Chief Creative Officer
Publicis New York
1) As a creative it’s been hard to ignore the chaos brought about by significant cost cutting and reshaping by clients across all agencies in 2018. I have to believe though the industry will come out stronger at the other end because of it. I’m an eternal optimist.
2) Sharing of creative resource and adaptability, agility of different disciplines within the Publicis network has been key to some of our successes this year. Changing the way teams are structured, bringing in design far further up the creative process. As someone who started his work life in design, I’m good with that development.
3) Publicis New York had their best year at Cannes ever, even though the agency didn’t enter anything, our clients did. Our Diesel – Go With The Fake experience piece, and our ongoing Walmart and Citi campaigns have been highlights.
5) Personally speaking, to try and get around more exhibitions and art shows, sometimes you can spend too much time in your agency bubble and not get outside it. It’s something I did weekly in the UK, it’s tougher to find the time in the US. Professionally we have so many pitches and projects in the works, I’m committed to making sure we create a work life balance that is appealing and reasonable to our existing talent, and future talent. I feel this this an issue that is overlooked in the industry. I also believe we need to bring in talent from more diverse backgrounds, there’s a program we’re working on to make sure that happens.
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