Framestore has recently fortified its New York studio with a series of senior creative hires: Corey Brown as executive creative director, Andre Vidal as VFX supervisor, and Keno Naidoo and Theuns Van Rensburg as compositing supervisors.
As ECD of the New York studio, Brown will further bolster Framestore’s advertising division. An established name in the VFX industry with over 25 years of industry experience, including the last 12 years at The Mill in New York, Brown is known as an exceptional problem-solver and highly regarded VFX supervisor and creative leader. Grown has worked alongside A-list directors including Baz Luhrmann, Darren Aronofsky, Peter Berg, Jake Scott, and Simon McQuoid.
VFX supervisor Vidal joins from The Mill. His most notable projects include Bud Light’s iconic “Bud Knight” and Pepsi’s halftime trailer, “The Call,” for the Super Bowl, and the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning “Leica 100.” He has also contributed to award-winning campaigns for brands like Playstation, Nissan, DirecTV, Paramount+, and a project for Google Pixelbook which was shot in a zero-gravity airplane.
Naidoo joins Framestore as compositing supervisor (Flame) with a career spanning nearly two decades in his native South Africa. He has extensive experience working in Flame, Nuke, Houdini, and Unreal, color, and on-set supervision, completing projects for Coca-Cola, Nissan, Puma, and Jameson. He has already lent his skill set while at Framestore to the McDonald’s “Knowing Their Order” Super Bowl LVII campaign.
Van Rensburg also hails from South Africa, bringing over 12 years of VFX experience on commercial projects. Most recently, he spent four years in Switzerland as a Flame artist and VFX supervisor, overseeing on-set supervision through to final mastering with brands including Audi, Coca-Cola, and Castle Lite. Prior, he spent time at Searle Street Post and Black Ginger in Cape Town. Since joining Framestore, Van Rensburg has worked on projects including Nissan’s “Town of Basic” and Booking.com’s Super Bowl LVII spot, “Somewhere, Anywhere.”
Jordan Carroll has also been promoted to head of CG at Framestore’s Los Angeles and Chicago studios. As an established member of the Chicago team, Carroll will expand his responsibilities to the West Coast, managing the CG team, and working with department heads to continue raising the team’s creative output.
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