Directing duo The Queen–consisting of Dan Lumb and Crinan Campbell–has joined bicoastal The Famous Group for spots and branded content in the U.S. The Queen just wrapped its first job for the production company, a comedic campaign for YETI coolers and jugs out of McGarrah Jessee in Austin, Texas.
The project started with the agency enlisting The Queen’s help with some single take videos showing off the product’s superiority. The directing duo ending up shooting 10 scenarios: five with the YETI Hopper and five with the YETI Jug against the competition. What started as a social media campaign for the YETI website expanded into a spot campaign. “It was really important that every test be 100 percent real and fair, which is one of the reasons it was crucial to shoot each test in one take–to show that there was no trickery involved and no unfair advantage given to the YETI product,” said David Kwan, managing director of The Famous Group. “What The Queen did for YETI and the agency in terms of choreographing each test was unique and fun.”
The Queen specializes in short films, commercials and online branding content. Other recent work includes projects for AARP, Virgin Media, Samsung and Made.com. The directing team was previously handled in the U.S. by production house No Smoke.
Both Lumb and Campbell describe The Queen as a tale of two London flatmates starting as editors and later re-connecting as directors. Five years ago, their film on the plight of an illegal immigrant–titled Extranjero–took the Sundance Film Festival/London by storm, earning the best short film honor. The work started rolling in. “We’re like an old married couple that can finish each others sentences,” said Lumb. “We started directing separately for a bit, then decided it was more fun to work together. We have similar tastes and know what we want. There’s really two ‘looks’ we go for, one is a more run-and-gun, observational style and the other is visual tricks. Both are grounded in heavy art direction.”
Drawn to The Queen’s visual storytelling approach, Kwan related, “Dan (Lumb) and Crinan (Campbell) bring a kinetic energy to their work through the use of inventive and dynamic in-camera effects.”
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