Screen Junkies » beastie boys

Adam Yauch’s Most Cutting Edge Projects

Wookie Johnson — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:24:07 +0000

The passing of Adam Yauch was a sad way to enter the weekend. As one-third of the Beastie Boys, MCA won over millions of fans and shaped today’s pop culture landscape. Yauch’s creativity extended far past what was laid down in the recording studio and into the creation of some of the most influential music videos of all time. This talent eventually bled over into film when Yauch co-founded the Oscilloscope Laboratories. A distribution company he used to curate and release independent films and documentaries like Dear Zachary, The Exploding Girl, Meek’s Cutoff, and We Need to Talk About Kevin, as well as the Yauch-directed Awesome: I F*ckin’ Shot That! and Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot.

I really feel that we just lost one of the coolest men in the world. To honor him and the innovations he gave us, I’ve put together a few of his most groundbreaking and filmic works.

(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)

The Beasties exploded into the mainstream with their anti-partying party anthem. The video depicts a party that goes awry when “bad people” show up. This video actually owes its premise from an unlikely place… George Romero‘s Dawn of the Dead. The film features scenes of a motorcycle gang who crash into a zombie-filled mall, overturning everything, smashing televisions, and attacking zombies with pies to the face. The video budget being non-existent, the Beasties famously used rancid whipped cream they found in the garbage cans behind the supermarket.

Sabotage

The art form of music videos were brought to a new level thanks to Sabotage. Directed by frequent collaborator Spike Jonze, the video is an homage to the cop dramas of the 1970′s. Wearing wigs and fake mustaches, the band played the show characters in the fictionalized credit sequence. When the video didn’t take home the top honors at the MTV Video Music Awards, MCA bum-rushed the stage in the guise of Nathaniel Hornblower to protest the dis. It’s safe to say, MCA had great influence over Kanye’s career.

Beastie’s ‘Fight’ Features Every Actor With a SAG Card

Penn Collins — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:49:49 +0000

The premise is stil unknown for Adam Yauch’s (Beastie Boy Adrock) film short Fight For Your Right Revisited, but the casting news alone is enough to raise your eyebrows and drop your jaw. Playlist says that the previously announced Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black, will be joined by (deep breath) Orlando Bloom, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Buscemi, Ted Danson, Rainn Wilson, Will Arnett, Chloë Sevigny, Rashida Jones, Martin Starr, David Cross, Steve Buscemi, Jody Hill. It’s a small miracle that the rest of Hollywood wasn’t forced to shut down during the filming of this short.

The film will be screened for the first time on Thursday at Sundance Film Festival, so expect the cat to be out of the bag about 45 seconds after the credits roll. Clearly, the Beasties have built enough cred up to enlist the A-list talent mentioned above, but will it be any good?

They’ve certainly got a pedigree in making music videos, having worked with Spike Jonze for the iconic “Sabotage” video, and their sensibility appears to be in the right place, but we should know for sure come Friday. Fingers crossed that the short ends in a pie fight.

Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, Will Ferrell, and Jack Black To Take On Beastie Boys

Col. Longshanks — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:43:58 +0000

What’cha, what’cha, what’cha want, Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, Will Ferrell, and Jack Black? Oh, to star in a short film based on the Beastie Boys‘ 1987 music video (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party). Adam Yauch, Beastie/movie producer, will write and direct the film entitled Fight For Your Right Revisited. The aforementioned comedy crew, in addition to John C. Reilly, will play the dicks who crash the righteous party.

According to JoBlo, the short film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and the synopsis posted on the festival’s official website describes the film thusly: “After the boys leave the party…” Ooooo, how cryptic. It’s almost as if anything could happen, though foul language and shouting is almost a certainty. I don’t think Danny McBride signs on to projects unless he can use several synonyms for the word “penis.”