It apparently wasn't until the day before the VMAs that Kanye West decided he would use his uninterrupted stage time to premiere his new visual for "Fade." According to the director behind the project, Eli Russell Linnetz, a 24-year-old graduate from the University of Southern California, the visuals weren't even completed yet. But, as everyone who tuned in witnessed, they somehow pulled it together. Fortunately, Linnetz, who is in the middle of a one-year artist residency with Kanye, is no stranger to collaborating with the Chicago rapper.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Linnetz talked about how he started working with Kanye, how he found inspiration on Pornhub, and what it was like shooting that last scene.
Linnetz met Kanye when he was just 17 years old after a friend inquired about working for DONDA. It wasn't long before he was brought on to help with some writing projects, something he said was "pretty surreal." Now, Linnetz collaborates with Kanye on whatever projects he needs, which so far has included his exhibit in Los Angeles that features the nude figures from his controversial "Famous" visual, which Linnetz served as the creative director of fabrications for. He's also worked on the elaborate stage setup for Kanye's Saint Pablo Tour.
“I just got an email from Kanye superlate at night,” Mr. Linnetz told The New York Times, “Saying, ‘I want you to direct ‘Fade.’ Space, space, space. 'Teyana Taylor dancing. Iman Shumpert.’”
Linnetz said when working with Kanye he is "taking thousands of years of culture and throwing them into a single frame or moment. That’s our approach whether it’s ‘Famous’ or ‘Fade’ or fashion or the tour.”
For "Fade," Linnetz drew inspiration from the Ohio Players' album covers and iconic images like Grace Jones boxing by Jean-Paul Goude, but also some more unexpected sources like Pornhub. "I pulled a lot of references from ’70s and ’80s porn, just on Pornhub. That was less about the imagery and more about the texture of the skin, the oiliness," he said.
Linnetz also shared what it was like shooting those steamy shower scenes with Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert. "Teyana and Iman were just so in love and down for whatever. [Their baby] Junie was crying, they were naked, the sheep were pooping and peeing everywhere. But they were really game. I had to tell them to be more aggressive in the shower, because they were just so sensual with each other."
When it comes to the last scene of Taylor as a lioness, Linnetz says it represents something much bigger on the way. "Kanye and I had worked a lot with prosthetics, with people who work for Rick Baker, who did some of the most famous effects of our time. We had worked with those people on 'Famous,' so we wanted to continue that language in a new way. The last image is foreshadowing bigger things to come, which you guys will find out about soon enough."
To read the entire interview head over to The New York Times.
