Director of digital production
David&Goliath
1) The most important thing for new directors is to understand the brand, and the business problem their advertising is trying to solve. They should be curious about the strategic underpinning of the campaign and how it relates to the creative execution. Most importantly, understand the ecosystem where your work is going to be consumed so it fits contextually.
2) Don’t be afraid of taking on more than what you think is the job of the producer (which is admittedly broad in some cases). The best producers I have come across are eager to make things work, and are relentless when they see an opportunity to make something amazing.
3) My most recent moment of clarity is that even though things are moving at a million miles an hour in our industry, it is really important to take the time you need to evaluate and study each project and find the best path.
4) We recently produced a few digital films for Kia Cadenza where we used real valet drivers, blindfolded, and asked them to guess what kind of luxury vehicle they were sitting in. They were all surprised with the quality of the Cadenza, and the films turned out really great. They were both entertaining, and are helping to change consumers’ perception about the quality of Kia vehicles.
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