Content studio Warpaint, founded by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and led by managing director/executive producer Shannon Lords, has secured independent sales agent Amy Jones to handle representation on the East Coast. In addition to Warpaint, Jones’ current roster includes Spot Welders, Feral, and JSM Music….
Tracey Grimes has been appointed director of business development for Formosa Group, a postproduction sound company serving feature film, interactive, music and commercial clients. Grimes has more than two decades of experience in postproduction. Prior to joining Formosa Group, she was VP of feature sales at Modern VideoFilm, an account executive at Technicolor Creative Services, and VP of sales at Post Logic Studios. She began her career at Sunset Post, where she worked for 10 years in a variety of positions. She is a member of Film Independent, Hollywood Post Alliance and Women in Post. Formed in 2013 by parent company Picture Head, Formosa Group is based at The Lot in West Hollywood. The company also maintains a second West Hollywood site, along with West LA, Santa Monica and Burbank locations. Robert C. Rosenthal is Formosa Group’s president and COO….
Austrian cinematographer Christian Berger, who’s handled by Dattner Dispoto and Associates, is shooting director Angelina Jolie’s By The Sea….
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 โ 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