Production company and animation studio Laundry Design, LLC–under the aegis of CEO/managing director James Sweigert–has hired Emily Rivvers as an executive producer and promoted Pip Malone to head of production for all Laundry Studios.
With a proven track record as an EP in the commercial and postproduction industry, Rivvers brings experience and expertise in the area of business development and account management. Based out of Laundry’s new San Francisco office, Rivvers will be responsible for sales, client relations, bidding, scheduling, and oversight of creative producers throughout production and delivery.
An internationally accomplished production executive, Malone is now responsible for overseeing the entire Laundry ecosystem as well as continuing to manage aspects of the company’s internal production from recruiting, staffing, production management, workflow, systems and procedures. Malone joined Laundry in 2021 from Method Studios, where she served as an award winning sr. producer for more than 10 years.
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