Visual effects studio The Mill is moving to its own premises in the West Loop area of Chicago during the third quarter of the year. The new location will enable The Mill to double its capacity in color by adding a second suite while also paving the way for expanding the shop’s CG and design teams. Additionally the design and animation direction offering–which The Mill markets under the Mill+ banner–will be bolstered.
Since becoming part of the Chicago community in March 2013, The Mill has occupied space within the quarters of editorial company The Whitehouse, located in the River North district. The Mill and The Whitehouse share similar heritage in the advertising sector having been established a few months apart and within two blocks of each other in London’s Soho district in 1990.
Group CEO of The Mill, Robin Shenfield, commented: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our friends at The Whitehouse for providing us with a temporary home. We’ve strengthened a relationship that has many years on the clock and although we’ll be in a different location from later this year, our strong relationship will continue.“
Shenfield added: “The Mill in Chicago, having grown from 12 people to over 45, has outgrown its home [at The Whitehouse]. Our new premises are being designed from scratch within a five story, 18,000 square foot former warehouse building in the West Loop, a couple of blocks distance from Soho House.”
The Mill’s Chicago managing director Jared Yeater noted “We’re really excited about having an entire building where we can adapt our studio out from scratch, very much as we have done in London, New York and Los Angeles. It’s a great opportunity to design a really creative working environment for ourselves and our clients. As we won’t be occupying all of the space from day one, it affords us the flexibility to keep investing in this community and adapting to the changing needs of our clients.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More