Roman Veiga has joined the directorial roster of Troublemakers for representation in France spanning commercials and branded content. The writer-director likes to mix techniques such as stop-motion, 3D animation, and live action. His style, this crossroads of different visual techniques, is expressed through collaborations with musicians, helping to shape and design their visual identity, or in engaging advertising films. Since his first film, which was selected, and won prizes at a number of major festivals (Clermont Ferrand, Short Shorts Tokyo, Houston Cinema Arts Festival, ASIFA-East Animation Festival, etc.), Veiga has alternated between personal and commissioned work, always with the same ambition of combining visual exploration with unexpected, funny and poetic stories….
National CineMedia (NCM), the cinema advertising platform that is the U.S. representative to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, has unveiled the winners of the 2024 US Young Lions competition. Over 500 teams comprised of young professionals across the advertising, digital, media, creative and PR industries registered for the competition this year, up 20% year over year. The five winning teams, aka TEAM USA, are:
- Digital: Jessica Nugent, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA & Rachel Findlay, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA
- Film: Emma LeMay, Weber Shandwick & John Chavez, Weber Shandwick
- Media: Cara Miller, Initiative & Christian Savino, Initiative
- PR: Morgan Biles, Weber Shandwick & Lena Church, Weber Shandwick
- Print: Chloe Bayhack, FCB New York & Victoria Rocha, FCB New York
The winners will compete in person as TEAM USA in the global Young Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity taking place from June 17-21 in Cannes, France….
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