| Simon Milne | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Born | New Zealand |
| Occupation | Film director, painter |
| Associated acts | Duran Duran Elton John |
| Director | |
Simon Milne is a New Zealand film director, painter and long-time lover of dance, who directed Duran Duran's "Union of the Snake" music video.
Biography[]
Beginnings[]
Originally from New Zealand, Simon grew up in Italy and finished his education in the UK. He began his career as an assistant photographer and moved into film editing in the early 1980s. He then started writing and directing music clips at a time when music videos were in it's infancy. He was later introduced to dance by the choreographer Arlene Philips, who choreographed sequences into a number of his music videos, including Elton John's "Act of War" and "Deny the Passenger". He subsequently included dance in many of his video clips and worked with Graeme Murphy in Sydney (Australia) on Duran Duran's "Union of the Snake".
Union of the Snake[]
Russell Mulcahy had a long association with Duran Duran and was scheduled to direct the "Union of the Snake" video. In August 1983 he was in Sydney having discussions about his first feature film Razorback. Duran Duran were there at the same time, putting the finishing touches to their third album. "Union of the Snake" was to be the first single released from that eagerly awaited album. Russell conceived the video along with the band and their two managers. It was to be the first of a trilogy involving a lost document and subterranean worlds. Russell met Graeme Murphy, talked about the concept and the subterranean world, and engaged with him on the project. At the last minute Russell had to pull out due to pre-production commitments on Razorback, and Simon Milne had a call from EMI asking if he would fly to Australia to direct the video that was scheduled to start shooting later that week. Simon knew the band well as he had filmed them in concert and assisted Russell Mulcahy on their "Rio" video and so four days later was directing "Union of the Snake".
Paintings[]
Simon began experimenting with oil painting in the 1980s, inspired by the abstract work of his friend Therese Oulton and encouraged by painter Gail Sagman. He moved to Sydney in the early 1990s where he continued to paint, moving into figurative work inspired by the oil painting and pastels of Elgar Degas. Simon's paintings are intimate in scale and reflect his love of choreography, movement, space and light.