The Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA), the trade association serving the professional community of businesses and individuals providing expertise, support, tools and infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content, has announced that the organization has become The Hollywood Professional Alliance. The announcement was made during the association’s 21st Annual HPA Technology Retreat currently underway in Indian Wells. HPA will continue to serve as the organization’s acronym.
The Hollywood Post Alliance, with its traditional focus on the needs of the postproduction service industry, has helped to lead the conversation on the impact of the changing face of content creation and media. Over the course of the past two decades, the postproduction industry has been at the center of the most dynamic, technical and creative changes impacting the entertainment industry. These advances include camera technologies, visual effects, 3D, editing platforms, content security, creative collaboration technologies, display, content delivery and archive. The Board of Directors of the HPA undertook renaming the organization to reflect this dynamic environment. The Board believes that the new name will serve its current membership and welcome an ever-widening constituency.
Leon Silverman, president of the HPA, said of the transition, “The mission of the HPA will remain the same: to serve as a hub, thought leadership center and communications engine for our industry as changes in the creative process continue to motivate new ways of working. We believe that ‘Professional’ is more inclusive and more accurately encompasses the creative talent, content holders, global infrastructure of services, as well as new and emerging platforms and processes that stretch from idea to display. The time has come to acknowledge the evolution of ‘post,’ and to focus on the professional community creating and executing the vision from a broad base of expertise.”
The HPA is in the midst of a consolidation with The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) , which is expected to be finalized in March of this year. Under the terms of that merger, the HPA will remain an independent organization, while fully collaborating on the many issues and interests they share. Barbara Lange, executive director of SMPTE, noted, “We are enthusiastic about the new name and brand for HPA. There is great symmetry between HPA and SMPTE members who share technical expertise, creative vision, and the companies who make the content and the process possible. While there is some commonality in our memberships, each organization brings new audiences and voices to the conversation. We look forward to continuing our close relationships with the HPA and its members as our organizations continue to push forward into the future.”
The major annual HPA events, The HPA Tech Retreat and The HPA Awards, are set to continue as Hollywood Professional Alliance events. New branding for the HPA will be unveiled in April 2015. President Silverman and the current Board of the HPA will remain in place.
Silverman concluded, “This change is more about the interdependence of many professional disciplines rather than us defocusing on postproduction. In fact, there is more post production today than at any time in the past. It’s simply that post has moved upstream of traditional ‘finishing’ workflows directly into production and is increasingly involved in optimizing content over a new and exciting array of distribution channels and platforms. We feel that the new ‘HPA’ can help broaden the dialogue and provide support for industry professionals working and serving across a much broader collaborative media ecosystem.”
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