Paul Rosenberg
The Monster Explained
You have reached the voicemail box of: Suck it
Hey, Em. What's going on? It's Paul. Uh, I wanted to call you to let you know we're getting ready to shoot the "Monster" video. We got dates for Rihanna and she's gonna come out to Detroit and we can get it shot. We've got some concepts together based on your conversations with Rich Lee and I think we're ready to go.
So the basic concept is sort of like an Inception-type of vibe. The whole video sort of happens inside of your head and Rihanna, in the beginning, is gonna act as your therapist. And you answer into her office, you sit down and you sort of fall asleep or drift off; we're not really sure. And next thing you know, you're travelling in this elevator and the elevator sort of represents your journey and your career. And there's various stops along the way. We're gonna recreate some scenes from some of your classic moments.
I had to go home and get my straightjacket. Redoing this scene actually brings back no memories for me because I don't remember it. Dr Dre would say, "I'm glad to see you got your coat back on. The way things should be."
The scene from the "My Name Is" video, with you in the straightjacket and Dre as your therapist in the psychiatrist's office there.The song which recieved an Oscar for you ,yes "Lose yourself" will also be included. We're gonna go back and revisit "The Way I Am", with you jumping off the building, falling through the sky, with everything moving past you. And then we're also gonna do the classic Grammy scene, with you and Elton John performing "Stan".
[Eminem does an impersonation of Elton John performing Stan at the 2001 Grammy Performance]
"I can't see it all. Even if I could, it'll all be grey. But your picture on my wall, it reminds me that it's not so bad, it's not so bad".
So, all these things are going on in your head. You're travelling through the elevator, looking at it from a new perspective, with you watching yourself. And then when you finally get to the end of your journey in the elevator, you come out and you see this sort of caged beast. And the beast is actually Slim Shady.
Slim Shady's inside of this cage and you walk up and you don't really know what's going on. And then you see it's actually yourself. And Slim Shady's feeding you some notes and we can just assume that the notes might be some lyrics or some song titles scribbled on them. And the idea that you keep feeding Slim Shady with fame and all of the things that go along with it. And the songs'll keep coming back out.
So, it's really kind of a trip. It's very surreal. Less performance than some of your recent videos but this is more cinematic and it's more of a story through this journey.
So, anyway. Call me back after you listen to this. Um, I sent the treatment over, read through it and get ready for some really long days. Later.
I'm done. It's a wrap. Uh, I never want to perform in these clothes again. Way too small. I'm try'na go, like, quadruple X next time. So, these clothes are a fucking wrap too. Peace out.
And goodnight. Give it up for him, folks. Thank you very much.