Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry, 2005

Michel Gondry, born May 8, 1963 (1964 according to some sources), is an Academy Award winning screenwriter, film, commercial, and music video director noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène.

Biography

Gondry was born in Versailles, France. His career as a filmmaker began with creating music videos for the French rock band Oui Oui, where he also served as a drummer. The style of his videos caught the attention of music artist Björk, who asked him to direct the video for her song "Human Behavior". The collaboration proved long-lasting, with Gondry directing a total of six music videos for Björk. Other artists who have collaborated with Gondry on more than one occasion include Radiohead, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, and Beck. Gondry has also created numerous television commercials. He pioneered the "bullet time" techniques used in The Matrix, notably in his "Like A Rolling Stone" video for the Rolling Stones and a 1998 commercial for Smirnoff vodka, as well as directing a trio of inventive holiday-themed commercials for GAP.

Professional career

Gondry is often cited, along with directors Spike Jonze and David Fincher, as representative of the influx of music video directors into feature film. Gondry made his feature film debut in 2001 with Human Nature, garnering mixed reviews. His second film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (also his second collaboration with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman), was released in 2004 and received numerous raves. Eternal Sunshine utilizes many of the image manipulation techniques that Gondry had experimented with in his music videos. Gondry won an Academy Award alongside Kaufman and Pierre Bismuth for the story of Eternal Sunshine. The style of Gondry's music videos often relies on videography and camera tricks which play with frames of reference.

Gondry also directed the musical documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006) which followed comedian Dave Chappelle as he attempted to hold a large, free concert in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. His following film, The Science of Sleep, hit theaters in September, 2006. This film stars Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, and marks a return to the fantastical, surreal techniques he employed in Eternal Sunshine.

In September 2006, Gondry made his debut as an installation artist at Deitch Projects in New York's SoHo gallery district. The show, called "The Science of Sleep: An Exhibition of Sculpture and Pathological Creepy Little Gifts" featured props from his film, The Science of Sleep, as well as film clips and a selection of gifts that the artist had given to women he was interested in, many of them former or current collaborators, Karen Baird, Kishu Chand, Dorothy Barrick and Lauri Faggioni. (see [1])

His brother Olivier 'Twist' Gondry is also a television commercial and music video director creating videos for bands such as The Stills, Hot Hot Heat, The White Stripes and The Vines (see [2]).

Gondry was an Artist in Residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005 and 2006.

Filmography

• Master of Space and Time (2008)
• Be Kind Rewind (2007)
• The Science of Sleep (2006)
• Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006) (musical documentary featuring Dave Chappelle)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
• I've Been Twelve Forever (2003) (documentary on Director's Label DVD)
• Pecan Pie (2003) (short featuring Jim Carrey)
• Work of Director Michel Gondry, The (2003), compilation of Gondry's music videos and commercials
• One Day... (2001) (short featuring Gondry and David Cross) [3]
• Human Nature (2001)
• Lettre, La (1998)
• Vingt p'tites tours (1989)

Videography

Chronological list of directed music videos:

