From the Strange Collaborations Dept.:
We reported earlier that “Transformers” star Shia LaBeouf was preparing to get behind the camera to direct a video for ’90s shock-rocker Marilyn Manson and now you can see the R-rated result.
The actor, who has previously directed a video for rapper Cage, called the shots on “Born Villain,” which is a graphically violent short film inspired in equal measure by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali’s silent horror show “Un Chien Andalou,” and Shakespeare’s “MacBeth.” A companion photography book will also be released, so you can pore over the images for hours on end.
According to MTV.com, LaBeouf and Manson met at a Kills concert in L.A. where longtime-fan LaBeouf approached Manson about the possibility of collaborating. The ambitious tune “Born Villain” (with spoken Shakespearean interludes and references to the Greek myth of Persephone) seemed like a natural choice for video treatment.
In the video, people get made over — MM style — with generous amounts of hair-cutting, nudity, violence, mutilation, sex, strobe lighting and some really uncomfortable-looking body piercing. Oooh, and there’s a burning cross in there as well. What does it all mean? As you may have guessed, it’s definitely NSFW. Unless you work in a mortuary or a brothel or something.
Manson, whose next album is schedule to be released sometime in the fall, also recently collaborated on a track for Skylar Grey’s upcoming album.
Do you think Manson has anything to say anymore? Would it be more shocking for him to make a video without all this stuff?