Director becomes creative head of production at agency’s Rabbit Foot venture
Director Jeff Bednarz, formerly of production company Lucky 21, has joined Rabbit Foot–Austin-based ad agency McGarrah Jessee’s new film and production division–as creative head of production.
Rabbit Foot was launched to address challenges presented by shifts in media consumption that demand faster, more prolific content creation. With deep career experience as a director, production company owner and brand collaborator, Bednarz will work closely with McGarrah Jessee’s lead broadcast producer, Meredith Roach, and executive creative director, James Mikus, to forge a new process that allows creative teams to benefit from his directorial vision from the start.
“We’re working with considerably tighter timelines,” related Roach. “Having direct and immediate access to Jeff during the creative concepting stage, for everything from formal briefs to casual in-the-moment brainstorming with creative directors, is a tremendous boon for the agency and our clients.”
Mikus said Bednarz “will bring to bear his considerable talent along with his extensive experience and expertise to the full range of work we’re currently producing. Having that kind of firepower on everything from a documentary film to a national :30 spot to an Instragram post is pretty amazing to think about.”
Bednarz has directed brand campaigns for clients American Airlines, AT&T, BlueCross BlueShield, Budweiser, Michelob, and The Salvation Army. He has collaborated with such agencies as BBDO, DDB, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Grey NY, McCann Worldwide, Publicis, The Richards Group, and TM Advertising.
Known for his cinematic, documentary style film, Bednarz turned his attention to football in small-town America in the documentary short titled 6, a 2010 SXSW Film Festival official selection, and captured the spirit and inspirational portraits of the people of Pin Point, Georgia, in the film Take Me To The Water which earned Best Documentary at the 2012 Charleston International Film Festival.
“Storytelling has always been my love and the rapid transformation of media means we have to change to meet clients’ needs. Working in tandem with the conceptual creatives at the origin feels right and it meant starting something new,” Bednarz said. “Creating this partnership is not only an alignment of professional respect and principles; it’s a creative force that will transform client experience and brand stories.”
Bednarz has a long history with McGarrah Jessee, directing campaigns for clients Whataburger, Shiner, Merrick, E4Youth and Frost Bank. “Jeff worked 120 shoot days last year. He’s worked with over 200 global brands,” said Bryan Jessee, co-founder and partner of McGarrah Jessee. “His dedication to his clients is first class. We’re proud to have him as a partner.”
Mark McGarrah, co-founder and partner of McGarrah Jessee, said of Rabbit Foot, “This is a new venture based on a long and respected partnership. From the beginning, our guiding principles for the agency have never wavered: we’ve aspired to create a culture that allows us to work with great people, who we genuinely like and admire, which in turn contributes to creating great work that we all feel proud of. Jeff resolutely embodies these qualities.”
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