Live action production company Framestore Pictures has tapped Amy Jones as its East Coast head of sales. In 2014, Framestore Pictures was born from the vision of newly hired EPs Jennifer Siegel and John Duffin, who spearhead the global company’s operations out of Framestore’s New York and Los Angeles offices. The addition of Jones comes at a time of rapid growth for the company’s talent pool and roster of directors; her hire follows the recent addition of Midwest sales representative Sean Sullivan. Jones has over 15 years of experience representing commercial production and editorial companies in the U.S. on both coasts. She started her career as a sales rep at Crossroads Films in New York, where she originally worked with Siegel. In 2010 Jones moved west to Boulder from where she continued to represent companies on the East Coast. In 2012 she set up shop in Los Angeles representing companies on the West Coast. Jones joins Framestore after a two-year stint back in NY representing Spot Welders, JSM Music and Society….
Sonixphere, an international sonic content production company with a roster of composers, producers and sound designers, has just signed with Remedy Reps, under the aegis of Julie Koellner, for representation in the South region of the U.S, Sonixphere is headquartered in Chicago….
Shotgun Software, an Autodesk company that develops the cloud-based production tracking, review and asset management software for film, TV and games, has hired Rob Di Figlia as sr. business development manager to lead its Studio Pipeline Initiative. Working out of the company’s Venice, Calif. office, Di Figlia will partner with new and existing Hollywood Studio clients to drive product development and implementation. Prior to joining Shotgun, Di Figlia spent five years as co-founder and Head of Production at Oktobor Animation (Auckland/Los Angeles). Oktobor Animation develops original animation IP, and also works with clients including Nickelodeon and DreamWorks to produce content for animated television shows including Kung Fu Panda, Penguins of Madagascar, Monsters v. Aliens and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Shotgun was integral to running global productions at Oktobor Animation, and Di Figlia has been a longtime user and supporter. Prior to Oktobor Animation, he was with Los Angeles-based Backyard Animated Pictures….
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