Luke Taylor has been appointed head of branded entertainment & channels at Pulse, a production company with bases of operation in London, NY, Los Angeles, Paris and Berlin. Taylor will be based in the London office where he will work under Marisa Clifford, CEO (UK & Europe).
A roster director at Partizan before co-founding BigBalls Films, Taylor brings with him a wealth of experience within the branded entertainment space, previously producing marketing content for music acts including Mark Ronson, Lupe Fiasco and Calvin Harris and such brands as Nike & HTC. His branded series credits include the cult-hit social networking drama Kate Modern and BAFTA Award-winning Who Killed Summer for Vodafone.
In addition to branded entertainment, Taylor’s company BigBalls has had a heritage in building and launching successful global channels such as Copa90 and Line9, the successful action sport channel. Looking forward, Taylor will work closely with U.S.-based CEO Thomas Benski and the team to further enhance the brands channel offering.
Pulse’s branded entertainment endeavors span global brands such as Bose, Skype and Bacardi, and projects including Converse’s “Rubber Tracks” and 20th Century Fox’s series of shorts with Dawn of the Planet of The Apes.
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