Emmy nominated VFX artist Mat Fuller–who’s also worked as an on-set effects supervisor, a live-action director, and a creative director–has joined Seed’s directorial roster. Following the model Seed established in 2011, each director in its lineup has his or her own production company that does direct-to-client work. Fuller owns Dark Matter FX which will continue to attend to his direct-to-client associations while Seed will seek agency assignments. Earlier in his career, director Fuller was repped in the ad arena by Lost Highway Films.
Fuller got the attention of Seed’s owner, Roy Skillicorn, during the recent quarantine by not missing a beat and working remotely, right through it. Fuller has been working remotely for the past five years, and has amassed a group of high-end CG artists who work with him that same way.
“The work, especially the automotive imagery, is creatively competitive with any of the VFX houses that are household names, yet he easily can win assignments due to being way ahead of the curve financially with a low overhead model similar to what I envisioned and nurtured for Seed for the past decade,” said Skillicorn who added that with Fuller on board, “we can also package projects with our other directors both here and at Backyard Productions, where I am CMO/managing director.”
Some of Fuller’s notable commercial work includes spots for Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Honda, Fiat, Vizio, Jaguar and Pixar, a company that Skillicorn knows well and one he helped establish as an agent back in the ‘90s.
Fuller looked for a progressive but experienced company with which to be associated. He related, “My company has been working in a cloud-based workflow for the past five years. I only work with the best of the best talented individuals that I’ve met during my 20 years in VFX and post-production. Everyone works remotely and we have a proven postproduction pipeline. Because of this business model, we can maintain very competitive pricing and we’re already prepared to work in any changing creative environment emerging within the industry. Seed is on the same page and Roy and I hit it off right away.”
Fuller started Dark Matter FX in 2015, specializing in CG automotive and live event content for the automotive industry. He also enjoys producing tour content for some of the biggest musical artists in the world. Most recently, he has directed tour content for Nas, Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, and Green Day.
Headquartered in Chicago with offices in L.A., Seed has a roster of directorial talent that includes Fuller, Hans Emanuel, Erin Sax, Anthony Pietromonaco, Rick Wayne, Corey Rich, Sam Ciurdar, Gabriel Borgetto and Jeffrey DeChausse.
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