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Director X

{{short description|Canadian music video director and producer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Director X

| image = LittleXFeb07.jpg

| caption = Director X in October 2005

| birth_name = Julien Christian Lutz

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|10|31}}

| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada

| death_date =

| death_place =

| other_names = {{flatlist|

  • X
  • Little X
  • Mr. X

}}

| occupation = {{flatlist|

  • Music video director
  • film director
  • producer

}}

| years_active = 1998–present

| spouse =

| website = {{URL|https://directorxfilms.com/}}

}}

Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres since 1998, including Jay-Z, Drake, Future, John Mayer, Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Usher, Ice Cube, Little Mix, Fabolous, Fifth Harmony, Mystikal and Akon. In film, he directed the crime thriller Superfly in 2018, which saw mixed reception. In television, he created the short-lived action drama Robyn Hood in 2023.

Early life

Lutz was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, mostly in and around Brampton, and is of mixed Trinidadian and Swiss descent.{{Cite web|url=http://www.DirectorXfilms.com/|title=Director X|website=www.directorxfilms.com|language=en-us|access-date=2018-06-28}}{{Primary source inline|date=August 2024}}

Career

= Early work =

Lutz began his career working on several productions; he was a visual consultant on Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly. Lutz was slated to direct Disney's horror feature Razorwire, though the film never moved into production.{{cite web|url=http://www.superiorpics.com/little_x_/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216211716/http://www.superiorpics.com/little_x_/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2013|title=The Little X. Picture Pages|work=Celebrity Profiles|access-date=19 January 2013}}

= Music videos =

Lutz worked on several projects and trained under Hype Williams.[http://www.littlexonline.com/ Official Little X website "About"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616032043/http://www.littlexonline.com/ |date=2005-06-16 }}{{Primary source inline|date=August 2024}} Since the late 1990s, Lutz has directed dozens of music videosand been noted for his high-budget, visually distinctive music videos, including for The Wanted, R. Kelly, Usher, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Korn, David Guetta, Nelly Furtado, Sean Paul, Justin Bieber, Drake, Nicki Minaj, T.I., Little Mix, Rihanna, Union J, Fifth Harmony, Miguel, One Direction, Zayn Malik and Iggy Azalea.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} In 2004, Lutz appeared in Mya Baker's documentary film Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality in America.{{cite web|url=http://www.bherc.org/Film_Festivals/AAFMarketplace/Schedule/2004/FilmShowcase/maryPickfordTheaterEv4.html|title=African American Film Marketplace - Film Showcase Lets Talk about Sex TOO|website=www.bherc.org|publisher=Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-date=5 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005220833/http://www.bherc.org/Film_Festivals/AAFMarketplace/Schedule/2004/FilmShowcase/maryPickfordTheaterEv4.html|url-status=dead}}

In 2015, Lutz founded his own production company, Popp Rok, in Toronto.{{Cite news|url=https://popprok.com/directors/director-x/|title=Director X - Popp Rok|work=Popp Rok|access-date=2018-06-28|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628124740/https://popprok.com/directors/director-x/|url-status=dead}}{{Primary source inline|date=August 2024}} In 2017, he appeared on episode 7 of Cycle 23 of America's Next Top Model ("X Marks The Spot") as the director for a Gypsy Sports-themed music video.{{cite web|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lu0hUjOWYrg|title=The Models Film a Video Vixen Shoot w/ Director X - America's Next Top Model|website=YouTube|date=24 March 2018 |access-date=2023-09-28}}{{Primary source inline|date=August 2024}}

= Films =

In addition to music video directing, Lutz has directed two feature films and one television film; he made his feature directorial debut in 2015 with Across the Line. The film starred Stephan James and the storyline was inspired by the 1989 Cole Harbour District High School race riots.{{cite news|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1312095-atlantic-filmfest-undone-finds-hope-amid-racial-tension|title=Atlantic filmfest: Undone finds hope amid racial tension|last=Barnard|first=Elissa|date=18 September 2015|newspaper=Chronicle Herald|access-date=13 April 2016}} Across the Line was set and shot in Nova Scotia. The first screening of Across the Line was 19 September 2015 at the Atlantic Film Festival where it won the award for "Best Atlantic Feature".{{cite news|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1312366-undone-wins-best-atlantic-feature-at-atlantic-film-festival-awards|title=Undone wins best Atlantic feature at Atlantic Film Festival Awards|last=Nemetz|first=Andrea|date=20 September 2015|newspaper=Chronicle Herald|access-date=13 April 2016}}

