Gifted Youth, the creative commercial production division of Funny or Die, has added director Trevor Clarence to its U.S. roster, marking the South African’s introduction to the American ad market.
Clarence has garnered international acclaim for his work with KFC, KitKat and Volkswagen, among other brands, while headlining his own production boutique in Johannesburg. On the awards front, he has won multiple Loeries (South Africa’s mainstay award show), including Gold for his SABC Audience Services ad “Education English” out of TBWAHuntLascaris, Cape Town.
Clarence launched into directing commercials following a successful stint with MTV Europe where he created “Crazy Monkey,” a series of spots that quickly amassed an enthusiastic cult following as well as industry recognition, including a YoungGuns Award in 2003, Many of Clarence’s projects have found their way to Cannes, earning him widespread attention and accolades.
Dal Wolf, managing director of Gifted Youth, describes Clarence as being “a fiercely talented, impeccably skilled, and vastly knowledgeable visual storyteller steeped in comedy.” Wolf expressed confidence that Clarence’s talent will translate well in the U.S. market.
Clarence joins a Gifted Youth directorial lineup which includes Zoe Lister-Jones, Peter Atencio, the Fatal Farm collective, multiple Emmy nominee Alice Mathias, SNL slum Jake Szymanski, Jason Winer, who won a DGA Award for the Modern Family pilot, and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar winner and Best Director nominee (both for The Big Short) Adam McKay.
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