What industry trends, developments or issues were most significant in 2022?
There’s a rise in conversation around AI in the creative space. It’s hard to truly predict how these tools will transform the industry long term, but it’s exciting to think about the prospect of their usefulness with things like making storyboards and writing search copy. And it should light a fire under creatives to continue thinking of bonkers, wild, wonderful ideas a machine couldn’t possibly come up with.
What is the most relevant business and/or creative lesson you learned in 2022 and how will you apply it to 2023?
Take breaks. This isn’t a revelation, but it’s a principle that isn’t being practiced like it should. We’ve been very heads down, hunched over laptops, starting the next online meeting while we’re still in the last one. We need fresh air and fresh experiences to both recharge ourselves and inspire, you guessed it, fresh thinking. Go for a walk. Go to a movie. Go halfway around the world. We’ll be better for it.
How have any societal issues–such as the pandemic, the Supreme court decision on abortion, calls for equity, inclusion, diversity, racial and social justice–impacted the way you do business, company policies and/or selection of projects/creative content?
Everything affects the work because it affects the people who make it. Sometimes, we need to simply pause and give ourselves the space to process things before we get back to it. As shapers of culture, we owe it to ourselves and to our audiences to listen more, to reflect more, and to include, promote and amplify more diverse voices and stories. We’re far from getting it all right, but as long as we stay committed to the journey and the work, we can make meaningful change. And the creative will only get better because of it.
What are your goals or New Year’s resolution, creatively speaking or from a business standpoint, for your agency, company or department in 2023?
Make cool s*@t and have fun doing it. The last few years have been a grind, personally and professionally, so let’s not let our work take itself so seriously.
Gazing into your crystal ball, what do you envision for the advertising and/or entertainment industry–creatively speaking or from a business standpoint–in 2023?
There’s a gray financial cloud looming over the near future. Supply chains are getting back to a more normal pace. But rising costs and market uncertainty will likely cause clients to err on the conservative side when it comes to budgets. We need to make the most out of what we’ve got and be understanding of what people are dealing with in life, while also trying to keep some levity and heart in our work.
How did your company, agency, studio or department adjust/adapt to the marketplace in 2022 (new strategies, technology, health/safety expertise) and what of all that bodes well for 2023?
We continued to figure out the best path forward versus trying to go back to the way things were before. We’ve cautiously navigated how and when to come together physically again, being mindful of health and safety concerns as well as mental well-being and personal and collective productivity. We’re all different now. We work differently now. There’s still a lot to figure out. But it also feels really good to bring everybody together to have some good, old-fashioned fun. Team One values that. It’s important.
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
