Directorial duo Bright Black–composed of Austin Rhodes and Ivan Landau–has joined bicoastal integrated content studio Humble for commercials, branded content and music videos. The move marks Bright Black’s first time being repped by a commercial production company.
Collaborating on directing, cinematography, and post, the duo is behind music videos for artists such as Beats Antique and Sigur Ros, and docu-style branded content and ads for Nike, Wilson, Grey Goose, Beck’s, Beats by Dre, Neff, and others. Along the way Bright Black worked with leading talent and athletes including LeBron James, Nicki Minaj, Gina Rodriguez, Norman Reedus, Kim Jones, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Travis Scott.
“Austin and Ivan have an innate synergy and it’s incredible to watch them work–between the two of them, they have every aspect of production and post totally covered. Their backgrounds dovetail nicely, and their enthusiasm and tenacity is infectious on set. We’re excited to work with them as they continue to make their mark in the ad world,” commented Shannon Lords, executive producer at Humble.
A skilled photographer who embraces a vérité approach for both still and moving images, Rhodes spent six years earlier in his career embedded in Ciudad Juarez as a DP, capturing documentary footage that was used by Frontline for programming on human trafficking. He also spent several years in New York collaborating with a variety of musicians to create visual projections for their live shows.
Landau earned a degree in film studies at UC Berkeley before landing a job at Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope, launching his career in editorial and sound on films such as The Virgin Suicides. He later transitioned to VFX, working at The Orphanage on features including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
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