Editors/partners Chuck Willis and Jamie Connors have teamed with managing partner Susan Willis to launch editorial house Gattie and Lopez, headquartered in a mid-Manhattan penthouse. The new shop will work across, advertising, television and feature film projects. Chuck and Susan Willis were principals at the now former Cutting Room where Connors began working for them four years ago. The chemistry among them has now yielded this new venture.
“I had to do something with Jamie,” remarked Chuck. “There is a great energy between us and I am thrilled to open a company with him,”
Connors shared, “Creating and building a new company with individuals I respect so much is the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had.”
Connors has spent nearly a decade immersed in the NYC postproduction space, on both the agency and post studio sides. He has edited spots for such brands as MasterCard, NFL, Bank of America, Lysol, Dentyne, VH1 and Mucinex. He also cut the short documentary film “Five Awake,” which was awarded the “Best Louisiana Feature” at the New Orleans Film Festival. He adopts a collaborative approach for every project, bringing out character-driven beats in both comedic and storytelling spots.
Gattie and Lopez also has lead editor Janis Vogel on its roster. After Chuck Willis collaborated with Vogel on the large scale pilot Civil for TNT Originals in association with MGM Television from director Allen Coulter (Vinyl, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos) and Academy Award-nominated writer Scott Smith (A Simple Plan), a creative synergy was quickly established. The two remained in touch, strategizing for future collaborations while re-working and aligning project schedules to reunite for the launch of Gattie and Lopez. Vogel draws from a background in crafting powerful, compelling work in a variety of different genres. She has edited award-winning documentaries, narrative films, music videos and in 2017, she worked on Spike Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It.
Vogel noted, “I thrive off working with editors like Chuck and Jamie who are equally committed to creating pioneering and inspiring work. I couldn’t be more excited to finally have the chance to collaborate on an ongoing basis.”
Gattie and Lopez is a certified woman-owned company as Susan Willis is its managing partner.
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