Lots of musicians decide they are famous and attractive enough to act, but it takes a special kind of hubris to take a break from making music to direct a movie. Sometimes it works out, as with the fruitful horror filmmaking career of Rob Zombie, whose The Lords of Salem comes out this week. Here are some others who gave it a shot.
The Education of Charlie Banks
The guy who got an Oscar nomination for The Social Network was once directed by Fred Durst, the guy who wrote the line ”gimme somethin’ to break / how bout your fuckin’ face.” But he does know what it’s like to be a violent thug, so there’s that.
[youtube id=”pL5_ErSq9EM” width=”600″ height=”350″]Yentl
Streisand has one of the greatest voices ever, and she’s a good actress, too. And then there’s this literal vanity project, in which the 41-year-old Streisand directs her own performance as a teenager, who disguises herself as a boy to attend a yeshiva.
[youtube id=”B5BE0EnxPCE” width=”600″ height=”350″]Falling From Grace
Ol’ John Cougar made himself up a movie-film real good like, with this melodrama that’s highly predictable from that title.
[youtube id=”2x654qJH6Gw” width=”600″ height=”350″]The Players Club
Before he disappeared into family films, Ice Cube wrote and directed this movie, which is about strippers, and simultaneously exploits them and sympathizes with their plight.
[youtube id=”4lNg0cm69xU” width=”600″ height=”350″]W.E.
The story of Wallis Simpson, the American who lured Edward VIII away from the British crown for love…and a stormy marriage. Madonna is well suited to directing this, as she is famous for wanting to be British and having terrible marriages.
[youtube id=”QXIvMJjOkc8″ width=”600″ height=”350″]Renaldo and Clara
A series of related short films built around Bob Dylan’s 1975 tour, Dylan directed this movie (starring himself and Joan Baez) that is one part concert film, one part rock documentary, and one part staged scenes. It’s no more or less inscrutable than anything else Dylan’s ever done.
[youtube id=”jqVXWFhb1gs” width=”600″ height=”350″]None But the Brave
An ambitious, even-handed, complicated war film, which addresses both Japanese military and American soldiers’ point of view as they vie for control of an island. And it was directed by Frank Sinatra. Ring a ding ding.
[youtube id=”5BOz12CN7tM” width=”600″ height=”350″]Human Highway
Nuclear power plants, DEVO, saturated colors, the comic stylings of Neil Young—this has everything you would ever want in a movie. This is wonderful, provided you can actually find this cult classic of cult classics.
[youtube id=”4cYYPpZ8rFI” width=”600″ height=”350″].True Stories
When David Byrne tired of ruling Talking Heads with increasing, albeit equal measures of band-fascism and art school preciousness, he moved on to the big screen, directing this sketch-ish movie of music videos and John Goodman vamping.
[youtube id=”ub-5zlJPnjM” width=”600″ height=”350″]Christmas on Mars
It’s about Christmas on Mars, and watching it makes you feel like you’ve overdosed on cough syrup in a paint factory, like a Flaming Lips album come to life. In fact, this was directed by Wayne Coyne of that band, and, fun fact, it costars Steve, the guy from Blues Clues!
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