Without a doubt, Gary Oldman is one of the greatest actors of our generation. But, did you know that in addition to his acting work, Oldman’s also dabbled in directing? In 1997, he directed a brilliant film, NIL BY MOUTH, which featured a star-making performance by Ray Winstone, who- at the time, was mostly a supporting player in small scale English films.
While that film was widely acclaimed (it also holds a record as the feature film with the most uses of the word “fuck”, with it being used a whopping 522 times) , Oldman’s mostly focused on acting since then. However, it appears Oldman might be testing the waters for an eventual return to directing, with him recently helming a tongue in cheek rap video for a band called Chutzpah, which is billed as a Jewish Hip-hop group (oy vey!).
The shoot, which was done entirely with Nokia cell phones, is documented in a short documentary called TAKE FLIGHT. Directed by Juliet Landau, who my fellow BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL fanatics will remember as the gorgeous vampire Drusilla, the film documents Oldman’s efforts throwing together this micro-budgeted (and very funny) video. Watch Oldman as he strikes hip-hop poses, drops a few rhymes, and manages to pull off a fairly slick video with nothing but a cell phone and a small crew.
Landau’s documentary is available for download off her website for $2.49. Having seen the documentary myself, I can definitely say this is a bargain, as it’s actually a fairly intriguing look into Oldman’s process as a director. It’s worth noting that while the video is tongue-in-cheek, Oldman, while coming off very laid-back and easygoing, doesn’t approach the shoot as a lark, and you can tell that he’s committed to pulling off a quality video. The finished music video is included with Landau’s documentary. It’s a fun watch.
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