Samuel Bayer

Samuel David Bayer (born February 17, 1965) is an American visual artist, cinematographer, photographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with a degree in Fine Arts. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1991.

Bayer's work includes Nirvana's music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Blind Melon's "No Rain" video as well as award-winning commercials for brands like Chrysler, Nike, and Coca-Cola.^[1]

In addition to Nirvana and Blind Melon, Bayer has shot and directed videos for Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, the Cranberries, Green Day, David Bowie, Iron Maiden, Garbage, the Strokes, Metallica, Ramones, the Smashing Pumpkins, Justin Timberlake and My Chemical Romance, among others. Bayer has won seven MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 2005 as well as Best Direction in 2005 and 2007.

In 1996, his Nike commercial, "If You Let Me Play", won an Association of Independent Commercial Producers Award for Best Direction. In 2011, his Super Bowl spot for Chrysler, "Born of Fire", received multiple awards, including an Emmy and a Cannes Gold Lion.^[2]

New Line Cinema and Platinum Dunes selected Bayer to direct their remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.^[3] With a production budget of $35 million, the film held the number-one spot at the US box office in its first week in April 2010. The film starred Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley and introduced Rooney Mara in her first major studio role.

• A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) (director)

Bayer had been attached to direct various different films over the years such as:

• Monster's Ball^[32]
• Get Carter, the 2000 remake starring Sylvester Stallone^[33]
• A cancelled remake of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia starring Benicio del Toro^[34]
• A cancelled remake of Vanishing Point for Scott Free Productions^[35]
• The Amityville Horror, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning were all turned down by him.^[36]
• A cancelled remake of Near Dark for Platinum Dunes^[37]
• Black Water Transit^[38]
• Brilliance, a heist film starring Scarlett Johansson^[39]
• The Boys, based on the comic book. He expressed interest in directing the film adaptation.^[40]
• Tumor, based on the graphic novel^[41]
• Icarus Rises, an original premise that he developed for a decade. A proof of concept trailer was released in 2017.^[42]

On March 3, 2013, Bayer opened his first major solo exhibition at ACE Gallery Beverly Hills entitled, "Diptychs & Triptychs". Bayer presented a series of sixteen twelve-foot-tall, female nude triptychs as well as four ten-foot-tall diptych portraits. In an Interview magazine article, Bayer commented that "the initial effect of the portraits are overwhelming, and a bit spooky."

In 2014, at the Sean Penn & Friends Help Haiti Home Gala sponsored by Giorgio Armani, Bayer debuted a series of photographs that were portraits and documentary of life in the tent camps.

Bayer spoke about shooting celebrities in an Interview Magazine piece called "Samuel Bayer's American Image". In it, he mentions working with David Bowie, saying, "When I worked with Bowie [on “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson“], Interview magazine came down to the set and printed a bunch of stuff from the shoot. That was one of my favorite people. Working with Bowie was amazing. I wish they were all like that."

• 1992 MTV Video Music Award – Best Alternative Video – Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"^[43]
• 1996 MTV Video Music Award – Best Rock Video – Metallica: "Until It Sleeps"
• 2005 MTV Video Music Award – Video of the Year – Green Day: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
• 2005 MTV Video Music Award – Best Direction in a Video – Green Day: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
• 2005 MTV Video Music Award – Best Cinematography – Green Day: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
• 2005 MTV Video Music Award – Viewer's Choice – Green Day: “American Idiot"
• 2005 Music Video Production Association Award – Best Rock Video of the Year – Green Day: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
• 2005 Music Video Production Association Award – Best Cinematography – Green Day: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
• 2005 Kodak – Salute to Music Video Cinematography – Green Day: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
• 2005 Kodak Lifetime Achievement Award – Excellence in Cinematography – Music Video^[44]
• 2006 Music Video Production Association Award – Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2006 MuchMusic Video Award – Best International Video Group – Green Day: "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
• 2007 MuchMusic Video Award – Best International Video Group – My Chemical Romance: "Welcome to the Black Parade"
• 2007 MTV Video Music Award – Best Direction – Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around... Comes Around"
• 2013 Camerimage — Lifetime Achievement in Music Videos ^[45]

• 1996 AICP Show – Direction & Dialogue or Monologue – Nike: "If You Let Me Play"
• 1996 International Andy Awards – Nike: "If You Let Me Play"
• 1997 AICP Show – Cinematography, Direction and Production Design – Packard Bell: "Home"
• 1998 AICP Show – Production – Mountain Dew: "Thank Heaven"
• 1999 AICP Show – Production – Reebok: "Clones", Mountain Dew: "Parking"
• 2001 Clio Television & Cinema – Direction – Mountain Dew: "Showstopper"
• 2005 AICP Show – Production – Mountain Dew: "Iditarod"
• 2011 AICP Show – Editorial – Chrysler: "Born of Fire"
• 2011 Emmy Award – Outstanding Commercial – Chrysler: "Born of Fire"
• 2011 Cannes Gold Lion, Film Craft – Direction – Chrysler: "Born of Fire"
• 2011 International Andy Awards – TV: Spot Over 30s – Chrysler: "Born of Fire"

• 2011 People's Choice Awards – Favorite Horror Movie – A Nightmare on Elm Street

• Samuel Bayer at IMDb
• Bayer's commercial work and biography at the site of the production company HSI Productions
• Bayer's work at the site of the SFX company Method Studio