Los York, a multi-disciplined creative company, has launched bicoastal Los York Films with a roster of eight directors. The lineup of filmmakers consists of Los York co-founders Dex Deboree and Seth Epstein, as well as Sebastien Zanella, Bo Platt, Jean-Paul Frenay, Jeff Johnson, Lindsey Byrnes, and Shane Griffin.
Byrnes is a director and photographer renowned for her portraits, commercial photography, music videos and short-form storytelling.. Throughout her career, Byrnes has ranged from creating images for album covers to creating magazine covers for the likes of Billboard, Esquire and Alternative Press, to creating photo essays for Rolling Stone.
Deboree has written and directed campaigns for the Jordan Brand, Nike Basketball, Wilson and Major League Soccer. He also helmed the soon to be released feature documentary, Unbanned: The Legend of Air Jordan 1.
Epstein has most recently directed campaigns for Nike’s Jordan Brand, Zico Water, Audi, Oral-B, Apple and WeChat (featuring global soccer phenomenons Neymar and Messi).
Frenay is a Belgian film director, creative director, and multidisciplinary visual artist known for blending live action, stop motion animation, CGI, miniatures, motion design, and photographic artworks into layered, mixed media projects. Frenay consistently tries to push the limits, change his style and explore beyond boundaries, as he has done in recent work for Lincoln, Renault, Nescafé, and Nissan. Prior to joining Los York Films, Frenay was most recently at Accomplice Media and before that, 1stAveMachine.
Griffin is a director and visual artist based in New York, where he serves as Los York Studio’s global creative director. He has directed films for Apple, Google, Microsoft, Ford, and Adidas, with his work spanning a broad range of disciplines from animation and live action to sculpture and CGI. Griffin was previously at Method and Man vs. Machine
Johnson is a Santa Barbara-based photographer, director, writer and brand ambassador known for shaping both Patagonia’s brand vision as well as adventure culture as a whole. One of the go-to photographers for Patagonia’s signature sublime photography, Johnson also made and starred in the travel documentary 180º South: Conquerors of the Useless and spearheaded Patagonia’s re-launch of their surf division.
Platt is a Colorado native currently residing in L.A. and Paris, whose career spans multiple disciplines, including live action direction on documentaries in India and Africa as well as special effects and design. Platt combines filmic sensibilities with exemplary visual effects that reveal powerful human stories for brands such as Michelin, Orange, Lacoste, Nokia, Ducati, Coca-Cola And Vodafone. Platt had been at Believe Media and Biscuit Filmworks prior to that.
Zanella is a director, documentary filmmaker, and photographer. He is sought out for his authentic approach to storytelling and cinematic filmmaking, and has worked with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Nike, Glenmorangie, and Ducati–in addition to being founder and editor-in-chief of Desillusion Magazine, an online and print publication dedicated to a surf and skate culture.
Santino Sladavic, sr. executive producer at Los York, serves as interim EP for Los York Films.
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