One Union Recording Studios has hired sr. engineer and sound designer Joel Hopper who brings to his new roost 18 years of experience in the advertising and recording industries. He most recently served as re-recording mixer, sound designer and picture editor at Barrell House, the in-house production unit at Bay Area ad agency Pereira O’Dell.
Hopper becomes the second addition to One Union’s senior staff since the beginning of the year after the San Francisco-based facility added sr. engineer Eduardo Mendoza in January. John McGleenan, the company’s president, said the studio is adding experienced talent to meet a surge in advertising, digital and entertainment production as the pandemic wanes. “We expect production to ramp up quickly over the next three to six months,” he said. “We’re upping our game, adding horsepower, mix capabilities and talent.”
One Union has five sr. engineers on staff, the other three being Joaby Deal, Andy Greenberg and Matt Wood. Along with recent technical upgrades, the studio has assembled a dynamic front-of-house staff to deliver the best post-COVID services as clients return for in-person sessions.
Hopper spent four years at Pereira O’Dell and helped build out the agency’s Barrel House production unit. He also edited and mixed spots for such national brands as Adobe, Cheesecake Factory, Clorox, Fifth Third Bank, Stella and Mini. Previously, he spent three years in a similar role with the San Francisco office of agency DDB.
Regarding his move to One Union, Hopper said it’s a chance to focus on his love for postproduction sound. “One Union is the top sound facility in the Bay Area,” he assessed. “John has built a superb facility. The studio has a great reputation and attracts the best work. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me.”
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