Magazin für Musikvideos |
 ...Donnerstag, 09.09... KW_36... |
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INTERVIEW: Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn: My favorite video right now is Dirty Vegas “Days Go By.” I think it’s a perfect music video. It feel complete, says what it wants to say with precision, and I feel bad for the breakdancer. He looks like Michael Jordan, which is actually a good thing, but he’s just so sad. Cheer up, you look like Michael Jordan. popzoot: And is there any video, that is your ultimate all-time favorite? JK: My favorite of all time? It changes from week to week, depending on what I am feeling. Today, it would be Ah Ha “Take On Me”, because I am sad. Next week, I’ll feel better. Then it could possibly be “Rock Me Amadeus.” popzoot: Although you did videos for rockbands such as The Pain Teens or Die Krupps, you started out mostly as a director for hip hop videos for the likes of Scarface, Public Enemy, Lords of the Underground or Onyx. How did you originally build up this contacts with all those hip hop artists? How did it all start? JK: I started with gangster rap videos because no one was crazy enough to go into the tough neighborhoods and make these videos, and make them for so little money. About $10,000 a piece. I didn’t know anyone, I had dropped out of film school, and I had nothing to live for except the dream of becoming a director. So I went in made a ton of gangster rap videos. I’ve been around gunfire, dead bodies, drugs, and I’ve been threatened with death, among other things. But here I am. I pity directors who never got to do these videos. It’s an eye opening experience. popzoot: Around 1996,1997 you climbed up the career ladder quite fast with clips for New Edition, Warren G and Korn, which had massive airplay. Do you see any breakthrough video in your career or was it simply a steady rise? JK: It’s been so steady, I’m almost invisible. I’m like the most invisible successful director working because my rise has been so gradual. I’ve been doing for almost twelve years now. People only remember me for the last three years. The Joseph Kahn of the previous nine years, he was Cinderalla, scrubbing floors. I guess I went from loser to poseur to hack to mediocre to up and coming to commercial sell out! All in twelve years. Not bad. popzoot: You worked with some of the most interesting rock bands of recent time. I'm speaking of Faith No More, Korn or Hole. They all aren't really known for being easy-going business partners. Were they sometimes difficult to handle? JK: Korn. No comment. Hole. Courtney Love kissed me and then ran around the set naked except for a thong. That was fun. Faith No More. Incredibly nice guys. I really liked that video. I wish it played more. 
popzoot: You also did videos for commercially successful acts like Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears, which might have been quite a difference in working from earlier collaborations with Hip Hop and Rock bands. Bands like Monster Magnet or Faith No More, with whom you also worked with, for example wouldn't ever have done a collaboration with such acts. Does the attitude "no, i won't be doing anything with those huge-selling pop acts" among musicvideo directors not exist? Is it just a project like any other project or do you feel the difference in the style of music as a director too?
JK: I really don’t give a damn what anybody thinks. I like music, period. I chose music videos according to whether or not I have a good idea for it. Simple as that. It helps to naturally have a broad range of taste. I also hate being pigeonholed. Directors who hate pop acts have the right to hate pop acts. They have the right to be vegetarians too. But it will suck when we get invaded by superior aliens who are vegetables themselves, and eat all the vegetarians. popzoot: If you get some feedback from the viewers (referring to your videos), are there any differences, that are based on people's location? So, do you get different opinions from people living in America and people living in other parts of the World, or are they mostly similar? We think, you as an Korean might know some distinctions between the "videoculture" and their audience in the USA and for example Asia. JK: There are definitely major differences. Nobody else gets Enrique Iglesias but North and South America. My Enrique video is pretty cool by my book. Totally emotional, romantic, full of Latin passion. But Australians laugh at it. There are no Latin Americans in Australia. They killed off their indiginous people. So there nothing cool about a man dying for his woman, unless it’s the Crocodile Hunter. My wife is Australian, by the way. She does not get Enrique. Maybe Australian like him. Maybe it’s just her. I am not Korean, per se, but Korean American. Very big difference. All I know about Korean music is that they love the internet and Janet Jackson. I love kim chee. popzoot: In the past you were not only accused of exploiting women in the video for Sisqo's 'thong song', you - like many other directors else - have to accept the fact that many sequences in videos get censored by tv-stations, for example scenes in Muse 'Muscle Museum' or most recently the cd cover of Eminem's 'Without me'. then of course the controversial George Michael-clip. What does a director of those clips think about the whole topic? JK: Censorship is fine by me, as long as it makes sense. These cases do not make any sense. I am not political. I am not making political statements. I am a happy, dancing entertainer. popzoot: The music industry crisis. Everybody talks about it. But is it also a music video crisis? Some Labels surely reduced their costs for videos, but did you notice some notable money savings in your environment? JK: I haven’t noticed it. I had lunch with Dave Meyers the other day and he said he felt it, but that’s probably because he does five times as many videos as me. I just do one video every month and a half, so if they reduced the number of videos, I don’t notice it. Maybe if I stop being lazy and try to do more work I’d notice it, but I like my pace right now. Feels about right. Budgets have gotten better for me, strangely enough. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to make a movie for the next 10 months. 
popzoot:. A question you might get asked a lot: for Moby's 'We are all made of Stars' you had a few guest stars like Dave Navarro, Thora Birch or Tommy Lee in the clip. How did that happen? Whose idea was it and how did you get those people to star in this video?
JK: It was my idea and I called all my friends to call their friends. Hollywood is a small town. 
popzoot: Another interesting thing about 'Without Me' is of course the Moby-Eminem connection. In the video Eminem makes fun of Moby in a scene. I know that Moby doesn't have a problem with Eminem's lyrics in this song, but have you contacted Moby before making the scene and asked if he's cool with that too?
JK: I told Moby in email what was up. He wrote back I should do it, cuz if anyone was going to make fun of him, he’d rather have me do it cuz I was his friend. So I did it, and made it really stupid. It was a weird situation. Like mommy and daddy fighting. popzoot: Any plans on future projects? We've heard something about you directing a new 'The Crow'-Movie starring DMX? Do you change from musictv-stations to cinemas now? JK: I am not making The Crow anymore. I am making a motorcycle movie called “Torque”. The title will probably change since I’m not sure the translation of “torque” sounds good in German. That’s the problem of one word titles about obscure physics of motorcycle racing. India may not even have a word for Torque. Anyway it comes out in a year. Go watch it. Several times, with your entire family. Again and again. Unless I got fired from it. Make sure you see that it says “Directed by Joseph Kahn”. Then go watch it about 30 times. I am definitely switching to cinemas as my main focus. I will continue to make videos. I like the art form. But I’m almost 30 now. That’s an old man in this business. I could turn into the old whore no sailor wants to have sex with, except the poor drunk one. You know who those bands are. popzoot: Thank you very much for this interview! ...upcoming: The Joseph Kahn Video Special |
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