Pamela Romanowsky–who directed and wrote The Adderall Diaries, which played at the Sundance and Tribeca fests, nominated at the latter for the Best Narrative Feature Jury Award in 2015–has come aboard the directorial roster of Rocket Film for commercials and branded content.
The Adderall Diaries made its world premiere at Tribeca; the film starred James Franco as a once-successful novelist inflicted with writer’s block and an Adderall addition. He strives to escape his problems by delving into a high-profile murder case. Amber Heard, Ed Harris, and Cynthia Nixon co-starred in this adaptation of Stephen Elliott’s best-selling memoir.
Romanowsky’s credits also include short-form and branded content for Sotheby’s, Dove Chocolate and Refinery29.
After connecting with Rocket Film through her alliance with Alma Har’el’s nonprofit hub for female filmmakers, Free the Bid, Romanowsky discovered plenty of kindred spirits throughout the production company’s leadership and team. “Rocket is a small and tightly-knit group, a real community, and you can feel that,” Romanowsky said.
Now as part of that team, Romanowsky hopes to expand her scope of work by, among other things, making commercials and other forms of content that intertwine genre elements with a humanistic approach. “Ultimately, I want to marry my loves of character and adventure in my work at Rocket,” she said. “I love anything fast and thrilling and am obsessed with cars, motorcycles and athletes. I want to use my narrative, story and character-based point of view to deepen and enrich those thrilling images, so you feel that adrenaline and inspiration in yourself. A scene doesn’t have to be quiet or understated to be emotional and impactful. It’s all about style and substance.”
Bicoastal Rocket Film was founded earlier this year by managing director Sara Eolin and filmmakers Klaus Obermeyer and Ken Arlidge.
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