In 2016, he directed the teen drama television film Center Stage: On Pointe. The film stars Nicole Muñoz, Barton Cowperthwaite, Maude Green, Chloe Lukasiak,{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/11/dance-moms-chloe-lukasik-center-stage-dance-camp-lifetime-1201602161/|title='Dance Moms' Alum Chloe Lukasiak Joins 'Center Stage' Threequel On Lifetime

|last=Petski|first=Denise|date=November 2, 2015|work=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 22, 2016}} Kenny Wormald and Peter Gallagher. It premiered on Lifetime on June 25, 2016.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/21/center-stage-pointe-dance-clip|title=Center Stage: On Pointe hits the dance floor in exclusive clip|last=Connolly|first=Kelly|date=June 21, 2016|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=June 25, 2016|quote=Center Stage: On Pointe premieres June 25 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.|archive-date=June 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624064324/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/21/center-stage-pointe-dance-clip|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YM1pa8ydZXI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/YM1pa8ydZXI |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Center Stage: On Pointe: First Look|date=May 4, 2016|publisher=Lifetime|via=YouTube|access-date=May 22, 2016}}{{cbignore}} The official DVD was released in September 6, 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.teenvogue.com/story/center-stage-on-pointe-exclusive-trailer-premiere|title=Watch 'Center Stage: On Pointe's Most Intense Trailer Yet|last=Briones|first=Isis|date=July 18, 2016|access-date=July 18, 2016}} Variety critic Sonia Saraiya noted of Lutz's direction, "...though it is frustrating that the film feels like 15-odd low-budget music videos strung together, the dance in those segments, and the way it's filmed, are some of the best parts of the movie."{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/reviews/tv-movie-review-center-stage-on-pointe-peter-gallagher-zoe-saldana-1201800790|title=TV Review: 'Center Stage: On Pointe'|last=Saraiya|first=Sonia|date=June 25, 2016|work=Variety|access-date=June 25, 2016}}

In 2018, Lutz directed Superfly, a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation film of the same name.{{cite web|url=https://www.bramptonguardian.com/opinion-story/8667471-superfly-gets-a-21st-century-update-from-director-x/|title=Opinion - Superfly gets a 21st century update from Director X|first=Peter|last=Howell|date=12 June 2018|website=BramptonGuardian.com}} Superfly was released in the United States on June 13, 2018 and received mixed reviews from critics. Variety{{'}}s Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Shot in a functional, slammed-together manner that's less sensually stylish than you'd expect from a music-video auteur, the film is a competent yet glossy and hermetic street-hustle drug thriller, less a new urban myth than a lavishly concocted episode. It holds your attention yet leaves you with nothing."{{cite magazine|last=Gleiberman|first=Owen|author-link=Owen Gleiberman|date=June 12, 2018|title=Film Review: 'Superfly'|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/superfly-review-trevor-jackson-1202841165/|magazine=Variety|publisher=Penske Business Media|access-date=June 12, 2018}}

Filmography

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}

= Television series =

= Feature films =

= Music videos =

2024

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

= Commercials =

References

{{Reflist}}

Books

  • Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena: [http://www.vttrs.de Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen]. Bielefeld 2005, p. 111ss.

External links

  • [http://www.icegearfitness.com/ X Fit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524055919/http://www.icegearfitness.com/ |date=2008-05-24 }}
  • {{IMDb name|1962311}}
  • [https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2018/11/13/a-mindful-solution-to-combating-gun-violence.html Director X in Toronto Star]

{{Director X}}

{{BET Award for Video Director of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1975 births

Category:Black Canadian filmmakers

Category:Canadian music video directors

Category:Canadian people of Swiss descent

Category:Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent

Category:Living people

Category:Film directors from Toronto

Category:People from Brampton

Category:Juno Award for Video of the Year winners