Convoy Content, a commercial, branded content and film production company, has been launched under the aegis of executive producer Jared Christensen.
The new venture opens with a directorial roster which includes: Sydney-based Fiona McGee, who had formerly been freelancing in the U.S. and is known for comedy and documentary fare (working with U.S. brands such as ING, and earning recognition at the Cannes Lions Festival, D&AD and LIA); Benoit Gabriel, previously with Saville Productions, whose focus has been emotional storytelling with credits spanning such brands as AT&T, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nestle, Walgreens and Visa; and Joe Grasso, a veteran helmer and cinematographer who was working freelance, is known for visual storytelling and has turned out content for brands including Subaru, UPMC and Husqvarna.
Also on the Convoy roster are Andrew De Zen, Cameron Gade, Nick Enriquez and Jay Karas who were previously repped by Stun Spots, the former commercial production company maintained by Stun Creative. Karas, who had earlier in his career been with The Famous Group, is best known for episodic TV encompassing such shows as Parks and Recreation, Raising Hope, Awkward, The Fosters, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Workaholics while extending his reach into commercialmaking with campaigns for Ford. Enriquez is an independent documentary and commercial director who directed the L.A. Addy winning SheaMoisture’s #BreaktheWalls campaign, as well as spots for GMC, Google, Sprint and Tumi. De Zen, a Canadian born director, writer, producer and editor is noted for highly visual storytelling with work for Nike, PlayStation, Joe Fresh, Victim Services Toronto, Indigo and YMCA, among other clients (shortlisted for a Cannes Young Directors Award, he is repped in Canada by Skin & Bones. And Gade is an emerging new talent as a director, cinematographer and writer, known for helping brands tap into honest emotions.
“The Convoy team can tackle any genre, comedy, documentary, scripted, visuals, branded content, you name it,” said Christensen who also continues to serve as VP, head of production at Stun Creative, which backs Convoy, a shop that operates separately and independently. “We are dedicated to collaborating closely with clients to help them tell their stories and make their brand messages powerful and meaningful.”
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