Director X on arvau

Wikipedia / Director X

Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres since 1998, including Jay-Z, Drake, Future, John Mayer, Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Usher, Ice Cube, Little Mix, Fabolous, Fifth Harmony, Mystikal and Akon. In film, he directed the crime thriller Superfly in 2018, which saw mixed reception. In television, he created the short-lived action drama Robyn Hood in 2023.

Early life

Lutz was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, mostly in and around Brampton, and is of mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Swiss descent.

Career

Early work

Lutz began his career working on several productions; he was a visual consultant on Hype Williams' 1998 film Belly. Lutz was slated to direct Disney's horror feature Razorwire, though the film never moved into production.

Music videos

Lutz worked on several projects and trained under Hype Williams. Since the late 1990s, Lutz has directed dozens of music videos and been noted for his high-budget, visually distinctive music videos, including for The Wanted, R. Kelly, Aaliyah, DMX, Mystikal, Usher, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Korn, David Guetta, Nelly Furtado, Sean Paul, Justin Bieber, Drake, Nicki Minaj, T.I., Little Mix, Rihanna, Union J, Fifth Harmony, Miguel, One Direction, Zayn Malik and Iggy Azalea. In 2004, Lutz appeared in Mya Baker's documentary film Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality in America.

In 2015, Lutz founded his own production company, Popp Rok, in Toronto. In 2017, he appeared on episode 7 of Cycle 23 of America's Next Top Model ("X Marks The Spot") as the director for a Gypsy Sports-themed music video.

Films

In addition to music video directing, Lutz has directed two feature films and one television film; he made his feature directorial debut in 2015 with Across the Line. The film starred Stephan James and the storyline was inspired by the 1989 Cole Harbour District High School race riots. Across the Line was set and shot in Nova Scotia. The first screening of Across the Line was 19 September 2015 at the Atlantic Film Festival where it won the award for "Best Atlantic Feature".

In 2016, he directed the teen drama television film Center Stage: On Pointe. The film stars Nicole Muñoz, Barton Cowperthwaite, Maude Green, Chloe Lukasiak, Kenny Wormald and Peter Gallagher. It premiered on Lifetime on June 25, 2016. The official DVD was released on September 6, 2016. Variety critic Sonia Saraiya noted of Lutz's direction, "...though it is frustrating that the film feels like 15-odd low-budget music videos strung together, the dance in those segments, and the way it's filmed, are some of the best parts of the movie."

In 2018, Lutz directed Superfly, a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation film of the same name. Superfly was released in the United States on June 13, 2018, and received mixed reviews from critics. Varietys Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Shot in a functional, slammed-together manner that's less sensually stylish than you'd expect from a music-video auteur, the film is a competent yet glossy and hermetic street-hustle drug thriller, less a new urban myth than a lavishly concocted episode. It holds your attention yet leaves you with nothing."