Creative agency Swift has brought Frank Brooks on board as head of production.
Taking on the recently created role, Brooks will serve as production lead across all Swift clients and help the agency expand into new competencies. As Swift continues to grow its offerings beyond a core expertise in social, Brooks will lead the charge to showcase the agency’s commitment to excellence in craft across all production formats.
Brooks started his career with National Geographic Television before shifting into film and advertising. His diverse body of work spans creative-led agencies, including AKQA, Argonaut, GS&P and Wieden+Kennedy; as well as work on the client side for Nike and Apple. Agency productions include work for Fitbit, ESPN, MINI, PlayStation, and Uber.
Brooks was tapped by newly appointed chief production officer Marni Beardsley. “It’s my goal to create a team built on an array of multidisciplinary and complementary strengths,” said Beardsley. “Frank brings a grounded perspective to leading productions that’s a great contrast to my free-form approach. His seasoned blend of client side and agency experience adds a rich perspective to the work. Beyond that, his combination of patience and drive for creative excellence is an invaluable asset for guiding projects to better, more unexpected places.”
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