Director Andreas Roth has joined the roster of L.A.-based JOJX for exclusive commercial representation in the U.S. His body of work spans such brands as Adidas, Audi, BMW, Fila, Heineken, Uniqlo, Lexus, Xbox, and Jaguar. Roth had been previously handled in the ad arena by RSA Films.
Originally from Hamburg, Germany, Roth began his career as a production assistant and afterward as a junior editor at Jung von Matt. During that time he went on to direct his first client commercial at the age of 21 before heading to film school. Roth quickly gained momentum with high-profile projects, including a viral film for Dirt Devil which accumulated more than 30 million views on Vimeo. He is a two-time winner of the Young Director Award in Cannes and earned inclusion into the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase in 2011 and SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase in 2012, along with winning numerous other accolades and shortlists including Cannes Lions, D&AD, ADC, AICP Show, Epica and Eurobest.
Roth also had the idea of gathering like-minded creatives together to push personal side projects as well as work outside the classic film jungle. One of these projects is the AKKURAT Journal, a magazine highlighting creatives and their work worldwide. Most recently he became a founding partner of his own creative label AKKURAT Studios to serve as a filmmaking and design imprint for himself. The company will officially launch in November but has already produced jobs for clients like Mercedes, Facebook, and Swiss luxury brand Bucherer.
For feature films, Roth is represented by ICM.
Review: Writer-Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s “Heretic”
"Heretic" opens with an unusual table setter: Two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are discussing condoms and why some are labeled as large even though they're all pretty much a standard size. "What else do we believe because of marketing?" one asks the other.
That line will echo through the movie, a stimulating discussion of religion that emerges from a horror movie wrapper. Despite a second-half slide and feeling unbalanced, this is the rare movie that combines lots of squirting blood and elevated discussion of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Our two church members — played fiercely by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East — are wandering around trying to covert souls when they knock on the door of a sweet-looking cottage. Its owner, Mr. Reed, offers a hearty "Good afternoon!" He welcomes them in, brings them drinks and promises a blueberry pie. He's also interested in learning more about the church. So far, so good.
Mr. Reed is, of course, if you've seen the poster, the baddie and he's played by Hugh Grant, who doesn't go the snarling, dead-eyed Hannibal Lecter route in "Heretic." Grant is the slightly bumbling, bashful and self-mocking character we fell in love with in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but with a smear of menace. He gradually reveals that he actually knows quite a bit about the Mormon religion — and all religions.
"It's good to be religious," he says jauntily and promises his wife will join them soon, a requirement for the church. Homey touches in his home include a framed "Bless This Mess" needlepoint on a wall, but there are also oddities, like his lights are on a timer and there's metal in the walls and ceilings.
Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood — who also... Read More