Alkemy X has added director and cinematographer Jonathan Yi to its roster for advertising projects. Yi is no stranger to his new roost, having freelance helmed via the company a contemporary iteration to Virginia Tourism’s “Virginia Is for Lovers” campaign from The Martin Agency. The LoveShare spots debuted in the wake of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and focused on families and other real people engaged in candid conversations about race, sexual identity and class. SHOOT named “LoveShare: Jena and John” as a Top Spot of the Week back in September. The piece introduces us to Jena and John, an interracial couple and their parents. They take a vacation together for the first time, bonding over a backstage tour of Richmond’s craft brewery scene.
Yi’s body of work spans commercials, documentaries, television, music videos and other media. His advertising credits include work for Delta, JetBlue, FedEx, Verizon, American Express, DirecTV, HP and Intel.
“There are many docu-style directors in the market, but Jonathan stands out with work that is uniquely powerful and diverse,” said Alkemy X director of production Jim Huie. “He captures raucous and poignant stories of punk rock musicians as effectively as sensitive profiles of cancer survivors.”
Yi is the director of the acclaimed documentary feature Mad Tiger, which chronicled the breakup of the flamboyant Japanese punk band Peelander-Z. Rolling Stone called it “a wild, wacky and touching story,” while Indiewire rated it a “Top Ten Documentary to Watch.” He also directed East of Main Street, which ran for five years on HBO and was the network’s highest-rated multicultural documentary series throughout its run. Dubbed by Vice as “a refreshing look at Asian-Americans in the media,” it earned two National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards (EMMA), including a Gold Award for Digital Media. Nickelodeon hired Yi to direct the high-profile reunion of its hit show All That. Additionally, he has shot music videos for Paul McCartney, Twisted Sister, Poison, Daniel Johnston and Mates of State.
In discussing his decision to join Alkemy X, Yi cited the success of their work together on Virginia Is for Lovers. “We are like-minded people who share a passion for creative storytelling,” he said. “I look forward to doing more projects that have the power to alter people’s perceptions or change their lives in some meaningful way.”
Yi studied filmmaking at NYU and began his career as a cinematographer and editor. He later joined New York agency J. Walter Thompson as a technical director. He began directing commercials and documentaries in 2008. In 2011, he directed a promo video for the launch of Canon’s EOS C300 that went viral. In addition, Yi teaches film and digital cinematography at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
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