Creative studio and production company Even/Odd has signed New York-based director Andy Madeleine, and Los Angeles/San Francisco-based directors David Camarena and Syra McCarthy for U.S. representation. All three filmmakers had no prior production house representation in the U.S. market.
The infusion of directorial talent continues the expansion of the minority and immigrant-owned shop, following the naming of Justin Lomax earlier this year as its first managing director. Madeleine, Camarena and McCarthy also mark Even/Odd’s ongoing investment in its artists and DEI initiatives. Each director reflects Even/Odd’s approach to bolstering multidisciplinary artists rooted in filmmaking, with diverse careers spanning work across commercials, music videos, photography, and documentary film.
Lomax said, “All three directors bring unique styles and perspectives to our roster. They’re each constantly pushing themselves and their art into new, unexpected places, which makes them a natural fit with the Even/Odd team.”
Madeleine’s entry into filmmaking began with an attempt to challenge the banality of growing up in the suburbs of Detroit. Coming from a primarily self-taught, DIY background, he has a deep fascination for cameras and film as a medium that can be felt in his lens-based approach to filmmaking. His portfolio includes work from a diverse roster of clients, including Adidas, Stella McCartney, Nike, Fendi, Tumi, Square, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vogue Magazine. Also a photographer, he shoots fashion campaigns and editorials, which inform his work as a director.
Camarena’s unique style stems from years of documentation, candid moments, and a glimpse of the Latinidad landscape in California and Mexico. Camarena is a Mexican-American director and photographer inspired by his community. His experience working in live-action, still photography, animation, and music videos have led to a distinct style as a filmmaker. He has directed commercial work for Nike, Foot Locker, Hat Club, Kids of Immigrants, and Adidas. Camarena’s projects have been featured in publications including Rolling Stone, Vogue, Hypebeast and Pitchfork. His latest personal work is a documentary about the Sirkane Darkroom, a one-of-a-kind mobile photography workshop for underprivileged children in southeast Turkey.
McCarthy is a half-Filipino, half-New Zealander first-generation American filmmaker and actor. She has directed for brands like Angi, Olly, Scotch-Brite, Ford’s Gin, Square, and Google. Her work was recently featured in The New York Times. McCarthy’s history working as an actor, editor and stills photographer give her a distinct directing approach from the nuance of performance to composition. Striving for gender equity within the media industry, McCarthy recently created the website Soft Hold Collective: a film directory highlighting female and non-binary Bay Area talent, set to launch soon.
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