Its hard to ignore the similarities between Michael Kenneth Williamss character Omar Little on The Wire and his character in the MGMT music video for "Cool Song No. 2," directed by Isaiah Seret. These similarities are no surprise given the fact that the video co-writer, Mindy LeBrock, actually has a cat named "Omar Little." The narrative of the video however, which centers around a drug that can cause bizarre plant-like growth on humans, turns out to be a lot more twisted than anything Omar encountered on the show. We talked to Isaiah about casting Michael, the narrative influences of the video, and the beautiful, otherworldly look that it possesses.
Doug: You co-wrote this video with Mindy LeBrock. What's the process of writing a video like this? Was it scripted out more like a short film?
Isaiah: Mindy and I actually wrote this while stuck at a tiny airport in South Africa. We were there for 24 hours - including a night in a hotel that felt super Lost In Translation. Basically, she had this Plant Hunter character, and I had the Tree character, and by the time we caught a flight out, it was done. For the writing, it wasnt exactly like a script, more scenes and moods, but what was on paper is very close to the final product.
Doug: Was the style or narrative inspired by anything?
Isaiah: Mindy and I have a shared aesthetic, and we spoke of New Jack City and Repo Man as references, but while at the airport, neither of us could remember the stories and obviously it ended up pretty far from them.
Doug: Did the song play a significant role?
Isaiah: We had the story before the song came to us, but the track was the glue. It was channeling the same world and revealed plot points, especially in terms of the relationship, and the lovers learning to let go.
Tech scout with Isaiah, Braxton Pope, and Bradford Young. Photo by Adam Drosin.
Doug: How did the casting of Michael Kenneth Williams come about? Was the character written with him in mind, or did he come into the project later?
Isaiah: Michael came through my producer, Braxton Pope, who had cast him before. I guess he was who we wanted all along, but you know, you don't want to get your hopes up... But Mindys cat is named "Omar Little" if that is any indication of our love for him.
Doug: Was it the same for Henry Hopper?
Isaiah: Henry is a white unicorn - I knew him socially, and knew he had starred in a Gus Van Sant film, but he wasn't acting anymore, and a little over the whole Hollywood commodification machine. So, I had to stalk him, including psychic text messages - which is how I finally got a reply. But, with Henry, once he reviewed the treatment and said yes, he was very committed.
Doug: Was Henry and Michael's chemistry natural or did it take some work for those performances?
Isaiah: Well, I think they worked on their own characters, and then let them collide on set - they met that day for the first time. I was a little uncertain if they would be game to go all the way, bath scene and all, but they definitely were. And the chemistry was very tender and beautiful, especially with the song playing as mood music while we shot.
Doug: Barney Burman is credited as Prosthetics Artist on this video. Was Barney responsible primarily for the plant arms? Did you collaborate on that at all or just describe what you wanted?
Isaiah: Barney designed and manufactured Henrys character elements, hands, makeup, etc. He is an incredible artist who did the new Star Trek and so many other films, so we had a few talks, discussed the disease, pulled a number of references, and he just went to work. We then met for a fitting with Henry, he was already very close, so we just had to put the finishing touches on them.
Doug: There is an amazing juxtaposition in this video with these beautifully composed shots full of pretty intense violence. Was that juxtaposition something you guys were trying to play with? What were your and DP Bradford Young's goals for the look of this video?
Isaiah: We were trying to portray a character that was so sensitive, that every moment of violence causes him pain - yet he has to do it. Like a soldier. From here, we wanted to portray his world as intensely rich and colorful, with a hint of otherworldly. Or a world in which these plants mutate, cause euphoria, and so on. With all these elements in place, Brad and I just pushed each other to find the best way to capture it all, despite our small budget. And ultimately he and Alex Bickel (from Color Collective) did this intense color grade, which I still haven't fully processed, weeks later.
