Source: VH1
By: Compant Press Release
(NEW YORK, NY) — Hot wax dripping onto Ricky Martin’s chest. Hip-grinding strippers strutting their stuff for Madonna. A naked D’Angelo. “Sad Eyes” featuring porn star Cassiedy. Music videos are pushing the limits more than ever. But where is the fine line between sexy and objectionable?
“VH1 All Access” examines how music videos have pushed the boundaries from naughty to nasty when the series’ latest edition “How Far Is Too Far?” premieres on Thursday, January 11 at 10:00-11:00 p.m. (ET/PT).
Are music videos sexier and wilder than the used to be? Are viewers turned on or turned off? “VH1 All Access: How Far Is Too Far?” features comments from Ricky Martin, Shania Twain, Madonna, Jewel and Jay Z, plus record industry insiders and music critics, as it looks at both sides of the debate:
Hot video director David LaChappelle found that his provocative video for Enrique Iglesias’ “Sad Eyes,” featuring porn star Cassiedy, was way too hot for the artist’s record company, and it has never seen the light of day. “It wasn’t that it was graphically too strong,” LaChappelle says. “I’m not stupid … I don’t do a video where you’re showing body parts or sex acts … The idea was too strong that he was alone in his room, basically, masturbating to a video.”
Hollywood actress and TV host Tawny Kitaen was the original ’80s music video sex symbol, memorably starring in four videos for Whitesnake (alongside then-boyfriend David Coverdale). “When I look at what they’re doing now on videos comparatively to what we did 15 years ago …was in a long dress, I had clothes on,” she says. These days, she adds, “I won’t even let my daughter watch MTV anymore.”
Dancer and aspiring actress Edrickcan La Quan looks for industry exposure through her work in music videos, but draws her own line between sexy and sorry: She has appeared in videos for Will Smith, Wu Tang Clan and others, but turned down Sisqo’s “Thong Song.” “They want to see the skin, they want to see flesh,” she says. “And if you’ve put yourself in a position where you’re going to be an object, that’s the decision that you’ve made.”
In an exclusive study, VH1 assembled a special focus group consisting of 20 music fans, who view and discuss some of the most famous and notorious music videos of recent years. In addition, the panel members were electronically monitored to capture a second-by-second breakdown of their thoughts and reactions. What did they find sexy? What did they find objectionable? Moderated by VH1’s Rebecca Rankin, the discussion turned into a lively, sometimes heated debate, with men and women revealing very different attitudes towards what they see on the screen.
VH1 sets aside every Thursday night at 10:00 p.m. for “VH1 All Access,” debuting some of the network’s most diverse and popular shows. Upcoming shows include “Girls, Girls, Girls,” an in-depth look at the struggles and success of rock’s divas, souls sisters and dance queens (January 25); “Rock & Roll Divorces/Breakups,” chronicling rock couples in splitsville, like Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, and Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit, among others (February 1); “Sex and Groupies” (February 8); “Grammy’s Greatest Performances” (February 15), and “Money 2000” (February 22).
VH1 produces and programs a wide variety of music-based series, specials, live events and acquisition-based programming that keep viewers in touch with the music they love. VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV 2: Music Television, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TV Land and VH1 as well as The Suite from MTV Networks, a package of ten digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.
