Veteran writer/director Greg Popp, known for his comedic storytelling, has joined Seed Media Arts for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. His portfolio includes notable work created for Head & Shoulders, Burger King and Anheuser-Busch, as well as fare featuring high-profile athletes such as Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Danica Patrick, Roger Federer, and Venus and Serena Williams.
Popp began his career on the agency side, serving as SVP/executive producer at DDB Chicago before embarking on a successful directorial career in 2005. That year he earned inclusion into SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase. Popp went on to receive numerous awards as a director including Gold Lion recognition at Cannes, Clios, Andys, and distinction for humor and talent performance from the AICP Show at MoMA.
Prior to coming aboard the Seed directorial roster, Popp had most recently been repped by Backyard Productions.
“I’m interested in having fun with my work and to me that means being in the action. The world of advertising has evolved so much over the past 10 years and I’m well aware that there’s incredible creative out there at all scales,” said Popp, noting that the Seed team is well equipped to help garner him strong creative projects and opportunities.
Seed founder Roy Skillicorn, a long-time collaborator of Popp, said, “Greg has an ability to transcend established humor boundaries while creating stories that compel an audience to either smile, chuckle or laugh out loud. With his ad agency experience, he understands all the creatives’ and producer’s concerns and thus is amicable and extremely buttoned up. What’s more, he’s both comfortable and accomplished directing celebrities, top sports personalities, actors and real people in both complex dialogue work and visual storytelling. His work is brilliantly crafted, I find magic in all his versatility and craftsmanship.”
Seed’s EP, partner and managing director Bradley Johnson shared, “Greg has the recipe for success: a passionate work ethic, intuitive comedic timing, a charismatic personality and an uncanny ability to draw out both powerful performances and authentic dialogue from his cast.”
Seed’s sales team consists of indie rep firms Schaffer/Rogers on the East Coast, Options on the West Coast, Heart Brains & Nerve in the Midwest, and Asprodites Reps in the South.
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