Cooke Optics, manufacturer of precision lenses for film and television, is to give cinematographers yet more choice in the looks they can achieve, with a specially manufactured set of anamorphic lenses called Anamorphic/i SF. The new lens range, which is complementary to the acclaimed Anamorphic/i series, offers a coating that gives cinematographers even more options for anamorphic character.
“The enthusiasm for anamorphic lenses shows no sign of abating, but people sometimes want to take that special look still further,” said Les Zellan, chairman and owner, Cooke Optics. “We’ve been playing with coatings to provide even more of the ‘anamorphic funkiness’ that people like, while maintaining the Cooke Look. We see the Anamorphic/i SF set as an addition to the cinematographer’s arsenal, so they have the option of creating classic anamorphic shapes or kicking the flares, bokeh and other aberrations up a notch.”
The Anamorphic/i SF range will be available for demonstration at NAB 2016, and will be shipping directly after the show. Cooke will also present the new Anamorphic/i wide angle zoom lens at NAB 2016, as well as lenses from the Anamorphic/i, 5/i, S4/i and miniS4/i ranges.
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