ONE at Optimus, the production arm of production and post house Optimus, has hired Jonah Mueller as sr. producer. Mueller has been freelancing for ONE as a line producer and bidder for the past year. His invaluable contributions during that time earned him this new role.
After a series of ad agency internships, Mueller cut his teeth as an assistant account executive at Laughlin Constable in Chicago. From there, he went to Radar Studios as a PA and worked his way up as a producer under the team that included Lisa Masseur, who is now EP/managing director of ONE at Optimus. After the past year working as a freelancer, Mueller begins a new chapter with ONE.
Mueller has worked with brands including The Chicago Bulls, Crystal Light, Fifth Third Bank, Johnsonville, McDonald’s, Motorola, Nintendo, Perkins Restaurants, and Samsung. Besides producing commercials and content, Jonah produced a feature documentary, Sign Painters, as well as many music videos. He has shot around the U.S. and internationally in Canada, France, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Russia, and Lebanon.
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