Grand Central Recording Studios (GCRS) in London has secured its first guest sound designer, Los Angeles-based Ben Wilkins. GCRS will be representing Wilkins in the U.K. and Europe.
He brings to GCRS a stellar track record in sound design and mixing, for which he has been recognized with a host of accolades including both an Oscar and a BAFTA for his work on the critically acclaimed Whiplash.
Wilkins spent his formative years working in London where GCRS founder/managing director Carole Humphrey gave him his first break into the industry at The Tape Gallery. He moved to L.A. and has since made his name working in the film industry on projects such as Starship Troopers, Dazed and Confused, Stargate, The Last Samurai, The Fast and The Furious, Star Trek, and Whiplash.
Wilkins said, “I’m thrilled to be working with the team at GCRS again and to have the opportunity to share the unique experience that I’ve cultivated since my formative Tape Gallery days. It will be exciting to delve into the unique challenges that sound design for advertising and short form presents. As the lines blur between film, broadcast and digital technologies I can think of no better facility to explore those new creative frontiers than at GCRS.”
Ivor Taylor, technical director and co-founder, GCRS, commented: “As the world gets smaller, remote working enables us to collaborate with world class talent such as Ben. The time zone difference is an enormous advantage, as it enables for 24/7 work on a project. Cloud based working means full technical compatibility between the two locations and allows for seamless integration of digital workflows.”
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