There's really no telling if a music video director can successfully transfer into feature films. While some absolutely incredible talents have cut their teeth in the medium, including David Fincher, Mark Romanek, Spike Jonze, and Michel Gondry, there are cases like Samuel Bayer, McG, and Francis Lawrence who, perhaps, should have continued making videos under four minutes. Hype Williams is fairly untested in this arena. While the director has more than a couple videos under his belt, his only previous attempt at a feature was the 1998 film Belly, which wasn't exactly the most successful debut on the books. Now he's apparently ready to give it another go.
Variety has learned that Williams is now attached to direct Lust, the new film from Basic Instinct writer Joe Eszterhas. First announced back in April, the plot is described as "Fatal Attraction in reverse," the story is about a man married to a Miami magazine publisher. When the publisher is seduced by a young playboy and a video of their affair gets out, her life begins to unravel. According to the report, the film has a strong musical element which is one of the reasons why Williams ended up getting the job. The project has a $28 million budget. When asked why Williams was ultimately chosen, producer Peter J. Fruchtman said "He's always been able to make everything he does sexy and hip, which is what we need,"
Hype Williams really does have a great directorial eye, but the big question that must always be asked of directors moving from one format to the other is whether or not he can keep a story together. At this point I have no idea what to expect from an Eszterhas script, so that could easily make Williams' life heaven or hell. For those unfamiliar with Williams' work, check out the video below for "All of the Lights" by Kanye West. It's obviously inspired by Gaspar Noe's Enter The Void, but it's still a pretty fantastic video.
