Commercial production and post company Bella has entered into a representation agreement with Maureen “Mo” Butler, the founder of Chicago-based Mo Butler Reps. Butler now represents Bella’s talents throughout the U.S. Midwest. Recently launched as a stand-alone company after seven years under the auspices of Fivestone Studios, the Nashville, Tenn.-based Bella, which is headed by executive producer David Perry, now serves as the exclusive home for directors Anthony Pellino, Jeremy Liebovitch, and Robert Adamo. Bella’s roster editors are Brandon Roten, Christian Whittemore, Ken Conrad, and Tim Moore. Bella’s representation team also includes Devine Reps on the East and West Coasts, and Jack Reed in the South….
Atlanta-based advertising agency Ammunition has appointed Jeanna Welday to serve as VP of client partnership. Welday joins Ammunition with more than 12 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry, having previously held positions at BBDO, Tailfin Marketing, and most recently, Definition6. While working agency-side, she has helped shape clients including the Georgia Lottery, Saia LTL Freight, Chick-fil-A, Atlanta Hawks, Oldcastle, and the American Heart Association. Earlier this year, Ammunition acquired the Mat Hat Creative production and postproduction studio. The acquisition contributed to a 15% increase in headcount and added award-winning video production capabilities, moment graphics, and media planning and buying, providing clients with truly end-to-end advertising services….
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