Filmmakers’ collective and creative studio Bullitt has added director Matt Ogens to its roster.
Ogens’ work spans multiple disciplines and genres. He got his start directing docu-series for networks including MTV, VH1, CBS, and CNN, and earned three Emmy nominations for his work for ESPN. His feature documentary Confessions of a Superhero debuted at SXSW to critical acclaim and was distributed by Netflix.
Ogens segued into commercials, working with top agencies and brands, and earning awards from The One Show, Clio, SXSW Interactive, and ADC. His advertising credits include projects for Infiniti, Land Rover, Nature Valley, Toyota, Ancestry.com, Craftsman, Mitsubishi, Seattle’s Best, Stand Up2 Cancer and IBM.
Central to his work is the ability to engage audiences and even change perceptions by transcending genre or topic with a unique vantage point, captivating characters, and striking visuals. Among his noted projects, the acclaimed feature documentary Meet the Hitlers that examines the relationship between names and identity by exploring the lives of people who share the name. Presented and executive produced by Morgan Spurlock, the film launched on Showtime in July 2016 and is available via Showtime On Demand and iTunes. Ogens’ short documentaries include From Harlem with Love for ESPN’s Emmy-winning 30 for 30 series which follows the Harlem Globetrotters visit to the USSR in 1959, and Kid Yamaka, the startlingly candid film about a Jewish boxer who found redemption in the ring for Vice’s Fightland.
Fiction also captures Ogens’ attention, and his first narrative feature, a coming of age film North, is now in postproduction. He also concepted and directed a narrative VR prequel/teaser shot entirely in abandoned spaces in Detroit, which serves as the setting in North. His VR film for the Associated Press screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival Next Section.
Prior to joining Bullitt, Ogens was handled by Humble for commercials and branded content. Earlier he was with Tool of North America.
Bullitt EP Luke Ricci described Ogens as “an enterprising storyteller who works in a variety of narrative mediums–traditional and emerging advertising platforms, film, television, documentary, interactive, and virtual reality. It makes him an ideal fit for our company.”
Ogens concurred regarding that fit, relating “How and why to tell a story are key considerations in today’s process, and it is exciting to be at a company that is both filmmaker-driven and conversant in different media.”
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