American filmmaker Mark Romanek directed his first music video in 1986, for The The's "Sweet Bird of Truth".[1] He earned his first MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction nomination for "Free Your Mind", performed by En Vogue, in 1993.[2] Romanek later directed "Closer" for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, which contains imagery involving terror, sexuality, and animal cruelty.[1][3] In 1995, he directed the video for "Scream", set in space and performed by Michael and Janet Jackson, as well as the New Age surrealistic "Bedtime Story", performed by Madonna.[4][5] They are two of the most expensive music videos ever made, costing $7 million and $5 million, respectively.[6] "Scream" gained 11 nominations at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, including Romanek's second Best Direction nomination,[7] and his first Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form.[8]
In 1996, Romanek directed the Mary Poppins-inspired "Novocaine for the Soul" for the rock band Eels.[9] The following year, he directed Fiona Apple's "Criminal", which explores themes of voyeurism and adolescence;[10] and won his second Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Got 'til It's Gone", performed by Janet Jackson, Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell.[8] For his work in "Hurt" (2003), performed by Johnny Cash, Romanek earned another MTV nomination, and won his third Grammy.[8][11] In 2004, he directed the auto-biographical music video for Jay-Z's "99 Problems", for which he won his first MTV award.[12] Their subsequent collaborations—the installation-style 10-minute short film for "Picasso Baby" (2013),[a] and the animation video for "The Story of O.J." (2017)[13]—were nominated for Grammy Award for Best Music Video.[8]
Romanek made his feature-film directorial debut with the 1986 comedy-drama feature Static, which was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival.[14][15] He received a Saturn Award for Best Writing nomination for his work in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo (2002), which starred Robin Williams.[16][17] In 2010, he directed the romantic drama film Never Let Me Go, starring Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield, for which he was nominated for British Independent Film Award for Best Director.[18] Romanek also directed several commercials for iPod, Nike, and ESPN.
Music videos
Film
| Title | Year | Credit | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Island | 1978 | Second assistant cameraman | [58] | |
| Home Movies | 1979 | Second assistant director | [59] | |
| Static | 1985 | Director and co-writer | Feature directorial debut | [60] |
| Inside Out IV | 1992 | Writer | Segment: "My Cyberian Rhapsody" | [14] |
| One Hour Photo | 2002 | Director and writer | [61] | |
| Bee Season | 2006 | Executive producer | [62] | |
| Never Let Me Go | 2010 | Director | [63] | |
| The Vampire Attack | Still photographer | Short film | [64] |
Documentary appearances
|
Television
| Title | Year | Credit | Episode | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locke & Key | 2011 | Director | Unaired television pilot | [65] |
| The Whispers | 2015 | Co-director and executive producer | "X Marks the Spot" | [66] |
| Vinyl | 2016 | Director | "Whispered Secrets" | [67] |
| Tales from the Loop | 2020 | Director and executive producer | "Loop" | [68] |
Commercials
| Company / Brand | Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cirque du Soleil | 1992 | "Portraits" | [69] |
| Nike | 1997 | "9000" | [70] |
| CKOne | 1998 | "Danny" | [71] |
| CKOne | "Anna" | [72] | |
| Elizabeth Arden | 2003 | "ardenbeauty" | [73] |
| Acura | 2004 | "Dance" | [74] |
| American Express | "Beautiful Things" | [75] | |
| ESPN | "Makeshift" | [76] | |
| ESPN | "Kissing" | [77] | |
| ESPN | "Taking the Field" | [78] | |
