Director Matt Smukler has rejoined Los Angeles-based Community Films, the company he helped start six years ago. His most recent work includes spots for Zillow, Verizon, T-Mobile and Pedigree. Smukler returns to Community Films after having been at PRETTYBIRD….
Pacific Post, a full-service editorial equipment rental and services provider, has expanded its footprint with the opening of a new 10,000 square-foot facility in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The new location offers 25 spacious Avid suites with 24/7 technical support, alongside a writer’s room and several production offices. Pacific Post has retrofit the entire site which is supported by Avid NEXIS shared storage, 1 gigabyte of dedicated fiber internet connectivity, and individually climate-controlled rooms. Pacific Post VP Kristin Kumamoto noted that a screening room is also near completion for accommodating multiple members of the creative team on a project. It features a 150-inch screen and JVC 4K projector for VFX reviews and an enhanced, in-house viewing experience. In addition to this new state-of-the art space, Pacific Post also has facilities in Hollywood and North Hollywood. This third location offers a best-in-class option for productions working in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles….
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