Music videos have been around since the 1960s. However, the art form officially “arrived” in 1981 with the launch of MTV. Since then, aspiring and established directors have used music videos to express their artistic creativity.
At first, music videos weren’t taken seriously; they were dismissed as little more than promotional material for albums or singles. Academy Award-winning directors such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and James Cameron recognized the value of the music-video art form, however, and have helmed music videos. Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow even appeared in a music video early in her career.
These are among the nine Oscar winners on a list compiled by Geek Nexus. It is worth noting that at least five other Oscar-nominated directors have helmed music videos.
The three-time Oscar winner was late to the music-video genre. He directed the official music video for Marcus Mumford’s “Cannibal.” The song is featured on the Mumford & Sons frontman’s self-titled album, released in September 2022.
Coppola had directed other music videos, including “This Here Giraffe” by The Flaming Lips, “Playground Love” by Air, and “Chloroform” by Phoenix.
Scorsese worked on celebrated documentaries about era-defining music artists such as Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Band, and George Harrison. He won one best directing Oscar statue (The Departed) and has been nominated for an Academy Award 16 times.
Among other videos he’s directed are “100%” by Sonic Youth, “Buddy Holly” by Weezer, and “Only One” by Kanye West. Jonze won a Best Writing Oscar for the movie Her, which he directed and received a Best Director nomination.
Lee also directed the video “Headlights” for rapper Eminem. The rapper wrote the song as an apology to his mother to help heal a fractured relationship. It debuted on Mother’s Day 2014.
Bigelow would appear in a music video directed by James Cameron the following year.
He’s also prolific in the music video space, with 27 credits to his name. Gondry has collaborated with performers like the Rolling Stones, Björk, Foo Fighters, and Daft Punk. The latter act is a French duo whose video “Around the World” is considered Gondry’s most famous video. Among his other videos are “Cellphone’s Dead” by Beck, “Heard’ Em Say” by Kanye West, and “Go” by The Chemical Brothers.
Gore Verbinski’s Hollywood stock soared with the roaring success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. His film Rango won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2012.
The former punk-rock guitarist also has made his mark in the music-video realm, directing the videos “S&M Airlines” by NOFX and “21st Century Digital Boy” by Bad Religion. His 2003 music video “Born Too Slow” by The Crystal Method depicted a silver man walking the streets of a contemporary American city.
Three-time Academy Award winner James Cameron has directed some of the biggest blockbusters in cinema history, including Titanic, Avatar, True Lies, and the Terminator films.
Cameron dipped his toe into music videos in 1988 when he directed a music video for actor Bill Paxton’s band, Martini Ranch. The video is about an outlaw biker who comes to a western town to see his girlfriend. On his tail is an all-female posse of bounty hunters led by future Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow.
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