Preymaker, a creative and technology studio that was launched last fall by industry leaders Angus Kneale, Melanie Wickham and Verity Grantham, has added multiple award-winning VFX artist Ruben Vandebroek to its growing team. Vandebroek brings a wealth of experience and a combination of creative vision and technical expertise in CGI and emerging technology. He will be a leading creative and technical force at Preymaker with a wide remit, from working on cutting edge visual effects to helping nurture and advance Preymaker’s culture of innovation and invention.
“Ruben is brilliant, he is innovative, technical and highly creative,” said Preymaker chief creative Kneale. “He steps back and looks at the whole idea, rather than just solving what he’s asked to solve. He is a practical, lateral thinker with the ability to simplify complex problems.”
Vandebroek shared, “I have had a longstanding working relationship with Angus as well as many other team members at Preymaker. I’m excited to be part of a pioneering new company where talented people collaborate and create absolutely amazing work. I’ll be able to help build a company that can withstand the swift changes in our industry not only by taking advantage of the cloud based model but also by investing and implementing the latest techniques out there.”
Vandebroek spent the last 13 years at The Mill New York, most recently as head of 3D, where he helped create high-profile work for brands including Nike, PlayStation and Johnnie Walker, and collaborated on projects with artists such as Daft Punk and Beyonce. He counts directors Matthijs Van Heijningen, Rupert Sanders, Nicolai Fuglsig, Peter Thwaites and Johnny Green among his many collaborators. He has worked on a wide range of award-winning projects including Monster.com’s “Opportunity Roars” (a CLIO Silver, AICE and Webby Award winner), the OFFF Festival’s titles (a Cannes Gold Lion winner), Range Rover’s “Accelerator” (a British Arrow winner) and Nike’s “Hypervenom” (winner of Ciclope GOLD).
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