By Kristin Wilcha
New Faces
Creative director John McNeil is joining McCann Erickson, San Francisco, to head creative on the Microsoft account. He was previously with Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
Bertrand Garbassi is joining chemistri, Troy, Mich., to head the creative on the Cadillac account. He comes over from Young & Rubicam Detroit, Dearborn, Mich., where he served as co-creative director.
David Jenkins has joined agency Sedgwick Rd., Seattle, as senior VP/executive creative director.
Logan Wilmont, co-executive creative director at kirshenbaum bond + partners, New York, is leaving the agency to open a new venture in London.
Todd Lamb, a copywriter and art director, has joined Mother, New York. He was previously with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
Account Movement
Samsung is consolidating its global ad account—estimated to be worth $400 million—with a team of agencies from the WPP Group. J. Walter Thompson, New York, will provide global management, while Berlin Cameron/Red Cell, New York, will handle creative duties.
Young & Rubicam, New York, has won ad duties on the Weight Watchers account.
Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami, has resigned the Ikea account, estimated at $40 million. Ikea has selected Santa Monica agency Secret Weapon to handle the account.
Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), New York, has won ad duties on Diageo’s Smirnoff Ice account.
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