Ingenuity Studios–a Los Angeles-headquartered VFX studio with bases of operation in New York, Vancouver and Atlanta–has appointed Joyce Boll as EVP of features & episodics in its NY office. Boll is responsible for business development in New York and throughout the eastern coast of the U.S., as well as leveraging her leadership skills and vast experience to further grow and scale the studio’s New York presence. Over the years, Boll has helmed animation and VFX studios and has launched entertainment ventures throughout the world within the film, television, music, advertising, gaming, VR/AR, and immersive experiential venue arenas. She has led VFX studio teams that were integral to such projects as Russian Doll, Outer Range, Dexter, Black Swan, Limitless, Life of Pi, Captain America, Moonrise Kingdom and Little Women, among many others. Boll is dedicated to growing future artists by teaching, lecturing, and advising at various design and technology schools, including the School of Visual Arts (NYC), Bezalel School of Design (Jerusalem), and New York University. She is a member of VES New York (and former board member), as well as the New York Post Alliance…..
Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) has acquired Splash News, a leading source for image and video content across celebrity, red carpet and live events for over three decades, Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Splash News customers include E! News, People, Daily Mail, TMZ, Dow Jones, Reach and News UK. Splash’s collection includes an archive of over 27 million images, and a contributor network of more than 4,000 photographers. This acquisition solidifies Shutterstock Editorial’s Newsroom offering. The Newsroom will now host an archive of over 30 million images, with a live feed of 40,000 images uploaded per day from the aforementioned 4,000+ photographers. This is combined with The Vault, Shutterstock’s archive of over 60 million photo and video assets. Contributors will now have their work showcased to Shutterstock’s millions of customers worldwide….
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