Gifted Youth strengthens its bicoastal foothold, bringing aboard advertising veteran Josh Morse as its executive producer in New York and partnering with Barrie Isaacson Management as its East Coast sales team. Morse’s experience spans the ad agency and production sides of the business.
A Queens-native (and current resident), Morse while studying film at Cornell University worked as a PA on film sets and it was his post-graduation job at a camera rental house that gained him entré to the advertising world, where he traded camera equipment for the opportunity to interview at J Walter Thompson NY. From there, Morse moved to Cliff Freeman & Partners, an agency renowned for its comedic ads, followed by TBWAChiatDay, where he cultivated an impressive portfolio including successful campaigns for Absolut and Jameson.
In 2012, Morse joined Barton F. Graf and was instrumental in helping the then-young agency build its production unit. Working across all disciplines–film, video, print, art-buying, digital, experiential–Morse became head of integrated production, forging a name with campaigns for clients like Keep A Child Alive, Bulleit Bourbon, Axe, Jameson Whiskey, Kayak and gaming giant Supercell. Under his direction, the Barton F. Graf’s Super Bowl spot for Supercell’s Clash of Clans went viral, amassing nearly 73 million YouTube views to date. Morse’s work has won virtually every industry award, including numerous Cannes Lions, Facebook Global, and D&AD awards.
Morse has always been drawn to comedy, saying, “When advertising takes itself too seriously, it can feel silly and a bit insincere. Comedic advertising, to me, has always felt more authentic. I’m excited to bring my experience with agencies, as well as the worlds of digital and experiential media, to expand Gifted Youth’s offerings into new and exciting avenues. And also make people laugh at the same time.”
On joining managing director Dal Wolf’s team, Morse said, “I’m aligned with the culture here, which is absolutely key to making the best work possible. Their team, they have an insanely high quality of creative standards. The Gifted Youth roster and the reach they have–that goes well beyond the advertising world into all facets of entertainment–sealed the deal.”
Gifted Youth, whose parent company Funny Or Die touts Will Ferrell and Adam McKay as its founders, celebrates its sixth anniversary this year.
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