Toronto commercial studio Westside has added award-winning director Angie Bird to its roster for Canadian representation. Bird was previously handled in Canada by Skin & Bones; she continues to be repped by Chelsea in the U.S. market. The Melbourne-born and raised director is known for her captivating and visually striking work for a number of multinational brands, including P&G, Gillette, Dove, Kellogg’s, Allstate & Tim Horton’s. “First Shave,” her 2019 ad for Gillette documenting a father teaching his young trans son how to shave for the first time, won a coveted Glass Lion at Cannes and was shared online by celebrities including Laverne Cox, Wanda Sykes and Debra Messing. The ad also drew the ire of U.S. conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, which Bird considers a badge of honor. Bird also received the 2016 Young Directors Award at Cannes for “Mean Tweets,” a spot for the non-profit Raising the Roof which depicted the daily struggles of the homeless. She was also shortlisted for a D&AD Next Director award in 2017 for her Salvation Army “Give Registry” campaign. In 2019 Bird shot a national U.S. campaign for the brand Verzenio, traveling to multiple American cities to interview women surviving breast cancer, telling their stories in an emotionally raw yet empowering and uplifting way. In addition to her commercial work, Bird is also a film director whose debut short You Won’t Regret that Tattoo had its world premiere at Hot Docs. The film, which explores the meaning and memories behind the tattoos of an older generation, was a Vimeo staff pick….
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