The Artists Company, headed by owner/executive producer Sally Antonacchio, has signed independent rep firm Donna D’Aguanno & Co. to handle the Midwest. Donna D’Aguanno is the principal contact for the Midwest region, which most recently saw David Ramser direct a Ford Fusion Superbowl spot for Team Detroit….Three-time Oscar-winning (Hugo and The Aviator, both directed by Martin Scorsese, and JFK directed by Oliver Stone) cinematographer Robert Richardson, ASC, is now available for commercials and feature films exclusively through The Skouras Agency….Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA) has signed costume designer Dorotka Sapinska (The Signal)…DDA has also secured TV bookings for DP David Stockton, ASC, for the Gotham pilot (director Danny Cannon) and for production designer Jason Fijal on the Dream Corp pilot (director Daniel Stressen)…And DDA Feature film bookings include DP Bob Gantz, ASC, for director Jean-Francois Richet’s Blood Father, DP Stean Czapsky, ASC for director Boaz Yakin’s Max, editor Jim Flynn for director Kevin Connolly’s Dear Eleanor, costume designer Paco Delgado for director Louis Leterrier’s Grimsby, and costume designer Meghan Kasperlik for director Stephen Herek’s The Great Gilly Hopkins….Atlona, an AV and IT distribution and connectivity solutions provider, has chosen Roger Takacs as its national sales manager, commercial. Takacs is responsible for working closely with distributors, dealers, consultants, and end users in the North American AV market to grow and manage the commercial segment of Atlona’s business. Before joining Atlona, Takacs spent nine years as the regional sales manager for Crestron covering Southern California, Arizona, Las Vegas, and Hawaii. Takacs’ other experience includes stints at Custom Display Solutions, Inc, CompView, MCSi, and Intellisys Group….
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