Maurice's Blog World: Beyonce's 'Girls' Video Will Be 'Big,' Director Says

Monday, May 2, 2011

Beyonce's 'Girls' Video Will Be 'Big,' Director Says

'Water for Elephants' helmer Francis Lawrence opens up about shooting the diva's video.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Beyoncé
Photo: Getty

Francis Lawrence confirmed to MTV News at the "Water for Elephants" premiere on Sunday that he had just wrapped up work on Beyoncé's new video. And the director promised that this clip will live up to the expectations that have been building since photos from the set began leaking.

"I just shot a Beyoncé video at the beginning of this last week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, which was fun, and I hadn't done a video since 2009," he said, referring to the VMA-winning video for Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance."

Lawrence went on to confirm a few more details about the song, without giving away too much of anything, per B's orders. "The video's for the songs 'Girls'; it's off her new album," he said. "She would probably have me shot if I said anything. ... Some stuff spilled out, but she wasn't happy about it, so I've been sworn to secrecy."

What spilled was some looks from the video, as well as details that there will be lots of dancing in the clip. "It'll be big, it'll probably be one of the bigger Beyoncé music videos ever done," he added. "And, I can say that I think the song is unbelievable."

The director noted that artists have definitely stepped up their video game in recent years and once again made visuals a vital part of their work. He gives some credit for that to Lady Gaga, as well as a number of Lawrence's past collaborators, like Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and the Black Eyed Peas.

"The Gaga thing took me by surprise, 'cause I've done videos for probably 15 years, and I had forgotten what it felt like to have a video premiere and have it be anticipated and have it explode," he explained. "And yeah I hope the same for Beyoncé, but I don't know if that's gonna happen. It is a fantastic song, so I really hope that song catches for her, and I think the video's gonna be really fun and cool and different for her."

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