Global creative agency Kirshenbaum, Bond, Senecal & Partners (KBS) has appointed Christine Austin to serve as its executive director of creative services. In this newly created role, Austin will be responsible for talent management, resourcing and creative culture initiatives across all projects. Reporting to global chief production officer Madison Wharton, Austin will work closely with creative and talent leadership in KBS’ New York office.
An industry veteran, Austin has worked in New York for 15 years and has held similar positions at TBWAChiatDay NY, Droga5 and most recently at Figliulo&Partners.
“Christine’s addition to the team reflects how Kirshenbaum continues to attract the industry’s top talent as well as build upon our mission and work culture,” said Wharton. “Christine has a proven track record in building and managing creative organizations and is known for her inspired leadership and dedication to teams.”
Austin described KBS as “a company I have come to respect for its unrivaled level of commitment to its culture and clients. I look forward to developing relationships with the team and supporting the company’s talent.”
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