TASTE–a directing and creative collective with bases of operation in NYC, L.A. and Vienna–has added director Stuart Parr to its roster for commercial representation in the U.S.
Parr, who had been previously repped by Furlined in the U.S., joins a TASTE directorial lineup that includes Margaret Elman and company partner Thomas Schauer. Internationally, Parr is handled by Love Productions in the U.K. and the Netherlands.
Parr brings motion experience intersecting food, drink, beauty, and technology to the TASTE team. As a director, Parr offers a designer’s eye and refined work experience. Born in London, he obtained a Masters of Design degree from the prestigious Royal College of Art and broke into the design world by working with superyacht designer Jon Bannenberg and alongside legendary French designer Philippe Starck. Parr went on to join Branson Coates Architecture, the avant-garde architectural studio in London, working on projects in Paris, Tokyo, and New York, to design furniture, lighting, and exhibitions, before turning his attention to filmmaking.
Parr’s clients as a director span leading brands including Samsung, Hershey’s, and McDonald’s, as well as such agencies as Anomaly, Wieden + Kennedy, and 72andSunny. Prior to landing at Love in the U.K., Parr had been repped by Blink, London.
TASTE executive producer Becky Donahue said of Parr, “There is such a level of sophistication and elegance in everything he does. His design sensibilities come through in his filmmaking; you can clearly see that influence throughout his work. TASTE will always be a small company, but we see Stuart as a vital and natural addition to our curated group of directors.”
Tim Case, a partner in TASTE, added, “I’ve been a fan of Stuart Parr’s since he started directing. His treatment of hard goods as a designer and director I’ve always had a great admiration for. His work is beautiful and slick, always with a design element.”
Case also owns production house Supply & Demand, to which TASTE is a sister company.
Parr said, “I’m incredibly excited to be joining up with TASTE under the helm of a legendary ad man Tim Case. It feels like a perfect fit and creates a perfect platform for me to pursue the sort of projects l love doing.”
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