• "Cell Phone's Dead" - Beck (2006)
• "King of the Game" - Cody ChesnuTT (2006)
• "Anysound" - The Vines (2006)
• "Heard 'Em Say" (U.S. Version) - Kanye West (2005)
• "The Denial Twist" - The White Stripes (2005)
• "A Ribbon" - Devendra Banhart (2005)
• "Light & Day" (movie version) - The Polyphonic Spree (2004)
• "Winning Days" - The Vines (2004)
• "Mad World" (Donnie Darko soundtrack version) - Gary Jules (2004)
• "Ride" - The Vines (2004)
• "Behind" - Lacquer (2003)
• "Walkie Talkie Man" - Steriogram (2004)
• "I Wonder" - The Willowz (2004)
• "The Hardest Button to Button" - The White Stripes (2003)
• "Come Into My World" - Kylie Minogue (2002)
• "A l'envers à l'endroit" - Noir Désir (2002)
• "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" - The White Stripes (2002)
• "Fell In Love With A Girl" - The White Stripes (2002)
• "Star Guitar" - The Chemical Brothers (2002)
• "Knives Out" - Radiohead (2001)
• "Let Forever Be" - The Chemical Brothers (1999)
• "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones (1998)
• "Another One Bites The Dust" - Wyclef Jean (1998)
• "Music Sounds Better With You" - Stardust (1998)
• "Bachelorette" - Björk (1997)
• "Deadweight" - Beck (1997)
• "Jóga" - Björk (1997)
• "Everlong" - Foo Fighters (1997)
• "A Change Would Do You Good" - Sheryl Crow (1997)
• "Around the World" - Daft Punk (1997)
• "Feel It" - Neneh Cherry (1997)
• "Sugar Water" - Cibo Matto (1996)
• "Hyper-Ballad" - Björk (1996)
• "Like A Rolling Stone" - The Rolling Stones (1995)
• "She Kissed Me" - Terence Trent D'Arby (1995)
• "Isobel" - Björk (1995)
• "Protection" - Massive Attack (1995)
• "High Head Blues" - Black Crowes (1995)
• "Army of Me" - Björk (1995)
• "Fire On Babylon" - Sinéad O'Connor (1994)
• "Lucas With the Lid Off" - Lucas (1994)
• "Little Star" - Stina Nordenstam (1994)
• "This is it (Your Soul)" - Hothouse Flowers (1993)
• "It's Too Real (Big Scary Animal)" - Belinda Carlisle (1993)
• "Human Behaviour" - Björk (1993)
• "Believe" - Lenny Kravitz (1993)
• "She Kissed Me" - Terence Trent D'Arby (1993)
• "Voila, Voila, Qu'ça r'Commence" - Rachid Taha (1993)
• "La main parisienne" - Malcolm McLaren, featuring Amina (1993) (unreleased)
• "Je Danse Le Mia" - IAM (1993)
• "Snowbound" - Donald Fagen (1993)
• "La Tour de Pise" - Jean François Coen (1993)
• "Hou! Mamma Mia" - Les Négresses Vertes (1993)
• "Les Jupes" - Robert (1992)
• "Two Worlds Collide" - Inspiral Carpets (1992)
• "Close But No Cigar" - Thomas Dolby (1992)
• "Paradoxal Système" - Laurent Voulzy (1992)
• "La Ville" - Oui Oui (1992)
• "How the West Was Won" - Energy Orchard (1992)
• "Les Voyages Immobiles" - Etienne Daho (1992)
• "Blow Me Down" - Mark Curry (1992)
• "Comme un ange (qui pleure)" - Les Wampas (1992)
• "Dad, laisse-moi conduire la Cad" - Peter & the Electro Kitsch Band (1991)
• "La normalité" - Les Objects (1991)
• "Sarah" - Les Objects (1991)
• "Ma Maison" - Oui Oui (1990)
• "Queen for a Day" - The Life of Riley (1989) (unreleased)
• "Tu rimes avec mon coeur" - Original MC (1989)
• "Les Cailloux" - Oui Oui (1989)
• "Il y a ceux" - l'Affaire Louis Trio (1989)
• "Dô, l'enfant d'eau" - Jean-Luc Lahaye (1988)
• "Bolide" - Oui Oui (1987)
• "Junior Et Sa Voix D'Or" - Oui Oui (1987)

Commercials

• Adidas Aftershave - Released From Work
• Air France - Le Nuage [4]
• Air France - Le Passage [5]
• AMD - Flatzone [6]
• BMW - Pure Drive
• Coca-Cola - Snowboarder
• Nespresso - The Boutique
• Diet Coke - Tingle and Bounce
• Électricité de France - Selects
• Earthlink - Privacy
• Fiat - Lancia Y10 [7]
• Fox Sports Network campaign (four ads)
• GAP Holiday campaign (three ads) [8]
• Gatorade Propel Fitness Water - Drip [9]
• Heineken - Debut
• Levi's - Bellybutton
• Levi's - Drugstore [10]
• Levi's - Mermaids [11]
• Levi's - Swap
• NatWest - Zoom
• Nike - Basketball campaign (five ads)
• Nike - I Can Play
• Nike - Leo
• Nike - The Long, Long Run
• Polaroid - Resignation / Living Moments
• Smirnoff - Smarienberg [12]
• Volvo - I Said Volvo

External links and Resources

• Director File ·· Michel Gondry documents all of Michel's work
• Le Monde de Michel Gondry French website dedicated to Michel's work
• Michel Gondry at IMDb
• Le Romantique New York Times Magazine profile on Michel Gondy (09/2006)
• Washington Post: Michel Gondry (03/2006)
• Associated Press article that links Gondry's dreams to his work.
• Interview
• DirectorsLabel.com co-founded with Spike Jonze and Chris Cunningham
• Partizan represents Gondry alongside many other directors for commercials and music videos worldwide
• "The 'Quirky' New Wave" Alternate Takes
• "Dream Factory" by Ben Davis, Artnet Magazine
• "How My Brain Works" Gondry interview with Scott Thill of Bright Lights Film Journal

References

• Michel Gondry: Music Video Genius, Compiled by Jonathan Wells, RES Magazine | March/April 2004