Oscar-winning visual effects and creative content studio Framestore has hired two executive producers of live action: Jennifer Siegel who will work out of the company’s NY shop, and John Duffin, based in the L.A. office.
Siegel and Duffin will be responsible for overseeing live action and design. Their scope will also allow them to provide valuable input on various projects within Framestore’s Virtual Reality Studio, which opened earlier this year. The studio has recently produced massively popular and diverse Oculus Rift experiences for HBO’s Game of Thrones and Marriott Hotels in partnership with experiential agency Relevent, and for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Interstellar.
Jon Collins, Framestore’s president of Integrated Advertising Worldwide, said, “We’re constantly being approached with extraordinary opportunities that are allowing us to push our limits, enter the game earlier in the creative process, and play with our capabilities across different disciplines. These all-in projects have become the norm here at Framestore, and hiring Jennifer and John to grow and spearhead our Live Action department from both coasts was an essential move to address these unique briefs.”
Siegel joins Framestore with over 20 years in TV commercial production and has been responsible for all facets of managing production companies. She was most recently executive producer at Shilo TV, where her position spanned oversight of live action, visual effects, animation, CG, design, post and editorial. Prior to that, she was EP at Tool of North America, where she held various positions since 1997.
Duffin comes to Framestore from Epoch Films, where he served as EP. He began at the company in 1997 to help launch its Los Angeles office.
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