Just like TV used to be considered the minor leagues of Hollywood, music videos have sometimes been looked at as a place for major leaguers to have some fun when they’re not making important art films or huge blockbusters.
But that’s not always the case. Take the latest examples of big name Hollywood directors who’ve taken a pay cut to make music clips: Academy Award nominees Paul Thomas Anderson and M. Night Shyamalan. Both have dipped into the music video pool, Anderson with his haunting clip for Radiohead‘s “Daydreaming” and Shyamalan with Andra Day’s “Rise Up.” (Day’s debut video for “Forever Mine” was directed by none other than Spike Lee.)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Music Videos: 11 Clips From Radiohead, Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom & More
Here’s a look at 13 other videos you may not have realized were directed by Hollywood big shots.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Under the Bridge”
Director: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk)
Other videos he’s directed: “Fame ’90,” David Bowie; “Creep,” Stone Temple Pilots; “Weird,” Hanson
Justin Timberlake, “Suit & Tie”
Director: David Fincher (Gone Girl, The Social Network)
Other videos he’s directed: “Cradle of Love,” Billy Idol; “Only,” Nine Inch Nails; “Vogue,” Madonna
The Chemical Brothers, “Go”
Director: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind)
Other videos he’s directed: “Cellphone’s Dead,” Beck; “Heard ‘Em Say,” Kanye West; “The Hardest Button to Button,” White Stripes
Faith Hill, “There You’ll Be”
Director: Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon)
Other videos he’s directed: “Falling In Love (Is Hard on the Knees),” Aerosmith; “I Touch Myself,” Divinyls; “Soldier of Love,” Donny Osmond
The White Stripes, “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”
Director: Sofia Coppola (The Bling Ring, Lost in Translation)
Other videos she’s directed: “This Here Giraffe,” The Flaming Lips; “Playground Love,” Air; “Chloroform,” Phoenix
The Killers, “Here With Me”
Director: Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland)
Other videos he’s directed: “Bones,” The Killers
Bruce Springsteen, “Dancing in the Dark”
Director: Brian De Palma (Carrie, Scarface)
Michael Jackson, “Bad”
Director: Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street, Casino)
New Order, “Touched By The Hand of God”
Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty)
Beastie Boys, “Sabotage”
Director: Spike Jonze (Where the Wild Things Are, Her)
Other videos he’s directed: “100%,” Sonic Youth; “Buddy Holly,” Weezer; “Only One,” Kanye West
The Crystal Method, “Born Too Slow”
Director: Gore Verbinski (The Lone Ranger, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End)
Other videos he’s directed: “S&M Airlines,” NOFX; “21st Century Digital Boy,” Bad Religion; “Negasonic Teenage Warhead,” Monster Magnet
Lil Wayne, “Mirror”
Director: Antoine Fuqua (Southpaw, Training Day)
Other music videos he’s directed: “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” Prince; “Gangsta’s Paradise,” Coolio; “Citizen Soldier,” 3 Doors Down
The Offspring, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”
Director: McG (We Are Marshall, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle)
Other videos he’s directed: “Every Morning,” Sugar Ray; “All Star,” Smashmouth; “Santeria,” Sublime