Gregory Roekens has been hired to serve in the newly created position of chief innovation officer at the Moving Picture Company (MPC). Roekens joins the company’s global sr. management team reporting into CEO Mark Benson. This appointment strengthens MPC’s continued commitment to deliver innovative creative and production to major advertisers, ad agency networks, brands, production companies, publishers and media.
Roekens previously held the title of future technology officer at Grey Europe; prior to that he was chief technology officer at AMV BBDO and Wunderman, and previously worked at IBM. Roekens is a published authority in innovation and technology and lectured at Cambridge University.
Benson cited Roekens’ “vision and expertise in the area of new and emerging technology,” describing him as “the perfect choice to lead our innovation efforts and collaborate with our award-winning talent and client portfolio.”
Roekens stated, “I look forward to developing new ways to marry our amazing creative and technological expertise with innovation. My focus will be in helping design the future of communication and user experience so that MPC can deliver any client vision to become a reality. In doing so I believe MPC will continue to be a leader in how clients and their consumers connect with emerging technology.”
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