Biografia

26 novembre 1953 · Londra, Inghilterra, Regno Unito

Long, unbroken, Steadicam-shot sequences.

Father of Juno Temple.

The key to a great music video is creating something new and fresh that you haven't seen before. Peter Gabriel's 1986 promo accompanying the single Sledgehammer rapidly set the benchmark for technical innovation as far as videos went. Made by Aardman Animations using stop-motion and claymation, it demonstrated how a strong visual idea could hold the attention without selling the song short. At that time you could listen to a song, have an idea and then a few weeks later it would be viewed around the world, whereas making a movie was a two-year business of shooting and editing. Music videos were very instant and had a global audience, which was great.

I'm a huge fan of Hollywood musicals, but when I made a musical of my own, Absolute Beginners (1986) in 1986, it pretty much got me exiled from the film industry. However, it turned out the Jackson family were fans, particularly Michael (Michael Jackson) and Janet (Janet Jackson), who used to copy the dance sequences as it played on their cinema screen. Michael's Thriller (1983) cost $500,000 - but then it looked like it. In some big-budget videos you can't see where the money goes, but with that one you definitely could. John Landis was roped in to direct this zombiefest, but essentially what you end up with is a tribute to the great Hollywood musicals.

I think everything about film-making should be a risk, that's why it's different from television. And that's what I think charges you up when you do it.

Musicals haven't done well because they haven't been in step with the time. They were the most popular form of movies in the late forties and fifties because they were being made about themes and subjects that actually concerned the movie-going audience. Annie (1982) or Hello, Dolly! (1969) didn't quite do that, I don't think.