Boutique commercial production company Native Content has signed director Tony Franklin for U.S. representation.
Franklin’s advertising career began at Target where he served as an in-house art director while also directing music videos and documentary shorts on the side. His shorts were well received including Miss Monroe and Derby Man which were both shortlisted for Best Documentary at the One Screen Film Festival; Miss Monroe and Legends of the Isles have also been featured on The Atlantic. After a decade at Target, Franklin decided to pursue directing full-time and quickly earned success as a freelance commercial director, working with agencies such as Leo Burnett and BBDO to create spots for BMW, Pizza Hut, Purina Dog Chow, Hormel, Gatorade, The Florida Lottery, and others. He recently wrapped a shoot with Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles that will air in the coming weeks, and a new docu short The St. Paul Kid will appear on The Atlantic.
Native marks Franklin’s first formal commercial representation. He joins a company roster which includes Ben Jacks, Eivind Holmboe, Iain Mackenzie, Rich Lee, Russ Lamoureux, The Cronenweths and Tom Dey.
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