Sound design and music company Machine kicks has appointed Brice Cagan to serve as head of music. An accomplished composer, Cagan arrives at Machine’s London studios with a decade of experience in the U.S. and U.K., composing for brands including Disney, HBO, Ubisoft, PlayStation, Budweiser, Honda and the 2016 and 2018 Olympics. Alongside an extensive commercial portfolio, Cagan’s writing credits include music for film and video game trailers, and both studio and independent long-form series.
Cagan developed his production skills while working as a session musician at studios such as Ocean Way, East-West and the Warner Bros soundstages. At these recording studios, Cagan was shown the ropes by some of the best orchestras, composers and session musicians. Transitioning to composition himself, Cagan began working with brands including Dodge, Adidas and Microsoft.
In 2019, Cagan founded Black & White Sounds, a Los Angeles-based custom music company specializing in advertising, trailers and television. The company expanded in 2020, with the opening of a studio in London and a focus on sonic branding.
Cagan said of his new roost, “It’s incredibly exciting to have such high-caliber sound design and music working together under one roof. We now have opportunities to integrate postproduction in a creative and streamlined way.”
Machine’s executive producer Matej Oreskovic noted, “I have had the pleasure of working with Brice for the past two years. His composition skills, versatility and music knowledge are a rare find.”
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