Alkemy X has expanded its business development team, hiring seasoned sales executive Mary Ida Bonadio as VP of business development, based in Chicago, to continue leading the company’s growth in the Midwest, and signing with Jack Strachan of Say Hey Representation for East Coast representation. Serving as a production company rep for over 20 years, Bonadio has fused her production experience with her MFA background from the Art Institute of Chicago to represent film directors in the ever-shifting advertising space. She will leverage her expertise to represent all of Alkemy X’s creative divisions including live-action, editorial, VFX, post/finishing, and Alkemy X’s global artist collective The Creative Studio. Strchan brings 15 years of experience to Alkemy X. The signing of Alkemy X marks the return of his independent firm, Say Hey Representation, with a reframed focus on brand-direct work aligned with the modern media marketplace. Strachan began his career with sales roles at shops including SMUGGLER and Dress Code NY, spending six years developing and selling creative talent internally before launching his own independent firm, Say Hey Representation in 2011. He represented directors, graphics artists, designers, visual effects artists and editors, building lasting partnerships through creative projects. In 2018, he made the transition back in-house as part of the launch of ArtClass Content, spending four years as head of sales, leading the growth of the live-action and postproduction studio. Most recently, he served as sr. account director at an agency/creative production studio before relaunching Say Hey Representation. After attending Moore College of Art and Design for her BFA in photography, Bonadio entered the competitive Art Institute of Chicago for an MFA in Video Production, informing the outlook that carries over into her career today. She cut her teeth with GLG and Giraldi Suarez as a sales rep before striking out on her own as one of the first agents to cross-platform represent filmmakers for advertising opportunities. She additionally owned MI Bonadio Productions and serves as a board member of the Chicago Film Archives, a nonprofit organization committed to the preservation, study, and exhibition of films that reflect the character and heritage of the Midwest…..
The Ad Council has partnered with global creator commerce agency Whalar on the Creators for Good Ambassador Program, which becomes part of Creators for Good, the Ad Council’s successful influencer marketing division. The Creators for Good Ambassador Program is comprised of a selection of trusted influencers who have deep passions for social issues related to areas of focus for the Ad Council including mental health awareness, gun violence prevention, substance use disorders and racial justice. The program applies the Creators for Good Ambassadors’ lived experiences and career insights to overarching strategy, platform messaging and overall execution of Ad Council’s Creators for Good campaigns. It is the first time in the Ad Council’s 80-year history that trusted messengers will play such a formative advisory role across various campaigns, now further driving social impact efforts at scale. Led by the Ad Council’s Creators for Good team, in partnership with Whalar, initial creators in this new program include: Jonny Morales; Chase Brown; Kahmora Hall; Tiffany Yu; Jo Beckwith; Cienna Ditri; Sasha Hamadani, MD; Rowan Ellis; Matthew Maxfield; and Matthew Schueller This program is designed to invite in the strategic thinking from creators, allowing these influential leaders to play a critical role across various national PSA campaigns, bolstering the effectiveness of Ad Council’s trusted messenger strategies and social impact initiatives. As the ambassadors lend their insights to the strategies of campaign activations, the Ad Council will also equip these creators with issue expertise, research-backed messaging and social impact best to fortify their work speaking out on causes they care about….
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