Director Laurence Thrush has joined The Sweet Shop for U.S. representation.
Born and raised in England, Thrush got his first experience behind the camera at Growth Films, a documentary production company he founded in London right out of school. His 2000 documentary film Fidel’s Fight screened in festivals all over the world and helped the director develop and hone his authentically human yet visually driven, cinematic style. Thrush then started working in commercials and in 2003 was recognized by both Clio and Cannes Lions as one of the top young directors to watch. Now based out of Los Angeles, Thrush has cultivated a list of clients that include brands as ESPN, HP, Adobe, McDonald’s and Honda.
Thrush credits his history working behind the scenes as a writer, director, and editor of documentary films as giving him the tools to make a name for himself in narrative content, helming visually driven character pieces with emotional weight. Since 2008 he has directed three critically lauded films including the indie feature Pursuit of Loneliness which enjoyed its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.
“It feels like a great fit,” said Thrush of his decision to join The Sweet Shop. “The whole sensibility of The Sweet Shop and their approach to the work matches what I want to achieve in advertising and filmmaking.”
Laura Thoel, managing director of The Sweet Shop Los Angeles, shared, “I had an immediate response to Laurence’s work. His ability to be innovative and craft authentic, evocative stories with beautiful film really sets him apart.”
Paul Prince, The Sweet Shop’s CEO and founding partner, said of Thrush, “He brings such intimacy to his work that you immediately empathize with his stories.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting โ quite literally โ into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat โ who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival โ has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive โ a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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