Bicoastal Chelsea Pictures has signed directing collective The Bear and hired executive producer Michel Waxman.
Founded by Austin filmmakers Berndt Mader and Ben Steinbauer, The Bear has been bringing its authentic, funny, and candid directorial style to brands since its founding a decade ago. Prior to joining the Chelsea roster, The Bear had been repping itself. Notable clients of The Bear include Whole Foods, Stubhub, Yeti, Alfa Romeo and Crate & Barrel.
Chelsea president/owner Lisa Mehling said of The Bear, “From the moment [Chelsea director] David Gordon Green introduced me to Berndt and Ben, I knew that The Bear was ready to take their ethos and aesthetic to the broader national market. As filmmakers, their approach and style is spot on with what agencies and brands are looking for.”
Mader and Steinbauer noted that they were drawn to the high caliber of Chelsea’s work and its directorial roster which includes Green, Lauren Greenfield, Alex Gibney, Bruce Hunt, Jack Cole, Nadav Kander, Amir Bar-Lev, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Thomas Beug, Alan Poul, Gregory Jacobs, Matthias Zentner, Peyton Wilson and Erik Madigan Heck.
Waxman
As exec producer, Waxman will helm Chelsea’s L.A. office and serve alongside VP/EP Pat McGoldrick. Waxman began her career at Creative Management Partners, where she learned the ropes from a veritable who’s who of reps and executive producers while also building lasting relationships with clients. Waxman went on to form her own firm, MBW Represents, with Academy Films, Park Pictures and Rattling Stick, among others, on her roster. She most recently served as executive producer at Serial Pictures.
Waxman said she’s looking forward to fostering Chelsea’s “continued evolution as a leader, not just in advertising, but in all branded entertainment partnerships for our inspiring group of directors.”
Mehling cited Waxman’s “creative pedigree and her ability to support and grow directors” as making her part of "a dream team" in tandem with McGoldrick.
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