Canteen has signed directors Raoul Rodriguez and Stephen Meierding, extending the L.A.-based tabletop studio’s reach beyond the food and beverage categories to include cosmetics, tech and general product niches.
Erik Dettle, creative director of Canteen, said, “There are many technical intersections when it comes to shooting food, tech, and cosmetics–in terms of equipment, technique and attention to detail. So the expansion into these categories seems like a natural progression that we’ve been excited about making for some time. As a company we’re inspired by the artistry and creativity that tech and beauty brands embrace, and we’re thrilled to have creative specialists like Raoul and Stephen to mark our expansion.”
Rodriguez is a director/DP whose clients include Lancome, L’Oreal, Yves Saint Laurent and Sony. He is also the founder of Sublab, a camera and robotics developer based in Paris and Barcelona that has been pushing the boundaries of high speed cinematography and motion control, most notably by creating the Ulysse motion control robot. Having begun his career as a special effects director, Rodriguez approaches his work with an engineer’s eye and the passion of an artist. Before joining Canteen, Rodriguez was repped by Ataboy Studios and prior to that Somoroff+ Studios.
Meierding, who began his career as a graphic designer, has made his name both as a DP and still photographer, with a focus on beauty and tech brands, such as Cover Girl, NARS, Lexus and Duracell. He now gains his first representation as a director through Canteen.
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