Barkley has hired Matt Pruett and Chris Cima as creative directors. Prior to joining the Kansas City-based agency, Cima was a creative director at Victors & Spoils and R/GA, where he led teams on Royal Caribbean, Crocs, Verizon and The New York Times. Earlier in his career he worked at TM Advertising, where he held the challenging task of rebranding American Airlines after 9/11. At Barkley, Cima works as creative director on Spirit Airlines, Missouri Lottery, Britax, WaWa, and Big O Tires.
Pruett comes over to Barkley from Olson and previously worked at Carmichael Lynch and Colle+McVoy on a wide range of clients including Subaru, Jack Link’s Snacks, Indian Motorcycle, and Bissell Floor Care. In his creative director role at Barkley, he helps lead efforts on Dairy Queen, Russell Athletic and Dice, and helps drive new business.
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