Justine Bloome has joined media agency Carat USA as head of strategy and innovation. In this capacity she will lead the Catalyst team, a newly launched group in the U.S. focused on leveraging consumer insights and emerging technology platforms to deliver richer, more engaging communication experiences rooted in dynamic content and reflective of culture.
Bloome will be responsible for Carat’s communication strategy and report directly to Michael Epstein, Carat’s chief client officer.
Prior to joining Carat, Bloome founded marketing and communications firm, The Village Agency, in her native Australia in 2010. Previously, she was business strategist at Jack Morton Worldwide, where she was responsible for driving digital transformation and campaign amplification for the agency’s brand clients.
Bloome brings experience developing and executing integrated campaign strategies across owned, earned and paid media for a range of clients including REA Group, SEEK, NAB, Australian Super, MTV, National Geographic Channel, Coca Cola, Ford Motoring, Optus, McDonalds, ING Direct, Mitsubishi, Vodafone, MARS, Disney, Schweppes and Cadbury Australia.
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