Jonas Åkerlund
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "about". Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (Script error: No such module "IPA".; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish filmmaker and musician who is best known for his work in music videos. Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory. According to Jillian Drachman Metal Injection, "many people do not know that Jonas Åkerlund is a musician."[1]
He has directed well-known videos for artists such as Queens of the Stone Age, Christina Aguilera, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Blink-182, Blondie, Duran Duran, Lady Gaga, David Guetta, Jamiroquai, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Metallica, Moby, Ozzy Osbourne, P!nk, the Prodigy, the Smashing Pumpkins, Rammstein, Britney Spears, the Rolling Stones, U2, Robbie Williams and Ghost.
Åkerlund's video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and a record five MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year. In 2008, he won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film for directing Madonna's The Confessions Tour DVD, and won the award again in 2014 for his work on Paul McCartney's Live Kisses DVD. He also directed the films Spun (2002), Horsemen (2009), Small Apartments (2012), Lords of Chaos (2018), and Polar (2019).
Career
Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory from 1983 to 1984. He directed Candlemass' first music video "Bewitched", which was also his debut as a music video director. He then became the main video director for Roxette. In 1997, he directed the video for the Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up", which sparked controversy due to its depiction of drug use, violence, and nudity. In 1998, he worked with Madonna on the song "Ray of Light". He directed the music video for the Smashing Pumpkins' song "Try, Try, Try", from which a short film entitled Try was spawned. He was also the designer and photographer for the Roxette album Room Service in 2001. His first full-length film, Spun, depicting three days in the lives of Methamphetamine addicts, debuted in 2002.[2]
Åkerlund directed commercials for Swedish clothing retailer MQ and the re-imagining of the Devo song "Watch Us Work It" used in Dell Computers commercials. He is a long-time collaborator of Madonna, having worked on such music videos as "Music", "American Life" (which was pulled due to its graphic content and the Iraq War), and "Jump". He also directed the documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret about Madonna and her concert special The Confessions Tour: Live from London.
Åkerlund's other work includes the controversial music video for Rammstein's "Pussy", the video for the song "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, and Duran Duran's single "Girl Panic!"[3] In 2009, Åkerlund's second film, the psychological thriller Horseman, had a limited release before going to home video.[4]
Åkerlund's third movie, Small Apartments (2012), went direct to DVD.[5] Per Gessle, of Roxette, was credited for the music and soundtrack.[6] In 2018, Åkerlund's fourth film, Lords of Chaos, premiered at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah,[7] receiving its wide release the next year.[8][9] The film is adapted from the 1998 book of the same name, and is a historical fiction account of the 1990s Norwegian black metal scene, told from the perspective of Mayhem co-founder Euronymous.[10]
In 2019, Åkerlund released his fifth film on the streaming service Netflix, Polar, an action-noir film starring Mads Mikkelsen based on the graphic novel.[11]
Videography
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Filmography
Feature films
- Spun (2003)
- Horsemen (2009)
- Small Apartments (2012)
- Lords of Chaos (2018)
- Polar (2019)
Concert and documentary films
- Madonna: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2005)
- Madonna: The Confessions Tour (2007) (won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video)
- Paul McCartney: Live Kisses (2012) (won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Music Film)
- On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z (2014)[44]
- Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live (2015)
- Roxette: Roxette Diaries (2016)
- Rammstein: Paris (2017)
- DuEls (2024)
- Madonna – Made of the future (2024)
- Madonna: The Celebration Tour in Rio (2024)
- Metallica Saved My Life (2025)
- Billy Idol Should Be Dead (2025)
Television
- Clark (2022; TV series) (directed all 6 episodes with Kirke Ailio Rodwell as 1st Assistant Director)
Awards
- 2014 – Grammy – Best Music Film: Paul McCartney's "Live Kisses"[45]
- 2011 – Echo Awards – Best National Video: Rammstein "Ich tu dir weh"
- 2010 – MVPA Awards – Best Collaboration: Lady Gaga feat Beyoncé "Telephone"
- 2009 – MVPA Awards – Lady Gaga "Paparazzi"
- 2008 – MVPA Awards – James Blunt "Same Mistake"
- 2008 – Grammy – Best Long Form Music Video: Madonna NBC Special "The Confessions Tour"
- 2008 – Silver Addy – Dell "Work it Out"
- 2007 – MVPA Hall of Fame – Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up"
- 2004 – MVPA Awards – Robbie Williams "Come Undone"
- 1999 – Grammy – Best Short Form Music Video: Madonna "Ray of Light"
- 1998 – MTV Video Music Award – Madonna "Ray of Light" (five awards: Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Choreography - Jonas Åkerlund was also the editor and he and Madonna were the choreographers for this video)
- 1998 – MTV Video Music Award – Best Dance Video: The Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up"
References
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Further reading
- Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena: Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen. Bielefeld, Germany, 2005, p. 117ss., p. 146ss., p. 448
External links
- Template:Trim/ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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- Jonas Åkerlund at the MVDbase.com Template:Webarchive
- CNN interview with Jonas Åkerlund
- Jonas Åkerlund official web page
- R.A.F. official web page
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