Framestore Pictures has signed director Laurent Ledru for U.S. representation. Ledru, who will be based out of Framestore’s L.A. office, began his career as a video game artist in Paris. He then moved stateside and started working on feature films and commercials, eventually finding a home at Method Studios and later joining Psyop in 2008. As a partner at Psyop, Ledru was part of the team to establish the company in L.A.
Ledru developed a visual storytelling reputation for seamlessly blending dynamic, effects-driven work with beautiful, live action film. He has helmed work for brands such as Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Uber, BMW, Nike, and Under Armour, and has been honored with numerous awards, including a CLIO, several VES Award and AICP Show nominations, a Silver Cannes Lion, D&AD Gold Pencil, and LIA award. His Honda spot “Keep the Peace” afforded him the opportunity to create blockbuster-sized visuals and monsters, and grew out of a close collaboration with the agency, RPA. “Keep the Peace” also landed the Psyop ensemble an Outstanding Visual Effects–Commercial HPA Award nomination in 2017.
Guillaume Raffi, executive producer at Framestore Pictures, said, “Laurent is a formidable storyteller, and adding him to our roster opens many opportunities to our clients, allowing us to provide greater access to the best creative talent and even better integrated solutions to the challenges we continue to face in the ever-evolving media landscape.”
Ledru is looking forward to what he described as “the opportunities to come with Framestore Pictures. My ‘savoir faire,’ partnered with their work, will be a perfect match to create strong, narrative stories with stellar visual effects.”
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