Saville Productions has signed two-time Academy Award-nominated documentary film director Dan Krauss for branded content representation in the U.S. Krauss earned his first Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar nod in 2006 for The Life of Kevin Carter. He returned to the Oscar nominees circle in the same category earlier this year for Extremis.
Krauss’ accolades go beyond the Oscar realm. He won The Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Truer than Fiction Independent Spirit Award for his feature The Kill Team. The film also garnered nominations from the Directors Guild of America and the Emmy Awards, was shortlisted for an Academy Award, and has been adapted into an upcoming feature film directed by Krauss and starring Alexander Skarsgård. Krauss’ most recent film, the aforementioned Extremis, won the jury award at Tribeca, was an official selection at the Telluride Film Festival, and debuted in September as Netflix’s first-ever short documentary.
Krauss has additionally directed a feature documentary film financed by a major brand for Saville Productions, which will start its film festival run in 2018. The film opportunity was spearheaded by Rupert Maconick, founder/executive producer at Saville Productions.
Krauss noted, “Rupert has a tremendous respect for filmmaking and filmmakers, and a real affection for directors with big ideas. He has produced work that transcends the more familiar branded content market. That’s invigorating to be a part of.”
Maconick added, “Working closely with Dan on upcoming projects, he fits the Saville roster with his visionary storytelling approach. He is a wonderful asset to the filmmaking community and will continue to create exciting, compelling work.”
In addition to its Oscar nomination, The Death of Kevin Carter, Krauss’ first film, was nominated for two Emmy Awards, and won prizes from the Tribeca Film Festival, the International Documentary Association and The San Francisco International Film Festival, among others.
Working as a DP, Krauss has filmed numerous feature documentaries, including: Inequality for All (Sundance Film Festival 2013); Broadway Idiot (SXSW 2013); We Are Legion (SXSW 2012); The Most Dangerous Man in America (Academy Award nomination 2010); and Life 2.0 (Sundance Film Festival 2010). Krauss earned his Master’s Degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he is presently a lecturer in documentary film and television production.
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