Music service agency MAS, with offices in NY and L.A., has added Jennifer Johnson as executive producer and head of sales. She will work alongside MAS founding partner and managing director James Alvich in a creative role overseeing and managing current projects while also taking the lead in new business development. Besides her EP duties, Johnson will head sales strategy and the development of MAS’ direct-to-brand division. She will seek out growth opportunities for the company, working closely with agencies and her array of contacts to expand the company’s horizons to include new types of work. In particular, Johnson will bring renewed emphasis on partnerships with fashion brands. MAS maintains a team of producers, music supervisors and planners offering a broad range of services enabling brands and agencies to enhance their message through music. Prior to MAS, Johnson headed up East Coast sales at production and digital studios including B-Reel, @radical.media, and Tool of North America, and held producer roles at SelectNY and JWT….
DP Daniel Patterson (Spike Lee’s feature Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, as well as commercials) has signed with Dattner Dispoto and Associates for representation….
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