Quentin Dupieux tops the musician-turned-director list
If the name Quentin Dupieux fails to ring a bell you may recognize his electronic alter ego Mr. Oizo and the 1999 hit “Flat Beat.” However Dupieux has also stepped behind the camera for off-kilter thrillers like Steak Rubber and Wrong the latter of which screens at CIFF 2012. Starring a collection of character actors such as Jack Plotnick Alexis Dziena and Steve Little (of Eastbound and Down fame) it follows a man who loses both his dog and his mind through a series of Michel Gondry/Charlie Kaufman-style surrealist scenarios. Fun stuff!
Dupieux has plenty of company in the musician-turned-director racket so here are 15 more examples (in alphabetical order natch).
David Byrne
The Talking Heads frontman earned his first slashee credit with 1986’s True Stories a tale of quirky Texans including John Goodman as a smooth-talking lothario.
Daft Punk
Dupieux’s closest contemporaries on this list made their directorial debut proper with the slow-paced and (literally) face-melting Electroma .
Fred Durst
It’s unclear how or why this nu-metal ass-clown got hired to helm The Education of Charlie Banks or the Ice Cube football film The Longshots but they look just as bad as Limp Bizkit anyway. What’s next — Jonathan Davis the cinematographer?
Bob Dylan
Zimmy earned director credits for the ’72 tour doc Eat The Document and tri-genre exercise Renaldo and Clara featuring Ronnie Hawkins in the Dylan role. With his current singing style can we call him the godfather of mumblecore?
Vincent Gallo
Prior to Buffalo ’66 and the notorious Brown Bunny Gallo performed in a variety of hep bands such as Bohack and Gray (with Jean-Michel Basquiat) and rapped as Prince Vince. His 2001 solo album When is an underrated pop gem.
R. Kelly
The bananas R&B crooner is director narrator and star of his epic drama Trapped in the Closet . Chapter 22 wrapped in ’07 but the next instalment is due this year.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono
When they weren’t lounging in bed Lennon and Ono made art films like Up Your Legs Forever . From IMDb: “Continuous panning shots up a series of 367 human legs.”
Madonna
Neither Faith and Wisdom nor W.E. fared well but what the world needs is a film adaptation of her photo book Sex (prompting the triumphant return of Vanilla Ice).
Master P
The No Limit Records rapper and founder is also the most prolific director on this list with 11 direct-to-video titles including I’m Bout It Still Bout It Hot Boyz and Black Supaman . Make ’em say uhh na na na na…
Prince
Purple Rain is one of the best films of all time but when Prince decided to direct its unofficial sequel Graffiti Bridge and the earlier Under the Cherry Moon the results were less than stellar. Of course his greatest cinematic moment remains the song “Batdance.”
RZA
Though the Bobby Digital movie sadly never happened RZA received backing from Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth for his martial arts flick The Man with the Iron Fists . Worth the price of admission for an ass-kicking Pam Grier alone.
Barbra Streisand
From the gender-bending Yentl to the nutso Nick Nolte of The Prince of Tides Babs’ directorial efforts make her the only EGOT winner on this list (until Master P gets his Oscar).
Adam Yauch
The late great MC not only directed many of the Beastie Boys’ best videos (as Nathanial Hörnblowér) but also founded the distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories and helmed the b-ball documentary Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot .
Neil Young
As his pseudonym Bernard Shakey Young’s only must-see is the 1982 sci-fi comedy Human Highway featuring Dean Stockwell Dennis Hopper and Devo.
Frank Zappa
Zappa’s tour movie 200 Motels mixes performance footage with a predictably satirical look at life on the road. Matched only by Sun Ra’s Space is the Place for pure ’70s insanity.
Rob Zombie
It’s arguable that the former shock-rocker’s film career has now eclipsed his musical career. House of 1000 Corpses and the Halloween reboots were cool but nothing can top his fake grindhouse trailer Werewolf Women of the S.S.
