Director John Landis and wife Deborah Nadoolman attend the party for First Annual MTV Video Music Awards on September 14, 1984 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City.
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Video Directors
Steve Barron (born 4 May 1956) is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads (1993), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and the innovative music video for a-ha’s “Take on Me”.
He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of filmmaker Zelda Barron. He attended St Marylebone Grammar School.
He made his directorial debut in 1979 and directed many of the 1980s’ most memorable music videos, including “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits, and “Take on Me” by a-ha.
Barron made only 8 music videos in early 90′s and made his last music video in 1993 for David Bowie’s “As the World Falls Down”. In 1984, he directed the sci-fi comedy Electric Dreams, and then went on to direct several episodes of the television series The Storyteller before returning to the big screen, directing films such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990, The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1996, Rat in 2000 and Mike Bassett: England Manager in 2001.
He told Cinefantastique that The Adventures of Pinocchio is his favorite book and that the film version, which he both wrote (with assistance) and directed, was his dream project.
Barron has also directed several award winning miniseries, such as Merlin (1998), Arabian Nights (2000) and DreamKeeper (2003) for Hallmark Entertainment.
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Spike Lee’s video for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ is mini retrospective of singer’s life
Will this ever be it?
Yet another “final” send off to Michael Jackson has just been released — the video for the singer’s graceful, posthumous single, “This Is It,” directed by filmmaker Spike Lee.
As you’d expect, it’s a loving scrapbook of Jackson’s life, starting with slow-mo close-ups of his childhood home, before ballooning through his massive, worldwide fame.
Curiously, no sustained shots of his brothers appear, though there’s a lingering one of Jackson with his mother, Katherine.
Lee devoted roughly half the 4-plus minute clip to footage shot since Jackson’s death, with fans caught in mourning and awe, from the Apollo Theater to L.A. and beyond.
In the clip’s most pointed moments, Lee focuses several times on a sign that says “Stop The Hatin’,” referring to the coverage of the controversies in Jackson’s life.
It would be impossible, not to mention censorious, for the media to ignore that aspect of Jackson’s life. But none of that has blotted out the very real love fans hold for the star. Nor has it distracted from Jackson’s key placement in cultural history.
In capturing a nice slice of that, Lee’s video delivers on the warmth it went for.
Article Source: www.nydailynews.com
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Music video filmography
“Buzz” Pop’s Cool Love
“Sweet Bird of Truth,” The The (1986)
“Madonna of the Wasps” Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians (1989)
“One Long Pair Of Eyes” Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians (1989)
“You Don’t Have to Worry,” En Vogue (1990)
“Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)” De La Soul (1991)
“Love Conquers All” ABC (1991)
“Wicked As It Seems,” Keith Richards (1992)
“Moira Jane’s Cafe” Definition of Sound (1992)
“Constant Craving,” k.d. lang (1992)
“Free Your Mind,” En Vogue (1992)
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Mark Romanek (born September 18, 1959) is an award-winning American music video director who has also moved into directing theatrical films.
Early Years
Romanek was born in Chicago, Illinois. He credits seeing Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, at the age of nine, and again during its rerelease in 1973, with inspiring him to become a film director. Romanek experimented with Super 8 and 16mm film as a teenager while attending New Trier East, a progressive public high school north of Chicago that offered a four-year film production and theory program. At New Trier, Romanek studied under Kevin Dole, a local filmmaker who was already creating a form of music video on his own in the mid 1970′s. Romanek subsequently attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and graduated from its Roy H. Park School of Communications with a degree in cinema and photography.
Music video career
After a few years writing screenplays, Romanek decided to focus on music videos and signed on with Satellite Films, a boutique division of Steve Golin’s Propaganda Films. His subsequent work has come to be regarded as among the best of the medium. He has worked with many top-selling recording artists from different genres of popular music, and his videos have been given credit for making stars out of some.
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(Aug 13 1952 – Dec 26 2002)
Herb Ritts Music Videos
1989: Madonna – “Cherish”
1990: Janet Jackson – “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” with Antonio Sabato Jr. and Djimon Hounsou
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Herb Ritts – His Story R.I.P
Herbert Ritts, Jr. enjoyed a comfortable childhood. Born on August 13, 1952 to parents who owned a profitable furniture business in California, Ritts was part of a family who lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills and also had a summer home on fashionable Santa Catalina Island. Young Ritts grew up in glamorous surroundings, with movie stars for neighbors.
Ritts had not decided what profession to pursue, but he certainly was not considering a career in photography, which he had only recently taken up as a hobby. It happened, however, that in 1978 he had his camera with him when he and a friend–the then little-known actor Richard Gere–had to stop at a gas station to repair a flat tire. Among the pictures that Ritts snapped was one of a sweaty Gere clad in jeans and a tank top, his arms languidly stretched over his head, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Soon thereafter, when Gere received widespread attention for his role in Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo (1980), Ritts sent his photos to Gere’s publicist. “A few months later she sent me Vogue, Esquire, and Elle. They all used my pictures. I got checks too,” Ritts recalled. Newsweek also ran a photo of Jon Voight that Ritts had managed to take when he made his way onto the set of Franco Zeffirelli’s The Champ (1979).
Ritts had found his calling as a photographer, and his pictures were in demand. Within a few years his photos were gracing the covers of Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, and Interview. He also did fashion spreads for important designers such as Gianni Versace and Ralph Lauren.
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A Report Taken from: www.post-trib.com
Award-winning director Spike Lee and a film crew spent Wednesday at the childhood home of Michael Jackson filming a documentary about the King of Pop.
“This … is where it all happened! Right here — 2300 Jackson Street … the greatest entertainer in the world,” Lee said during a brief break between filming.
Director Spike Lee (left) instructs T-shirt vendors in front of the Jackson family home Wednesday during the filming of a documentary in Gary. (Leslie Adkins/Post-Tribune)
Lee wore his traditional New York Yankees baseball attire to fight off the early morning chill. Lee, responsible for more than 20 years of acclaimed movies such as “Do The Right Thing,” “School Daze” and “Malcolm X,” directed Jackson several years ago in a music video.
It was called “They Don’t Really Care About Us,” a title from one of Jackson singles from the “HIStory” CD.
Lee said the footage at the house will be part of a short film on Jackson’s life that will likely be released in mid-October. Jackson died June 25 at age 50.
When asked if his short film is coinciding with the release of “This is It,” a movie on Jackson’s final days that includes footage of the singer’s rehearsals for a London tour, Lee said “it could be.”
“This is It” will be released Oct. 28 and play for just two weeks. Tickets went on sale Monday and many 500-seat venues have sold out. Some Northwest Indiana theaters are holding late-night premieres Oct. 27.
Wednesday’s filming here was kept secret for days.
Spike Lee watches as a crowd gathers on the street as another shot is set up. (Leslie Adkins/Post-Tribune)
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