The Kiss of Venus (by Dominic Fike)

Timeline This film has been released in 2021

Release date:

Mar 11, 2021

About

From YouTube:

The official music video for ‘The Kiss of Venus’ featuring Dominic Fike. Filmed in New York, ‘The Kiss of Venus’ is the first offering from the new album ‘McCartney III Imagined’ and turns the tender acoustic ballad into a retro-futuristic R&B tour de force. […]

Credits
Directed by Jack Begert
Produced by Psycho Films
Written by Florida Man
Creative Director: Reed Bennett
Exec. Producer: Sam Canter
Producers: Rodney Byerson, Wyatt McBride

From producer Jack Begert on Instagram, March 11, 2021:

So proud of you Dom. We all poured a lot into this one. So honored to have been able to work with Sir Paul, as well as such a hardworking and talented New York crew.

Shout out to @camsanter for making miracles happen, and @reedbenn for never letting me compromise. And @christopher.c.ripley for sprinkling secret magic dust onto the camera before each shot.

Credits:

Directed by @jackbegert
Produced by @psychofilms
Written by Florida Man

Creative Director: @reedbenn
Exec. Producer: @camsanter
Producers: @mr_adproducer @wyatt_mcbryatt
DP: @christopher.c.ripley
Commissioner: @byron
Head of Production (Psycho): @geenahkrisht
Production Manager: Aaron Argomido
Phantom Tech: Mark Sasahara
Guitar POV Shot By: @daniel
1st AC: @nwiesner
2nd AC: @madebydanlam
Production Designer: @richhanproblems
Set Decorator: Adam DiCarlo
Art PA: Sampson Dahl
1st AD: @brooklynholla
2nd AD: Shawn McLaughlin
Loc. Manager: @jojorabbi
Gaffer: Freddy Cintron
Key Grip: @allcitysmitty
BBE: @mozlighting
BBG: Dwane Harris
Swing: @mildpr
MUA: @shannonk.young
CCO: Brittney Britt
Cone Man: First Unit Productions
Flagger: Christian Eatman
Flagger: Marlon Reid
PA: Mike Fernandez
PA: Salvie Villafana
PA: Art Thomas
PA: Adam Kenner
PA: Ashley Thomas

Editor: Jack Begert
Asst. Editor: @neal_farmstrong
VFX: @mugenthemadking
Addtl. VFX: @sirfinch
Color: Christopher Ripley
Beauty: @flawlesspostproduction

UK Unit:

Producer: @harrikama
2nd Unit DP: @lorenzolevrini
Focus Puller: Nacho Guzman
Steadicam: @mrallsop
Sound Operator: @mattflack2001
Streaming Engineer: Will Gardner
Assistant: Anu Lyall
Medic: Ciara Murphy
Makeup Artist: Jo Bull

Special Thanks:

@nytimes
@garcia_alexandra
Nick D’Andrea Jr.
@dianasilverss
@sydneygolombek
@arjunie
@misterbresident
@scottquest
Steve Ithell
Ben Chappell
@vuernick
@handheldfilms
@cinemavisionrentals
@pacesetmedics
@charbabyfresh& @everythingthatsgoingon

From Alternative Press (altpress.com):

[…] The visual shows Fike as a New York City businessman questioning the words and stories found in our everyday news cycle. Ultimately, the video is a creative call to action to not always believe what you read in the media. Of course, McCartney has a cameo in the visual. He appears at the end of the video peacefully reading The New York Times in the middle of a park. […]

when I started making this, the song wasn’t out yet and it was surreal to think that there was no youtube video to teach me how to play it. that I was the first person to get to figure it out. it started out as an exact cover but quickly morphed into this because there was no world where I was going to try and outdo the original so I made it my own. I still can’t believe this happened, thank you for being the ultimate source @paulmccartney

thank u @jackbegert for directing, this ones special and much love to the @nytimes for having us

Dominic Fike – from Instagram, March 11, 2021

From Dominic Fike Video Shows Paul McCartney and New York Times – The New York Times (nytimes.com), April 16, 2021:

[…] The 78-year-old former Beatle himself makes a cameo at the end of the video, seated on a bench outside London. He whistles the tune as the camera zooms in on the copy of The New York Times International issue he is perusing. Mr. McCartney slowly lowers the paper to reveal wide eyes and a shock of gray hair. Then he raises his eyebrows and grins.

“Paul whistled that perfectly the first time,” Jack Begert, who directed the video, said. “He’s elite.”

Mr. Begert added that the image of Mr. McCartney enthusiastically poring over a copy of the paper underscores that he, ultimately, is the source of the music. “Even though Dom reimagined that song, at the end of the day, it’s a Paul McCartney song,” Mr. Begert said. […]

So how did The New York Times score a starring role in Mr. Fike’s video?

Mr. Begert said that he considered “The Kiss of Venus” a reflection of the stop-and-go energy of modern life — and that when the time came to conceptualize a video, his first thought was New York. “It’s still and beautiful, but also crazy,” he said.

The video’s creative director, Reed Bennett, suggested the Times printing plant. “I was like, ‘That’s perfect,’” Mr. Begert said. “I wanted to link back to the theme of one person feeling small but also like they have a really important place in the universe.”

The cavernous, 550,000-square-foot plant — about the size of 11 and a half football fields — prints copies of The Times each night, along with copies of Newsday and USA Today. […]

Last updated on April 19, 2021