Stinkfilm has added Salomon Ligthelm to its global roster of directors (excluding France where he continues to be handled by Gang).
Salomon is a self-taught filmmaker, with a background in music and sound design. His textural and experimental work finds new ways of exploring visual storytelling, and seeks to blur the lines between narrative and documentary filmmaking. He served as creator and co-director (with Dan DiFelice) of Anomaly, a story about relationships that intertwine around an unprecedented astronomical event set in the 1960s; this short film was born from a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Other Ligthelm credits include Rocket Wars, a short documentary following behind the scenes a holy tradition of rockets fired between two Orthodox churches. Rocket Wars went on to earn Salomon a Gold Young Directors Award. This was followed by a second YDA recognizing his direction of Audi’s “Rainmaker.”
Ligthelm, who was earlier repped by Variable in the U.S., said he was drawn to the people at Stink who share with him a “powerful emotion and vision when it comes to storytelling.
Jeff Baron, managing director of Stinkfilm in the U.S., said, “Salomon came to our attention almost a year ago. He encompasses all the elements of a great filmmaker and fits seamlessly into the culture at Stinkfilm. He has tremendous energy, strong family values and is incredibly self-motivated.”
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