Kanye West Reveals Challenges Of Directing 'Runaway'

'I had a number of concerns: Is it realistic? Are we getting a good angle?' first-time director tells MTV News.
By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Sway Calloway


Kanye West at his "Runaway" interview on Saturday
Photo: Circe Baumgartner/MTV

Kanye West made a successful transition from producer to rapper with his seminal debut, The College Dropout. Now, after the MTV premiere of his "Runaway" short film, West said the experience of putting to get the 35-minute visual is comparable to making his first album.

But West said the experience was anything but easy for him.

"Was there any difficult parts?" he said to MTV News' Sway, laughing. "Thinking about dressing all of those people. Or finding where the [phoenix] wings were, who would make the wings. Laying the colors, having to go back and forth. Directing myself, 'cause I can make awesome decisions right there. But when I stand on that piano [in the 'Runaway' scene], I got to make sure Kyle, who is an amazing [director of photography] on this, I got to trust him that he caught that shot the proper way. So it takes a little bit longer, when you have to go around and get behind the camera. So these shots, I would have to go look at it, do it again, look at it again. I had a number of concerns: Is it realistic? Are we getting a good angle? We didn't have Hype Williams-level lighting in that warehouse."

Despite the challenges, West put together a moving piece of art that has garnered rave reviews from his peers and fans alike.

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz called the project "artistically large." "In my opinion, it is the single most ambitious 'music video' of the decade, if you could even put it in the category of a 'music video,' " he told MTV News in an e-mail message earlier this week. "It reminds me of when I was younger, and no matter what Michael Jackson had done last, the next thing [he did] not only topped it, but completely raised the bar beyond what anyone else was capable of."

Swizz Beatz was also effusive in his praise for West. The producer didn't dole out a perfect score to his fellow musician, holding back a higher rating only because he hoped for a longer experience. "On a 1 to 10, it was a 9," Swizz said. "The reason why it was a 9 was because it should've been longer. It was a deep, deep story, and you have to know Kanye to really understand it."

MTV.com user DontblameYouth gave West more than a perfect score, adding an extra thumb to his praise. "I'm absolutely mesmerized by this video," the commenter wrote. "It really shows how Kanye has worked hard at such an innovative idea to introduce maybe even a new area and way of thinking to the world of art and music. I understand that some people may not be able to grasp or watch it and understand it not as it is literally shown in the video but interpret it and apply it to life. But I give it three thumbs up. Love."

What did you think of "Runaway"? Share your reviews in the comments.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650699/20101024/west_kanye.jhtml

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Matt Damon Dishes On Raising Daughters

He?s now the proud papa to four girls, and Matt Damon has high hopes for his ladies as they grow up.

The ?Bourne Identity? stud told People magazine, "If I had a bucket list, I'd say raising my four girls to be strong, good women would be No. 1."

"I think what's important for kids to know is that your decisions here on earth matter, your behavior matters, and how you treat other people matters.?

"It matters here and I'm hoping that it matters in the afterlife, too. It just comes down to accountability for your own behavior that's important. So whenever I talk to my own kids or whenever they ask, I try and put the hereafter in kind of an ethical framework."

Source: http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/matt-damon/matt-damon-dishes-raising-daughters-428868

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Black Metal Goes Surfing Emperor Style

A YouTube user who calls himself MrMeddled has posted an outrageously amazing surf rock version of Emperor's black metal song 'I am the Black Wizard.' Almost as entertaining as the interpretation/transformation is the accompanying text, which reads in part: "In 1959, Chip Ihsahn and Rocky Samoth met on the beach in California. They shared a love [...]

Source: http://blog.mtvmusic.com/2010/05/13/black-metal-goes-surfing-emperor-style/

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Ke$ha Goes 'Hard' On New Single, 'We R Who We R'

Singer keeps the party going with first single from Cannibal.
By Jocelyn Vena


Ke$ha
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Ke$ha has found a chart-topping formula — combine killer beats with lyrics about super-fun parties and hot pants. And her latest single, "We R Who We R," certainly fits that mold.

The track, the first single off her November 22 release Cannibal, hit the Internet on Thursday (October 14). It's another uber-fun tune about how awesome it is to dance the night away, with Ke$ha singing on the chorus: "Tonight we're going hard/ Just like the world is ours/ We're tearing it apart/ You know we're superstars/ we are who we are."

While the song doesn't veer much from prior club bangers like "Tik Tok" and "Take It Off," the singer admits that "We R" is in part inspired by the recent rash of suicides among gay youth. "I wanted to inspire people to be themselves," she told EW.com. "It's a celebration of any sort of quirks or eccentricities."

In January, Ke$ha released her debut album Animal and it went straight to the top of the charts. Cannibal — a nine-song set that features collaborations with Max Martin, Benny Blanco and Bangladesh — is set to be released both on its own and as a bundle with Animal.

"I don't want to go away!" she said. "I feel like I'm creating this hopefully very youthful and irreverent movement of the kids, of, like, adolescence. I feel like the parents don't get it, but the kids get it. And they deserve to have more good, positive music ... It's fun as sh--! So I wanted to give [my fans] that."

The Seventeen cover girl also tweeted a message to her fans about the tune: "WE R WHO WE R! on the radio today you guys like??? dancin liiiiike were dumbbbb we be forever younggggg."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650061/20101015/kesha_.jhtml

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