Biscuit Filmworks has added director Bianca Poletti to both its U.S. and U.K. rosters. Poletti is a distinctive storyteller crafting deeply lived-in worlds across film, commercials, music videos, and photography.
“Bianca has a fully-formed artistic voice that’s at once youthful and wise,” said Shawn Lacy, partner and managing director at Biscuit Filmworks. “Her storytelling instincts are excellent, as is her attention to detail in every department whether it’s production design or casting. We’re so pleased to have her join the Biscuit roster and see her commercial career continue to climb.”
Prior to joining Biscuit, Poletti was with Epoch Films for U.S. representation. She is an alum of SHOOT’s 2021 New Directors Showcase.
Born in California to Argentinian parents, Poletti was raised by her mother and graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in film studies before embarking on her directing career. She has helmed spots for Planned Parenthood, Sephora, Facebook, Ford, and most recently, a Coca-Cola spot for the FIFA Women’s World Cup where she worked with Buenos Aires-based Mercado McCann and an Argentinian cast. Her numerous short films include Radical Honesty, which premiered at SXSW 2022 and earned a Vimeo Staff Pick, Gold at Ciclope, and Silver at the Young Director Awards; and I Am Whole, which was recently featured at the Hammer Museum’s FLUX Screening Series.
Poletti shared, “I’m thrilled to join Biscuit and to be part of a team that prioritizes artistry and craft. It’s clear that Biscuit values the distinct voices of each of its directors, and finds jobs to showcase that work in the best way. Also, Biscuit deeply cares about creating beautiful work and pushing the envelope in terms of craft with everything they do. I’m excited to have opportunities for bigger storytelling and bigger world-building moving forward.”
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