You know Brett Ratner: the big-budget guy who directed Rush Hour and X-Men 3 (next up: Beverly Hills Cop 4!). But before he broke into Hollywood in the late '90s, this kid from Miami was one of the most sought-after music video directors in the biz. A new DVD that dropped yesterday called The Shooter Series Vol. 1: Brett Ratner
To give you a taste of his resume, we selected six of our favorite Ratner-directed videos—including bangers from Wu-Tang, D'Angelo, and Public Enemy—and asked the man himself to give a little commentary about how each classic came together. Believe us, the man's got stories for days...
Interview By Brendan Frederick
Wu-Tang Clan "Triumph" (1997)
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY: "It was the first million dollar rap video. When Steve Rifkind asked me, I said, 'Are you sure about this record? There's no chorus!' He says "Trust me, its gonna be the biggest record of the year. Only Wu-Tang could pull this off.' So, I set up the video—Joseph Kahn was my cinematographer. I hear that they want eleven Suburbans—they each want their own. They each also want $50,000 worth of gear, and they told me all their designers. So first day, these guys are walking in one at a time, and each guy walks into the dressing room, and walks out with plastic bags filled with all the clothes. I called Steve like, 'They're stealing all the clothes!' He's like, 'Don't worry, let them have it.'"
