Quriosity, a minority-owned boutique specializing in production, post and photography, has secured Sarah Gitersonke of indie rep firm SG+Partners to handle representation in the Midwest….
London-based Ncam Technologies, a developer of real-time augmented reality technology for the media and entertainment industries, has appointed Mike Ruddell to serve as global business development director–sports and broadcast. Ruddell started his career as technical director at Sky, working on a range of Sky’s news, sport, factual and entertainment studio programming; he later specialized in developing production techniques and technologies for interactive “Red Button” sporting events. In 2007 he went to work solely on Sky Sports, focusing on a broad range of technology applications from behind the scenes infrastructure through workflow developments to onscreen advancements. During five years as Sky Sports’ head of technology, he remodeled the approach to developing, delivering and supporting technology within Sky Sports. His most recent role at Sky Sports was as innovation manager where he owned the roadmap for advanced TV production process and technology for the sports channel….
In a strategic and focused effort to support broadcast audio sales in the U.S., NTP Technology is teaming up with Florida-based industry veteran Kurt Howell. He joins the company as sales director for North America and will work in close cooperation with NTP’s current distribution. Howell began his career as a musician with in the 1980s before moving into pro-audio sales as a Digidesign product specialist, progressing into sales consultancy with Vintage King Pro Audio in Nashville. He joins NTP Technology from Focusrite Pro where he was national sales manager for the U.S. and Canada. NTP Technology produces audio routing and signal processing systems for major international broadcasters, audio mastering, editing and postproduction studios. DAD (Digital Audio Denmark), a brand owned by NTP Technology, is known worldwide for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog audio converters delivering quality sonic performance. Based in Copenhagen, NTP is part of the Dan Technologies Group, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of audio, video, transmission products and digital media solutions….
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