LOTR/Narnia-inspired music video



This fantasy-themed music video for rocker Chris Dane Owens's song "Shine On Me" is like an, er, Renaissance Faire romance done up Hollywood style. It was directed by special effects artist Robert Short who won an Oscar for makeup in Beetlejuice and also worked on Splash, E.T., and The Predator. (Thanks, Kirsten Anderson!)

Discussion

Take a look at this
#1 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 10:57 AM

Can't tell if I'm supposed to enjoy this without a distancing veil of irony. Help!

Take a look at this

My eyes. Can we get a rat king or some medical curiosities for a chaser?

Take a look at this

And that very question, Anonymous, is where the magic is...

Take a look at this

The evil chick is hotter.

Take a look at this

my ears are very very angry with you.

Take a look at this

Wow. That was... so very incredibly bad.
It's like this guy thinks he's a cross between David Bowie and Errol Flynn.

Take a look at this
#7 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 11:22 AM

It's like "America We Stand As One" for the 26-sided dice crowd.

Take a look at this
#8 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 11:22 AM

I would rather watch a skin flick with my parents than view this with any other person in the room.

Take a look at this

Aaaargh! I just caught myself humming it in the shower. Aaaargh!

Take a look at this

I think the ethics of his moustache needs to be called out in light of exploding ships, Dr. Doom adversaries, haphazard grabbing of swordblades, and emerald green guitars.

Ack!

Take a look at this

Wait, you're trying to trick me into watching that "they're taking the hobbits to Isengard" video again, aren't you? It took me six months to get that stupid tune out of my head, I'm not going through that again!

Taking the hobbits to Isengard my ass. Stupid fat hobbit... Oh no!

Take a look at this

That's pretty kick-ass CG effects, considering it's the early 80's...

Oh wait...

Take a look at this
#13 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 11:37 AM

WOW! So good it hurts! We are betting this video would however give us a -2 to our Charisma roll!

-the Mixed Species guys-

Take a look at this

I felt like there was a whole cheesy movie that never got made here--probably a bad one, but more interesting than the song. Oh, the cliches, and I'm talking about the lyrics. That's a lot of dough Legolas must have spent to sing that song with the special effects laden movie behind him. Favorite moments: the American Revolutionary soldiers appearing near the end; the Dr. Doom-alike villain whose severed hand drops a very important looking box; the hired actors who make cameo portrait appearances--as if there really were a movie that this song comes from. Maybe there is!?

Take a look at this
#15 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 11:38 AM

I hope the random alligator won!

Take a look at this

I got about 40 seconds in, and couldn't take it anymore. Horrible.

Take a look at this

We're throwing the term 'rocker' around pretty loosely aren't we?

Take a look at this

To say I wasted precious oxygen-conversion time watching that video would be a bit strong. Now, at least, I know what to look for in truly, heroically, sycophantically ill-applied use of personal wealth in entertainment. Thank you Boing Boing.

Take a look at this
#20 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 11:49 AM

I just had to watch Limahl's video for A Neverending Story in order to cleanse myself of this. I suggest you all do the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3khTntOxX-k

Take a look at this

#11 DX - I blame YOU for me having that stuck in my head, now.

Take a look at this

xian: Worth it for the chaser.

Take a look at this

"I know it's not the most important thing, but that moustache is just wrong."

-- Diana Vreeland on Hitler

Take a look at this

Elric Stardust!

This is right up there with Gem Sweater.

Take a look at this

meh. I've seen hundreds of millions wasted.

Take a look at this

It's videos like this that makes it hard to remember "Spinal Tap" was only a parody.

Take a look at this

1. These effects aren't very special, Beavis.

2. That was hilarious. The "music" was ... unique.

3. re: "rocker" ... more of a crooner working in the whiteboy-electro-funk milieu...

Take a look at this

Also, is one of the Weird Sisters trying to give someone a bottle of Amaretto?

Take a look at this

Nice to see Hedwig finally gave up on the gimmicky hair and makeup, though the music is losing its edge.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Origin of Love


Take a look at this

I don't so much like the actual Gem Sweater thing as I like the idea of it. I approve of it, conceptually. Gem Sweater is right in so many ways, no matter that I can't listen to it.

But this is just wrong. Okay, the tackiness factor is just as high as Gem Sweater. But, but, but, where do I begin? Methinks Ms. Hall has a firmer grip on reality and what she does, takes a certain amount of balls, no, no, OVARIES! Ovaries the size of basketballs, which explains much about the way her golden jumpsuit fits her. And that's a big part of why her stuff is marvelous, if unwatchable.

But this is unwatchable in a way that is very ordinary. And the star, whatever his name is, clearly has no sense of reality, of absurdity, of just how ridiculously he is perceived. And that gets a conflicting response. One wants to shield him from the world because he is obviously such an idiot. So clueless, so clueless. Yet one wants to slap the shit out of him, both because he is so taken with himself (which is an unkind impulse) and because he fuckin' needs the slapping (which is a kind impulse. Because there are things in this world worse than that, and a bit of education might save him from worse. But methinks not. Methinks yonder fair youth is a hopeless tool.

Damn. And I had promised to not post on boingboing when I was hittin' the bourbon.

Take a look at this

I was looking into this over the weekend, because like many, I feel like this is only part of a larger work of "Awesome To Someone"-ness.

