SHOOTonline will publish a Special Directors>e.dition on Monday, April 4, that will contain the entire Directors Series section from SHOOT’s April print issue (including extended versions of some stories).
The lineup of Director Profiles includes three of this year’s DGA Award winners: Alejandro G. Iñárritu who topped the feature film category with The Revenant; Matthew Heineman who earned best documentary distinction for Cartel Land; and Andreas Nilsson of Biscuit Filmworks who won the commercials competition with “Emily’s Oz” for Comcast/Xfinity, “Dad Song” for Old Spice and “Time Upon A Once” for GE. Also in the mix are Sophie Muller of Wondros and Tricia Brock of the recently launched Hey Wonderful, part of the RSA family of companies. Muller and Brock have made a major splash with ambitious longer form branded content. Muller helmed a four-minute live music video/spot for Target which aired during February’s Grammy Awards telecast on CBS while Brock directed the eight-episode Nike online series Margot v. Lily.
Rounding out our roster of profiles are two duos who have made their mark in features and spots: Daniels of production house PRETTYBIRD; and Anthony and Joe Russo, aka the Russo brothers, who are partnered in their own commercials/branded content production company Bullitt. Consisting of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Daniels recently won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival for Swiss Army Man, which marked their feature filmmaking debut. Anthony and Joe Russo’s recent endeavors include a couple of Super Bowl commercials as well as the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, looming as another potential Marvel/Disney box office blockbuster.
Meanwhile our lineup of promising, up-and-coming directorial talent includes: a London advertising agency creative director who recently made his directing debut with a short film; a production designer/art director whose first feature as a director recently made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival; a Paris-based duo whose experimental work has opened up doors in the ad sector, as well as a new commercial/branded content production house affiliation in the U.S.; a feature filmmaker who just forayed for the first time into commercials with a campaign that broke on the Super Bowl telecast; and a Portland, Ore.-based agency creative director who’s successfully diversified into directing and is looking to further broaden his spotmaking/branded entertainment reach.
And then in our Cinematographers & Cameras Series, we will meet a trio of DPs: a three-time Oscar winner; the recent recipient of his first ASC Award; and a three-time Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best Cinematography.
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