Bicoastal design and production company Brand New School has added Nico Casavecchia to its directorial roster for commercials and branded content in the U.S.
Prior to signing with Brand New School, Casavecchia spent five years at 1stAveMachine, where he directed visual campaigns for clients including Sonos, Dropbox, Facebook, IBM, and Izze. His work, which employs mixed media techniques from his background in live action, graphic design, illustration and animation, has been showcased in film festivals including Sundance and SXSW, and received awards from Cannes, D&AD, One Show, AICP, and the Clios.
In one of his collaborations with IBM, Casavecchia worked with its research scientists to direct the stop-motion animated short film A Boy and His Atom. The film was made by moving carbon monoxide molecules with a microscope to create images. The one minute film went on to be recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s smallest stop-motion film.
A Boy and His Atom won the AICP Most Next Award in 2014, singling out the most innovative and forward-thinking work of that year from among all Next honorees. Additionally the short from Ogilvy NY was honored in the 2014 Next Web/Viral Film category.
Devin Brook, Brand New School managing partner, said, “Nico’s ability to establish ownable visual languages that embody the ethos of a brand has always grabbed my attention. He’s one of the best at seamlessly combining live action and design in new ways.”
Casavecchia´s first feature-length film, Finding Sofia, debuted at the 2016 Austin Film Festival. He is also the writer and co-director of BattleScar, a virtual reality film starring Rosario Dawson which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
“BNS has been at the forefront of film and design for years. It’s a collective that shares the values and sensibilities that I like to reflect in my own work. The BNS team is just as amazing as their work, it will be great to be part of such a talented group of artists and keep pushing the boundaries of mix media filmmaking with them,” said Casavecchia.
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