Much to my sadness/happiness, this is not the case. This is not clips from a made-for-Sci-Fi Channel movie, but a self-contained music video. Owens has an entire fiction built up, of which this is only a part. I hope/fear that we will never see the rest.

Also, he financed this himself, with money he's made producing reality TV shows. America, you are WELCOME.

Take a look at this

Mommy, why is the singing lady kissing the other lady?

Wait, I rephrase.

Mommy! Why!

Take a look at this

Also I want to thank David for posting this link. I was having a very rough day and it was just the tonic. I needed a dose of absurdity.

Take a look at this
#34 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 12:27 PM

3:19 thats the "Independence Angel" monument in Mexico City. What the hell is doing on this "fantasy" low budget video clip??

Ricardo Garcia,
Guadalajara, Mexico.

Take a look at this

I spent some time working with Bob Short earlier this year (if it indeed the same Bob Short).

I had no idea I was dealing with a madman. Respect!!!! :)

Take a look at this

I saw this post and just let it pass on by, then the comments built up, and they looked pretty horrified so I had to look..

What the fuck just happened?

Seriously? I'm so confused and disgusted. As someone mentioned above.. every cliche of every sort has been raped here. Lyrically, musically, visually.. the sets, the costumes, the riffs, the effects.. Someone's bankroll..

I mean, I've seen less cliched hiphop videos.. by Puff Daddy.

Who encouraged this guy? Jeez.

Take a look at this
#37 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 12:28 PM

Dear Chris Dane Owens,
Thank you for giving me my Christmas present early.

Love,
Kerry

Take a look at this

Oh dear. And thus we mourn he death of taste.

Take a look at this

Nice to see Hedwig finally gave up on the gimmicky hair and makeup

Actually the company that made the glitter lipstick went out of business. Believe me, I tried to order some.

Take a look at this

wow. that is just so ridiculously bad. for a video crew to actually put probably weeks into making this thing possible... i'm depressed for them.

Take a look at this

imagine Ben Stiller doing it.

Take a look at this

That's really a demo reel masquerading as a music video.

Further proof, if any were needed, that disintermediation isn't an unalloyed good.

Take a look at this

What _has_ it got in its pocketses?

Take a look at this

My Cheese Detector 9000 just broke.

Take a look at this

Wait... this isn't that "White Gold" guy from the milk ads?

Their similarity is all the more hilarious given that the milk industry has a better sense of parody than this guy.

Take a look at this

GAH GAH GAH MY EYES!

unicorn chaser, please! preferably something in an urban setting with bullets...

Take a look at this

Wasn't it already painful enough?

Take a look at this

Words fail. So does just screaming.

Take a look at this

because until some actually TRY directing and cinematography, they really don't know they can't.

Take a look at this

Narrative cohesiveness - ur doin it rong.

Take a look at this

Thanks Takuan for the website. Unbelievable. Under Videos, there is only one, but check out how decked out the page is. It's like gilding toast. He's gonna wince when he sees more than 50 posts here heralding the Re-Emergence of SCA Home Movies.

Take a look at this

Why is he referred to as a 'rocker'? That makes no sense. Even for the 80s.

Take a look at this

this is going to be the best x-mas present ever!

Take a look at this

Chris, Chris, don't worry, those people aren't your demopgraphic.

Take a look at this

I'm assuming this was made for a very small niche audience, and that furthermore I'm part of that niche.

Take a look at this

coming soon: The Chris-Roll, more feared than full on Prilling.

Take a look at this

Oh, no, wait you guys..

Turns out, he really is a rocker!

Phew!

(but he really should fire his photoshop guy, he's killing the magic)

Take a look at this

Oddly enough, I'd rather sit through this than anything currently on MTV or VH1.

Take a look at this
#64 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 9:18 PM

How mant turkeys/clowns died to make this video?

Take a look at this
#65 posted by Anonymous, December 10, 2008 10:50 PM

@19 Xian - HA! Perfect chaser.

This entire music video.... oh GODS! My little historical costuming soul just shriveled up in my chest and died.

Take a look at this

I'm not sold on the song, but the VIDEO, OMG! It's working on 8 levels at once. Amazing. Yes, it is apparent that many people worked very hard on this video. Thank them!

I don't see how anyone can compare this unfavorably to the Safety Dance video. That's like comparing Chinatown to The Maltese Falcon, or Andrew WK to Kiss, or Pierre Menard's Don Quijote to the Quijote of Cervantes.

Take a look at this

i can haz wind masheen!

(Or in the words of my boyfriend, "invisible talent!")

I don't think I can describe how much I love this video. It's like a gift to my inner eight year old. I just can't explain to her why the outer thirty-one year old is cackling madly.

Take a look at this
#68 posted by Anonymous, December 11, 2008 5:07 AM

Rock? More like schlock-rock. Man that was the cheesiest music video I've ever seen..

Take a look at this

After forcing my wife to suffer through this, I was reading the comments to her. When I got to "Aaaargh! I just caught myself humming it in the shower. Aaaargh!" she said "that's so horrible.... omig-d, I'M DOING IT TOO! AAAAARGH!"


....


the more you listen to it, the better it gets. It's like an oldies station, playing the 80s, crossed with Legend, somehow...

Take a look at this

I can't wait for the sequel, "Mustachioed Chris Danes Against the World Crime League"

Leave a comment

Name:
Anonymous