Music Videos
Taylor Swift "Wildest Dreams"
The accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who had previously assumed the role for the music videos for the singles “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood” from 1989. The music video was filmed primarily in the Serengeti plain in Tanzania, with additional shots filmed in Los Angeles and New Zealand.[46] The video premiered on television during the pre-show of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 31, 2015.[47] Scott Eastwood appeared in the video as Swift’s love interest.[48] In the video, Swift plays a fictional actress named Marjorie Finn which is a reference to her grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, and Eastwood plays a fictional actor named Robert Kingsley, combining Swift’s grandfather’s name Robert and her father’s middle name Kingsley. Swift came up with the concept after reading The Secret Conversations (2013), a memoir book of actress Ava Gardner who co-wrote it with journalist Peter Evans.[49] Her premise for the video was that, since social media did not exist in the 1950s, it would be impossible for actors to not fall in love if they were isolated together in Africa.[50]
According to Kahn, the video is based on classic Hollywood romances like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, as well as classic films such as The African Queen (1951), Out of Africa (1985) and The English Patient (1996).[51] Set in Africa during the classical Hollywood era of the 1950s, the video follows the story of Marjorie Finn (Swift), a brunette actress shooting a romantic adventure film, Wildest Dreams (a reference to the 1985 film Out of Africa), with co-star Robert Kingsley (Eastwood).[52] The video is interspersed with shots of African wildlife and natural scenery, including a cascading waterfall and Swift lounging with a lion. Finn and Kingsley fall in love, but after a fight on set, the romance ends. At the premiere of Wildest Dreams in the United States, Finn sees her co-star, Kingsley, with his wife. Finn is visibly upset but tries to act nonchalant. As they both watch the film, Finn flees the premiere and gets into a waiting limousine. The video ends with a shot of the limousine’s side-mirror showing Kingsley running into the street and watching as the car drives away. Swift donated all of the proceeds from the video to wild animal conservation efforts through the African Parks Foundation of America.[53]
Date:
August 25, 2015
Director:
Joseph KahnProducer:
Jil Hardin
