Girl Culture Films, the production house co-founded a year ago by creative director/director Lauren Greenfield and president Frank Evers, has embarked on a major expansion, diversifying beyond commercials and branded content with the launch of an entertainment arm, and adding two lauded directors to its ad roster.
Coming aboard for representation spanning spots and branded content are two time Oscar-winning documentarian (Harlan County USA, American Dream) Barbara Kopple, and Sundance Grand Jury award-winning and DGA Award-nominated filmmaker Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation). This marks Wang’s first representation in the ad arena. Kopple had previously been handled for commercialmaking by Nonfiction Unlimited.
Girl Culture’s entertainment venture gets out of the gate with three projects in the hopper: two fictional series–Hex from Catherine Fordham and Jessica Leonard, and The Stags from Laurie Parker and Rain Phoenix–as well as a non-fiction Untitled Lauren Greenfield Project. The entertainment arm will produce film and TV content with its growing list of artists.
Girl Culture Films represents A-list female directors, many of whom have high-profile projects at this year’s Sundance Film Festival including Opening Night feature documentary Taylor Swift: Ms. Americana, directed by Lana Wilson; I Carry You With Me, directed by Heidi Ewing; Love Fraud, a Showtime docuseries from Ewing and Rachel Grady; and Marina Zenovich’s debut two-part documentary Lance for ESPN.
Greenfield herself is an accomplished filmmaker whose work has made the DGA Award nomination grade in commercials and long-form fare. She earned DGA nods in 2013 for her feature documentary Queen of Versailles (2012) and two years later for her iconic P&G/Always “LikeAGirl” commercial.
Greenfield–who recently was nominated for her second WGA Award for her film The Kingmaker, which will premiere on Showtime on February 28–remains dedicated to advocating for the authentic and diverse filmmakers represented by Girl Culture. “Starting Girl Culture is one of the most meaningful things I have done in my career and my life,” stated Greenfield. “We could not have imagined how incredible our first year could have been for the company and our roster of amazing talent, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to continue to build upon the legacy of #LikeAGirl and continue to ensure that women’s voices are represented in influential media platforms.”
The alluded to success of the first year included 11 commercial campaigns produced for such clients as SAP, American Express, Genentech (Roche Group), Mercedes-Benz, K-Y, LinkedIn, Clinique and IBRANCE, in addition to a large-scale campaign for Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures about the challenge of attaining women’s equality, directed by Natasha Lyonne and featuring Maya Rudolph, Sarah Silverman, John Mulaney, and Carol Burnett. Girl Culture Films’ mission is to address and amplify the demand in the commercial advertising world for female directors who bring world-class storytelling, authentic voices, and diverse perspectives to the table.
To facilitate its ambitious growth, Girl Culture Films has additionally opened new production offices in Venice, Calif.
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