By Millie Takaki
NEW YORK—Editorial house Spot Welders, headquartered in Venice, Calif., plans to have a New York office up and running by Feb. 1, 2005. Hired to head up the new shop as its lead editor is Dick Gordon, formerly of Mad River Post, New York.
David Glean, Spot Welders’ partner/executive producer, said that the company intends to keep the New York operation small, with no more than three or four editors. Though Spot Welders had long contemplated expanding into Gotham, the missing element was an established New York-based editor such as Gordon.
"We wanted someone with a following and a great reputation who could be our anchor in New York," said Glean, who noted that Gordon definitively met those prerequisites. Earlier, the company had considered moving some of its Southern California editors to the East Coast or even merging or partnering with an existing New York edit house. "But it can be hard to mix and match cultures like that … difficult to get everyone on the same page," observed Glean.
Spot Welders’ West Coast editors worked regularly on the East Coast for New York agencies up until the Sept. 11 tragedy, related Glean, but that level of work dropped off considerably afterwards. "In the post 9/11 environment, we realized that having a New York office was a necessary part of our expansion plans," Glean continued. "We have some loyal clients in New York, and while you can do a lot via FTP sites and such, there’s no substitute for being able to get everyone together in one room."
Glean added that Spot Welders has had New York representation for years—the company is handled by Peter Ziegler and Jonathan Jakubowicz of independent firm Ziegler Management. But Glean acknowledged that at times it’s been difficult for the reps to sell talent that’s based thousands of miles away. He predicted that the New York office will result in considerably more back-and-forth exchanges between the Spot Welders West Coast roster and agencies on the East Coast.
Furthermore, said Glean, having a New York base positions Spot Welders to expand globally, most likely via an affiliation with a postproduction house based in London or elsewhere in Europe.
GORDON
Editor Gordon made his first major spot industry mark as an editor at then newly formed @radical.media (now bicoastal/ international), where he worked on dozens of groundbreaking ESPN spots from the directing team of Buckley & Todaro (Bryan Buckley, who’s now at bicoastal/international Hungry Man, and Frank Todaro of bicoastal Moxie Pictures). Gordon also cut for @radical directors Lenard Dorfman and Alan White. The @radical experience had Gordon steeped in storytelling, comedy and dialogue.
The editor then moved over to Mad River, where his first job was the introduction of the now-famous Miller Lite "Dick" campaign from Fallon, Minneapolis, created by the Swedes Linus Karlsson and Paul Malmstrom, both now at Mother, New York, and directed by Traktor of bicoastal/international Partizan—creative relationships Gordon has maintained since then. At press time, Gordon was scheduled to honor his last job commitment at Mad River, a Target spot from Mother directed by Hungry Man’s Hank Perlman and overseen by agency creatives Karlsson and Malmstrom.
Gordon hopes that Spot Welders will help to diversify his work. While he enjoys cutting comedy (Citibank, FOX SportsNet, 7-Up, Bacardi, ESPN, Dunkin’ Donuts, Axe, etc.), Gordon considers himself primarily a storyteller and would like to broaden into more of that and other realms. He recently wrapped a project for Genworth that required a dynamic visual edit. The job was directed by Phil Joanou of bicoastal Villains for Young & Rubicam, New York. Earlier this year, Gordon cut a SHOOT Top Spot (3/19, p. 10), Lipton Cup-A-Soup’s humorous "Fake Busy Guy," direct-ed by Hungry Man’s Buckley for J. Walter Thompson, New York.
Spot Welder’s lineup of Venice-based editors includes Megan Bee, Scott Chestnut, Ben Darling, Robert Duffy, Scott Gray, Haines Hall, Jim Haygood, Michael Heldman, Bipasha Shom and Eric Zumbrunnen.
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