| iPod | "Vertigo" | [79] | |
| Nike | "Tell Me" | [80] | |
| Saturn | "Door Music" | [81] | |
| ESPN | 2005 | "Nothing to Say" | [82] |
| ESPN | "Without Sports" | [83] | |
| Grey Goose | "VIP"[b] | [84] | |
| iPod | "Detroit" | [85] | |
| UPS | "Oracle" | [86] | |
| UPS | "You/They" | [87] | |
| Acura | 2006 | "TechnoTraction" | [88] |
| Acura | "TurboTravel" | [88] | |
| Acura | "TechnoWorship" | [88] | |
| iPod | "iPod Shuffle" | [89] | |
| iPod | "The Audience Is Listening" | [90] | |
| iPod | "Quartet" | [91] | |
| iPod | "Love Train" | [92] | |
| Nikon | "Kate" | [93] | |
| Cadillac | "Sun" | [94] | |
| Motorola | "Rick Rubin" | [95] | |
| Motorola | "Chester Bennington" | [96] | |
| Motorola | "Kanye West" | [97] | |
| iPod | 2007 | "Island" | [98] |
| iPod | "Mary J. Blige" | [99] | |
| Honda | "Hondamentalism" | [100] | |
| iPod | 2008 | "Gamma" | [101] |
| iPod | "Gamma (Online case)" | [102] | |
| Jeep | "Grand Ol' Opera" | [103] | |
| Nike | "Simple Math" | [104] | |
| Nike | "Take Over" | [105] | |
| iTunes | "Coldplay Sonic" | [106] | |
| Nike | 2009 | "The Chalk" | [107] |
| iPod | 2010 | "New Way To Nano" | [108] |
| Dodge | "Man's Last Stand" | [109] | |
| Heineken | "Boss' Daughter" | [110] | |
| Delta Air Lines | "Keep Climbing" | [111] | |
| Delta Air Lines | "Human Factor" | [111] | |
| H&R Block | "Never Settle for Less" | [112] | |
| Kia | "Michelle Wie" | [113] | |
| iPhone | 2011 | "Snow Today" | [114] |
| iPod | "Share the Fun" | [115] | |
| Kia | "Share Some Soul" | [116] | |
| H&R Block | "Greenback" | [117] | |
| H&R Block | "Nickel Dinner" | [118] | |
| H&R Block | "Quit Lady" | [119] | |
| Chevrolet | "Like Father, Like Son" | [120] | |
| Hyundai | "Sonata Turbo Face" | [121] | |
| Nike | 2012 | "Fast is Faster" | [122] |
| Nike | "Voices" | [123] | |
| Motorola | "Projections" | [124] | |
| iPhone | "Rock God" | [125] | |
| iPhone | "Road Trip" | [126] | |
| Samsung | "LeBron's Day" | [127] | |
| Samsung & Jay-Z | 2013 | "Inside Magna Carta Holy Grail" | [128] |
| Gillette | "Clay Matthews Conditions" | [129] | |
| NASCAR | "Twist" | [130] | |
| Call of Duty | "Ghosts Masked Warrior" | [131] | |
| Budweiser | "Rihanna" | [132] | |
| Budweiser | "Jay Z" | [133] | |
| Sonos | 2014 | "Faces Off" | [134] |
| Miller | "Central Park" | [135] | |
| Yoplait | 2015 | "A Man of Yogurt – Hunger" | [136] |
| Yoplait | "A Man of Yogurt – Texture" | [137] | |
| Yoplait | "A Man of Yogurt – Satiety" | [138] | |
| Nike | 2016 | "The Conductor" | [139] |
| Nike | "Come Out of Nowhere" | [140] | |
| Nike | "Make Space" | [141] | |
| Bud Light | "Your Can's Year" | [142] | |
| Budweiser | 2017 | "Dream. On." | [143] |
| Tiffany & Co. | 2018 | "Believe in Dreams" | [144] |
| H&M | 2021 | "ONE/SECOND/SUIT" | [145] |
| Apple Music | "Happier Than Ever" | [146] | |
| Tiffany & Co. | 2022 | "Lose Yourself in Love" | [147] |
Notes
References
Sources
- Browne, David (2010). Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth. Read How You Want. ISBN 978-1458778871.
- Fouz-Hernández, Santiago; Jarman-Ivens, Freya (2004). Madonna's Drowned Worlds. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3372-1.
- Rausch, Andrew J (2008). Fifty Filmmakers: Conversations with Directors from Roger Avary to Steven Zaillian. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786484096.
- Richardson, John; Gorbman, Claudia; Vernallis, Carol (2003). The Oxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aesthetics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199985103.
- Winter, Jessica; Hughes, Lloyd; Armstrong, Richard; Charity, Tom (2007). The Rough Guide to Film. Penguin. ISBN 978-1405384988.
External links
- Mark Romanek at IMDb
- Mark Romanek videography on the official website (archived from 2008)
- Mark Romanek commercials on the official website (archived from 2005)
- Mark Romanek commercials on Advertising Age