced that Tom Rothman, Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, will be honored with the Guild’s 2017 Milestone Award. The award will be presented to Rothman at the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on January 28, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.
Producers Guild Awards chairs Donald De Line (The Italian Job; I Love You, Man) and Amy Pascal (the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming; The Girl In The Spider’s Web) said in a joint statement, “Our industry has benefitted immensely from Tom’s instincts, tenacity and vision. From his championing of independent storytellers early in his career to his nurturing of studio films on an epic scale, Tom’s passion for movies has been one of the unstoppable creative engines of our business.”
Rothman said, “This is the highest honor of my professional life and I am humbled and grateful to be included among such august company. Coming from the outstanding organization that is the PGA, it is indeed praise from high quarters. My enormous thanks to Donald, Amy, the Board and the entire membership.”
The Milestone Award is the PGA’s most prestigious honor, recognizing an individual or team who has made historic contributions to the entertainment industry. In the past, the Guild has paid tribute to such industry leaders as Clint Eastwood, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, Sherry Lansing, Ron Meyer, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Alan Horn, Bob Iger, and 2016 recipient Jim Gianopulos, among others.
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