Rising up in south Florida, the closest Christian Breslauer obtained to Hollywood was a close-by seaside named after it. The cinephile appeared as much as famend movie director David Fincher, who additionally helmed music movies for Madonna and Billy Idol early in his profession. After highschool, he began directing clips for native artists. He moved to California in 2016 with sights set on working with London Alley Leisure, a full-service manufacturing firm behind award-winning movies for artists together with Kendrick Lamar (“Alright”) and Logic (“1-800-273-8255”). Breslauer jokingly remembers that he reached out to founder/govt producer Luga Podesta dozens of instances earlier than first working with the corporate on a 2019 Cîroc industrial. Nevertheless, London Alley didn’t begin representing him till the next yr, after Podesta noticed the video for Roddy Ricch’s “The Field,” which earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for greatest hip-hop video. “Our job as an organization is seeing a director’s profession long run as an alternative of simply per challenge,” says Podesta. “We strategize about who’re the artists they need to work with and who manages these artists.”
Since then, Breslauer has grow to be a go-to creator of visuals which might be equally eye-popping and purposeful, working with superstars together with The Weeknd, Doja Cat, John Legend and Lil Nas X (The latter’s “Business Child” clip with Jack Harlow received three VMAs). At first of 2023, Breslauer directed the video for SZA’s “Kill Invoice,” which has over 20 million views — and most not too long ago, he helmed the final word Black woman superhero visible for Lizzo’s Particular title monitor. “We helped [Christian] kind the relationships with Lizzo and SZA,” says Podesta, additionally noting that the staff “did 4 or 5 movies with SALXCO administration after which lastly obtained [him] to work with The Weeknd.” Provides Breslauer: “We attempt to construct little Marvel universes for each artist I work with. That’s why artists like to return again and hold working with me.”
Tyga x Doja Cat, “Freaky Deaky”
Virisa Yong
After Tyga texted Breslauer about capturing a “futuristic” video for “Freaky Deaky,” a Doja Cat collaboration from his forthcoming album, Breslauer imagined a horny cat-and-mouse recreation, with Doja capturing Tyga in numerous traps throughout a late-night rendezvous. The lyrics helped encourage a few of them, together with “Black Barbie, excellent and also you gnarly,” which reminded Breslauer of a scene from Joe Dante’s 1998 movie Small Troopers when motion figures punch out of their plastic packing containers. “I put a whole lot of intention in breaking down the tune,” says Breslauer. He usually leans on artists to deliver their very own aptitude throughout shoots, noting that Doja Cat’s chastity belt lock that includes a phallic keyhole was an addition by her stylist Brett Alan Nelson.
Lizzo, “About Rattling Time”
Micayla Catanzariti
Final yr, Lizzo’s staff requested Breslauer to direct three movies for her Grammy-nominated album Particular. However as soon as the newly minted file of the yr “About Rattling Time” went viral and subsequently reached No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, that visible took precedence. The 2 got down to make one thing uplifting, with Breslauer working with Lizzo’s thought to open in a help group setting. The visible received video for good on the 2022 VMAs, with Lizzo dubbing Breslauer “Tittylauer” throughout her acceptance speech. “We’ve so many humorous moments. She brings such a bubbly power the place you simply can’t assist however love her,” he stated, calling the current “Particular” video his favourite one from her album.
SZA, “Kill Invoice”
Micayla Catanzariti
For SZA’s newest video, Breslauer needed to include the singer’s thought of shibari rope bondage through the outro — a second sequence soundtracked by fellow SOS monitor “Search & Destroy” — whereas nonetheless largely referencing Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Invoice movies. “It appeared too on-the-nose to have an Uma [Thurman] cameo, however Vivica [A. Fox] was proper to me,” says Breslauer of one in all its driving scenes. “She’s obtained the look, she’s obtained the swagger.” He provides that they wrapped that shot round 5 a.m. as a part of a 19-hour-long shoot that occurred simply days earlier than Christmas. The video got here out two weeks later — which Podesta says is “undoubtedly the quickest video we’ve accomplished shortly.”
A model of this story initially appeared within the Feb. 4, 2023, subject of Billboard.
