Director of integrated production
Venables Bell and Partners
1) I think it is important to have representation through a production company. Even though agencies are producing all kinds of content these days and are always looking for new, fresh talent, I think it is very challenging to get an agency’s attention on your own as a freelance director. The production company affiliation can get your name and reel in the door faster, get you more exposure and provide much needed financial backing and the production resources to help secure the job. Having that production house backing also provides the agency with a bit of a safety net.
I also think it is important to be very selective to the point of being brutal in deciding what to include on your reel. Many times, those passion projects that mean so much to you are lost on your viewers. Here again, the production company can provide guidance and objectivity in crafting a reel that will appeal to an agency’s needs.
2) I think all the advice about persevering, being tenacious, willing to work long hours and do whatever it takes, etc., to get your foot in the door may sound cliché but is all still valid. Once you are in the door, I think it is important to never be afraid to fight above your weight class. In other words don’t be afraid of taking on projects that may be out of your depth. When you’re in a little over your head, I think it forces you to be more resourceful, apply yourself a little more, ask more questions and in the end, you learn by doing rather than watching. Yeah you may make some mistakes along the way, but you learn from those and I think end up a stronger producer. Of course, it doesn’t hurt having a boss or supervisor who encourages you to take on a more challenging project and is willing to provide a safety net in case you get in a jam.
3) One of our most interesting projects this past year, was the “Duel” spot for Audi. Because the entire spot was played in reverse, we had to take great care to ensure that each scene played as well in reverse as it did forward.
We spent a lot of time with our director, Ringan Ledwidge, studying action films in reverse to determine what kind of scenes were not only visually interesting but could also advance our narrative. You learn pretty quickly that running, wrestling and other kinds of hand to hand combat don’t play all that well in reverse. Crashing through glass and exploding fish tanks on the other hand look fantastic.
Additionally, we had to make sure that the choreography and the stunts were well-rehearsed as we didn’t have a lot of time to devote to continually resetting and getting multiple takes.
It was an intensely complicated and technical shoot requiring an enormous amount of pre-planning between the VBP team and Ringan, his stunt coordinator, set designer and entire crew.
4) I’m particularly proud of our Super Bowl spot, “Daughter”, that we produced for Audi. So many people worked tirelessly for days to craft this film and ensure that its message was just right. It was very gratifying that it ultimately resonated with so many people. It’s also a tribute to a brave client willing to make a timely statement on the topic of Equal Pay on a national stage like the Super Bowl.
I’m also quite proud of our new campaign for Chipotle that just launched in April. The amazing amount of broadcast, online, digital and still content that launched in just nine weeks represented a wonderful first time collaboration between agency and client from initial concept approval all the way through multiple productions and approvals.
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