International creative audio network Squeak E. Clean Studios has added former Leo Burnett director of music Chris Clark as executive producer of its Chicago studio. A highly accomplished director and music supervisor, Clark comes to Squeak E. Clean following 11 years as global music lead at Leo Burnett Chicago.
In his new role, Clark will leverage his expertise spanning original music production, music strategy, artist partnerships, deal negotiation and licensing to facilitate new creative collaborations between clients and Squeak E. Clean Studios’ slate of award-winning composers, sound designers and more. He has secured track placements in content for top brands including Samsung, Nintendo, MillerCoors, P&G, McDonald’s, Allstate and Esurance.
Hamish Macdonald, managing director, Squeak E. Clean Studios, said “Chris truly understands and respects the trajectory and culture of our company as a former client; his exceptional abilities and experience will only continue to heighten Squeak E Clean’s offering to our clients.”
At the helm of the Chicago studio, Clark joins a team of creative director Justin Hori, sr. composer Julie Nichols and lead sound engineer Surachai Sutthisasanakul.
Clark added, “At a time where audio is truly coming back to the forefront of marketing strategies for brands and CMOs, it’s a perfect point to pivot from the agency side to join what I consider one of the most innovative music companies in our space.”
Clark’s creative achievements most notably include work on the Coors Light “Chill” campaign, and his supervision of Samsung Global’s new product launch commercials featuring “Rocket Man” by Elton John and a cover of “Across the Universe.” Clark has also lent his musicianship to take a stand in relevant social dialogue, supervising the creation of “Put The Guns Down”–an original anti-gun violence song and accompanying video for Chicago Ideas Week–and taking an agency lead position with P&G and Free The Bid to build the largest database of woman composers to-date.
Over the years, Clark has established himself as a thought leader in the music and advertising spaces, leading panel discussions at major conferences and festivals such as the Cannes Lions, MIDEM, New York Advertising Week, SXSW and Winter Music Conference, among others.
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