Butter Music and Sound has launched a multicultural division, tapping Grammy-nominated musician and recording artist James Zavaleta as executive producer. The department will focus on music and audio solutions for the multicultural market, working closely with agencies and brands on campaigns crafted towards U.S. Latinx consumers. Zavaleta has partnered with agencies and brands as a consulting music producer on a range of branded projects, overseeing the entire audio process, from start to finish with an eye towards the authentic cultural representation of Latinx music. He is also an experienced and versatile singer, songwriter and producer, with credits ranging from singing on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, recording over 30 national jingles, and contributing voiceover musical work on Disney/Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film Coco. In the early days of stay-at-home measures, Zavaleta and Butter West Coast EP Annick Mayer developed the division, bringing his versatile experience as a musician to the commercial music space to offer original music, sync, and sound design services for multicultural campaigns. Born and raised in Southern California, Zavaleta developed singer/songwriter recognition as early as nine, and began playing gigs as far-flung as Las Vegas when he was just 14. As a sought-after performer in Los Angeles, he also performed as a back-up artist to legendary Salsa artists including Oscar De Leon, Tito Nieves, Victor Manuelle and more. His performances earned him television and film roles, performing on Eddie Murphy’s Meet Dave and an episode of FOX television series Prison Break, and earning a spot as a recurring vocalist on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. Drawn to percussion at the young age of 3, he also taught himself to play the piano and, with this instrument as his medium, Zavaleta honed his personal “Latin Pop” style and released his debut self-titled EP in 2012. He first connected with Butter Music and Sound in 2012 while recording for a variety of commercials with the music and sound shop….
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