Berzerk Director: Eminem 'Hungry' To Return To Hip Hop Roots

[Suzanne.s]

They asked him questions about Em and the video.

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/detr ... st_71.html

Who came up with the idea for the video and how was the plan for it executed?

Em always has a seed of an idea when he is ready to do a video. We will get on the phone and he will usually say, “So I want to perform in front of a giant boom box…” OR “This really needs to feel early 90’s…” He is very visual with his lyrics so once we have a common direction I then put my spin on it and flush it out to a full treatment and then we tweak from there.

What was Eminem like to work with?

Amazing. He is razor sharp and a perfectionist. Brings the best out of you and demands your “A” game which I love. If he doesn’t have a photographic memory, it's definitely the closest thing to it. He is extremely involved with his performance takes and watches every one after he performs. He then gives specific notes and if you pay attention, you basically have a rough cut by the time you wrap.

What do you think the video says about the direction Eminem wants to take with his new album?

It is right there in the lyrics, “Let’s take it back to straight Hip-Hop and start it from scratch…” He is hungry and wants to bring back that feeling of why we fell in love with this genre to begin with.

Where was the video shot? Anywhere in Detroit?

We shot over the course of two days- Day 01 in NYC and Day 02 in Detroit.

How were you able to get all the video cameos together (Kid Rock, Rick Rubin, Kendrick Lamar, etc.)?

Rick was already on board to appear before we even started talking. The rest really just fell into place organically. Who wouldn’t want to show up if Em reached out?

What was it like to work with Kid Rock and Eminem together for their specific scenes?

I had worked with both artists previously so it was very comfortable and fun. There was a lot of jokes and laughter. I did have to pinch myself a couple of times for the fact that we were shooting these two Detroit legends together in the D. It was one of those moments you really appreciate what you do.

Any feedback from Billy Squier about sampling footage from "The Stroke" for the video?

I’m sure he is happy as this sample is very prevalent in Berzerk and he does get his own little feature as well.

What was it like working with a music producing legend like Rick Rubin?

Unbelievable. He has a total zen master, Yoda type presence. He’s such a kind, funny and creative individual who was down for anything. Pretty much the coolest human in the universe.

How long did it take to get the video's concept together, the video shot and the video edited for its release?

From start to finish it was about a month.

What did you learn about Eminem that you didn't know before working with him for the video?

I didn’t know he was such a huge football fan.

[Kill You]

Cool.

[monobloss]

Classic incoming

What do you think the video says about the direction Eminem wants to take with his new album?

It is right there in the lyrics, “Let’s take it back to straight Hip-Hop and start it from scratch…” He is hungry and wants to bring back that feeling of why we fell in love with this genre to begin with.

[mdemaz]

Well, that explains Rain Man and My Ballz.

[Mathers]

[SoldierShady]

It's no secret Em is a perfectionist, though.

Numb.

[RayMcTechGuy]

Nice read!

[Raul]

Classic incoming

[Cinderella Stan]

Very interesting read, can't wait for behind the scenes video.

[Ares]

Classic incoming

[Rafael]

This album will be a classic and probably Em's best album since TES..
Omg.. What if its better than TES
I just hope that by "returning to the roots of hip hop" he doesn't go completely copy the Beastie Boys sound but I'm not worried because I'm confident that when he said in the interview that this album is a revisit to the original MMLP, that is what we will be getting. I also don't want a complete imitation of the original, but more of Em taking that sound and expanding on it.

[mwm5952]

I. Can. Not. Wait. For. This. Album.

[Shady50]

Well, that explains Rain Man and My Ballz.

My Ballz

[Eedee]

This album is going to kick ass.

[2PointOBoy]

New MySpace article on Syndrome directing Berzerk and 3 A.M.

https://myspace.com/discover/trending/2 ... -syndrome/

Berzerk:

I got a call from Paul Rosenberg, Em's manager. He's like, “Em's ready for the visual. I want to play you this song and then just vibe on it.” They [Eminem’s team] work so crazy. They don't do anything digital. So I went to a Staples parking lot, and I had to sit shotgun in one of the A&R’s cars to listen to it. I wrote down a couple notes and left—it was like a drug deal or something. [Laughs]

The first thing I thought was, this is totally Beasties and old Def Jam. I was always a big Billy Squire fan, so it was rad. I heard the song, chopped it up with Paul and he’s like, here’s the deal: Em always has a base outline of what he wants to do. In this case, he’s like, “I [want] to be very specific to early ’90s hip-hop, but I don’t want it to be like Hype Williams shit. I want to go Beasties and more of that kind of indie style.”

The other thing they said was that Rick [Rubin] was going to be in the video, which freaked me out in the coolest possible way. I’m like, “Really? Fuck.” So then I was starting to think about “Going Back to Cali” and was like, “Let’s use Rick fucking 25 years later in the same scene.” We were trying to get LL [Cool J], but he was in L.A. and we shot in Queens.

This was a Sunday, and we had to shoot that Thursday. We built the boom box in 48 hours. It was crazy. And that scale, with the riser and the handle, it’s 20 by 20 feet, so I mean, it was massive, and it totally functions. It doesn’t play but the tape deck opens, buttons work and you see a little LED equalizer.

It was nerve-wracking, because [we] had Paul and Em walked out on set and not liked it, we would have been screwed. But fortunately they saw it and were like, “Oh, that's great.”

3 A.M.

This was the second time we worked with Em. The first thing we did was “Crack a Bottle,” but he was not in that video. So it’s the same sort of thing [as “Berzerk”]. They were like, you should probably hear the song, so I go with his bodyguard in a Cadillac, and he drives me around and just blares the song. It definitely had this serial killer vibe.

Em’s one thing was, “I just want to be in a pool of blood.” We shot in Detroit, at an actual mental hospital. So we had to be cognizant of where we shot, because some of the walls were thin and we couldn't interrupt or distract any of the patients. It definitely had all the energy and everything about it was completely authentic.

That was my first real encounter with Em as far as how he works, which is really insane. Every take that he does, he watches back right then, so he'll do a take, watch it, do a tape, watch it. So if you have him scheduled for four hours in one setup, you should think of it more like, seven or eight hours, because he’s going to watch every take back. He’s going to give notes, so it’s important to have a script supervisor.

At the same time, he’s razor sharp and has a very, very great memory, especially about his performance. He’ll remember things, like, “Hey man, did you take that ten-frame shot out right after I say the second line in verse two?” He's real into it like that. But if you’re really smart and pay attention, you can pretty much leave an Eminem shoot with your rough cut done.

To me personally as a director, it was one of those moments where an artist really challenges you to bring your A-game. I think that was the one that kind of solidified us [with Eminem], and I think that’s what has kept us going with him.