President/executive producer
Washington Square Films
1) Create work that reflects who you are, and expresses what you want to say. Be selective. [Today it’s technically and financially so easy to produce content, I find people are directing simply because they can, and we end up with a glut of well-produced, nothing.] Take your time, develop your voice and carefully consider the stories you want to tell.
2) Advising producers is trickier, because there are so many different jobs that use the title Producer. If you want to be close to the line – learn the mechanics – If you want to be an EP, cultivate your aesthetic and develop relationships with directors and industry people. If your dream is to create your own stories, then follow the same advise I gave for directors, but whatever type of producer you want to be make sure you know what the job really means and are driven by inspiration.
3) The lesson I have learned over and over is don’t let the technology drive the creative. I can’t tell you how many VR projects I have seen where I wished there was a director deciding where I should look. VR, AR and AI can be great tools, but the lesson is fit the technology to the story, not the other way around.
4) I’m very proud of the diversity the range of work we did this year. We had several features, and on the commercial front I’m excited about a job we just did with Christopher Gruse for Acura and a comedy campaign for Ram Trucks by Spielbergs. Alison Klayman did some very powerful work for Brawny, I love Michael McCourt’s spots for Maine Tourism, Lance Edmands did a great short film for Cadillac, and Ben & Dave seem to top themselves every time out.
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