Archive 2003.03: October 2003 - December 2003 | back to 2003 Archived News

Paul also directed two very successful commercial campaigns, including one for Gap which also featured Madonna (with Missy Elliott), and a series of six clips for the Nike Basketball "Battle" commercial campaign.  On April 16, 2003, Paul Hunter's movie directorial debut Bulletproof Monk (starring Chow Yun-Fat & Seann William Scott) premiered in North American theatres to poor reviews.  The movie was subsequently released on DVD in September 2003.  Much luck to Paul Hunter in 2004 with his future video, commercial, and movie projects.

(November 26, 2003)  JENNIFER LOPEZ DVD COMPILATION
Jennifer Lopez has recently released a new DVD compilation entitled The Reel Me.  The DVD contains all 17 of her music videos, including the two Paul Hunter-directed ones for If You Had My Love and Love Don't Cost A Thing.  Included with each video is optional audio commentary track provided by J.Lo herself.  The DVD also comes with a CD which includes a few remixes of her singles.

(October 30, 2003)  MYA VIDEO INCLUDED ON NOW! DVD
The Paul Hunter-directed video for My Love Is Like...Wo! by Mya is included on the first ever Now! DVD (as part of the Now! CD compilations).  The DVD version (released concurrently with the 14th edition of the CD album) will include 15 video tracks.  Both the CD and DVD versions of Now! are set to be released November 4.
click here to read article at Billboard.com

(October 23, 2003)  BRITNEY/MADONNA VIDEO PREMIERES | KELIS VIDEO RE-SHOT
The new Britney Spears & Madonna video Me Against The Music premiered this past Tuesday (October 21) on MTV Making The Video, and on other video outlets (such as Canada's MuchMusic) yesterday (October 22).  You can see the video in streaming format at Launch.com.

It seems that the Kelis video Milkshake had to be reshot.  Apparently the record company decided not to use the original version of the video, which shot in early September by Paul Hunter.  The video was re-shot by fellow HSI Productions director David LaChappelle earlier this month in New York.  The photos that were posted on MTV.com (as mentioned in the previous news entry) were for the David LaChappelle re-shoot.
click here to read an unofficial & unconfirmed "report" of the reshoot, at Shine Magazine
(thanks to Cihan for the info)

(October 20, 2003)  KELIS VIDEO PHOTOS | OLD TAMIA VIDEO CLIP (MAKE TONIGHT BEAUTIFUL)
MTV.com posted behind-the-scenes photos from the Kelis video for Milkshake, which took place in Brooklyn, NY over the October 11 weekend.
Click here for the Kelis page at MTV.com (click on Kelis' 'Milkshake' Video Shoot under Photo Flipbooks)
(thanks to Cihan for the info)

I have been looking for clips or images from the 1997 Paul Hunter-directed Tamia video Make Tonight Beautiful (from the soundtrack to Speed 2: Cruise Control) for the longest time.  It was the first video that Paul Hunter directed for Tamia; he has since directed 3 other videos for her: Imagination, Stranger In My House, & Officially Missing You.  Make Tonight Beautiful didn't get much airplay when it first aired back in July 1997, which made it one of the most rare videos I've been trying to come in contact with.  (plus, I'm a HUGE Tamia fan).  I was searching online a few weeks ago and happened to stumble across a site that not only included screen caps from the video, but also a 1minute Quicktime clip!  The site is for Cine South de Mexico: FIlm & TV Commercial Production Service, a company/site which produces, organizes, and promotes video production in Mexico.  They post samples from each of the major projects that were filmed in the area.

click here to view larger screen caps & 1min. Quicktime clip for Tamia "Make Tonight Beautiful"

***(October 15, 2003)  MORE INFO ON NEW BRITNEY/MADONNA VIDEO***
MTV.com has posted more detailed information on last week's video shoot for the Paul Hunter-directed Britney Spears & Madonna video Me Against The Music.  The video-shoot took place in New York City last week (October 8-9) and is set in a mazelike underground after-hours club.  Here is the description of the video from MTV.com:

"According to the treatment for the video, shot last week in New York with director Paul Hunter (J. Lo, Deftones), the pop singers discover they're reverse images of each other, from their dance moves to the way they dress. Britney wears black to Madonna's white. Britney is hipster to Madonna's old-school. Britney's section of the club is populated with cool kids, flaunting pink and purple hair while taking whiffs from an oxygen tank, while Madonna's stakes claim to a territory filled with men in suits, smoking cigars.

Though the areas are separated by a wall, somehow Britney can sense Madonna on the other side. At first, it seems like they have a psychic or telepathic connection — but then Madonna's visage starts appearing on television monitors throughout the club, making Britney more determined to find her.

As if the ESP element wasn't enough, the club proves not to be governed by the usual rules of reality in other areas, such as when Madonna finds herself a room covered with fallen leaves, where she can stand on a swing to amuse herself. But instead of wondering how the leaves got inside in the first place, she's more concerned with coaxing Britney to rid herself of her inhibitions: "Hey, Britney, you say you wanna lose control/ Sexy lady, I'd rather see you bare your soul/ If you think you're so hot, better show me what you got/ Let me see you dance."

Madonna's solo, however, turns out to be but a siren's song, as she is nowhere to be found once Britney hears the call and makes it to the swing room. Over the course of several rooms, Britney searches desperately as Madonna plays an elaborate cat-and-mouse game with her."

The video will premiere on MTV Making The Video on October 21, 2003.
(thanks to Rob J. & Kevin L. for the info)

One other thing.  Access Hollywood was on the set of the Me Against The Music video-shoot and aired the segment on yesterday's episode.  World Of Britney (a Britney Spears mega-fansite) has digitized the clip in MPG format and posted it on their site at worldofbritney.com. (the clip doesn't show much)

***(October 9, 2003)  PAUL HUNTER TO SHOOT NEW BRITNEY/MADONNA VIDEO***
MTV.com announced yesterday that Paul Hunter is shooting the new video for the upcoming Britney/Madonna collaboration Me Against The Music in New York City this week.
click here to read article blurb
(thanks to Rob J., Cihan, Kevin L. for the info)

(October 9, 2003)  MORE INFO ON KELIS VIDEO
MTV.com posted information on the intresting concept for the new Paul Hunter-directed Kelis video Milkshake:

"In the video, Kelis plays up the seductive side of her persona, bursting into a diner called Tasty's Yard and tantalizing patrons with her sultry sashaying. Just as suggestive as Kelis' dance are her actions. At one point, she wraps her lips around a cherry and sucks its head off the stem, causing a mother to cover her child's eyes. With a 'sacred cow' milkshake machine pumping out shakes for customers and with Kelis' fiancé, Nas, playing a short-order cook, she turns the diner into the hottest spot in town, with everyone clamoring to get a look at her "milkshake."
click here to read the full article

(thanks to Kevin L. for the info)