“One of the biggest dangers of creativity is being static and repeating yourself.”

Judging from your socials alone, you seem to work nonstop. Are you, in fact, the hardest-working man in Showbiz? 

Joseph Kahn: “Absolutely not! There are plenty of people who have more exciting schedules than I do. The thing is, I have a family now, so I have to split my time between family and creativity. And I'm still trying to find the perfect balance. Before I had a family, I had a very selfish perspective—I got to focus completely on myself and my ideas. I’d think of an idea at 4:00 in the morning and work until 2:00 in the afternoon. But if I’d do that now, it means I don’t get to see my family.” 

What effect have these time constraints had on your craft and creativity? 

JK: “One of the biggest dangers of creativity is being static and repeating yourself. If you don't grow, your stories become limited. Having a family has given me an entirely new perspective—it changes the way I see the world and, as a result, what I create. The mechanics of creativity might be a little harder, but sometimes working within limitations forces you to dig deeper for inspiration.” 

“Bigger budgets give you more freedom, but restraint is just as important.”

Money—or the lack of it—is no longer a constraint. You made your first videos for just $200, but now you work with much bigger budgets. Has having more money changed your creativity? Does a bigger budget mean more creative freedom? 

JK: “Bigger budgets give you more freedom, but restraint is just as important. I recently did a video for The All-American Rejects for basically no money. They were kind enough to let me use one of their songs in my movie, and so, in return, I directed a video for them. There was no budget but I had complete creative control and honestly, it’s one of the best videos I’ve ever done. I don’t think I could improve it. Every shot is what it should be.” 

You don’t always have complete creative control like that. How do you navigate that? 

JK: “Having complete freedom doesn’t mean you go all out in every direction. Restraint is part of the artistry, like playing guitar—you don’t just blast every note at full volume. Control over how you execute ideas is just as important as having the resources to execute them.  

The reality is that almost no one has complete creative control—not even when they think they do. Filmmaking, unlike painting or writing, requires massive coordination and funding. A great Hollywood filmmaker might make three movies a decade, meaning they spend very little time practicing their craft on set. In a perfect world, I’d be shooting every day. Since that’s not possible, I use commercials and music videos to keep refining my skills.” 

“Having complete freedom doesn’t mean you go all out in every direction. Restraint is part of the artistry.”

“Whether it’s a three-minute music video or a two-hour movie, there has to be a core emotional hook. The challenge is tailoring that storytelling to the medium.”

Let’s go back to the start of your career. You began directing as a teenager before enrolling at NYU Film School, correct? 

JK: “Yes, I took out a student loan to attend NYU, but I couldn’t afford to stay, so I dropped out and started my own business. I bought a suit, set up my company, and within a year and a half, I had made around 30 videos—about half a million dollars' worth of work—while flying back and forth between New York and L.A. Then I shut that down, moved to L.A., and that’s when things really took off. When I first arrived, I was making $150,000 videos. A year later, I was directing million-dollar productions. It all happened fast.”

So you were able to pay off your loans then? 

JK: “Yeah, but for me it wasn’t about the money. I just had this relentless drive. I didn’t want to lose. I was angry. Angry at every director who got a job instead of me. Not because I hated them, but because I knew I could be just as good—if not better. 

But having a chip on your shoulder isn’t enough. You have to act on it. I was constantly studying, constantly breaking down work, watching movies obsessively, trying to figure out the latest techniques. 

The person I was in my 20s and 30s? That’s not who I am now. I’m a married man, a family man. I don’t have the same time to obsess over every detail. But I’ve developed a skill set that’s way beyond most people. Now, I bring experience and a deeper understanding of life into my work.” 

“Creativity is about provoking thought and emotion—connecting the mind and heart.”

How do you define creativity in your work? 

JK: “Ultimately, I see myself as an entertainer. Creativity is about provoking thought and emotion—connecting the mind and heart. Anyone can come up with a weird idea. Anyone can shock. But how do you do it in a way that feels grander? I want my work to add something to the human experience, to make people feel something real.” 

You’ve worked across different areas—music videos, commercials, and films. What’s the common thread? 

JK: “Storytelling. Whether it’s a three-minute music video or a two-hour movie, there has to be a core emotional hook. The challenge is tailoring that storytelling to the medium. A commercial is different from a music video, but both rely on visual rhythm, pacing, and emotion to engage an audience.” 

You’ve tapped into youth culture across different decades. Have you ever felt disconnected from it? 

JK: “I never viewed it as youth culture. I’ve always just followed my personal passions. Sometimes I align with the culture; sometimes I don’t. Right now, I feel less connected because the culture is so negative. In the ‘80s, there was this reverence for love and admiration for women in music. Today, lyrics are often combative—one side is saying, ‘You wronged me,’ and the other is saying, ‘You’re no good.' That shift makes it harder for me to be inspired, but I believe it will eventually cycle back to something different.” 

“A feeling or a visual can sit with me for years before I know how to translate it into something tangible.”

Do you feel a need to use your creativity to educate, not just entertain? 

JK: “I don’t consider myself a political commentator. There are smarter people who dedicate their lives to studying and understanding politics. I’m just a guy obsessed with movies and emotions. People sometimes look to entertainers for answers, but I don’t have any. My best contribution is expressing confusion, curiosity, and exploration through art.” 

How do you decide when an idea is ready to become a movie? 

JK: “Ideas float around in my head constantly, and they stay there until they find the right moment. A feeling or a visual can sit with me for years before I know how to translate it into something tangible. I tend to live in a dream state, constantly making little movies in my head, framing the world around me in shots and sequences. That process never stops.” 

What’s your approach to collaboration in filmmaking? 

JK: “As a director, your job is to harness a collective vision. If you’ve written the project, you are the auteur, and the team is there to help bring that vision to life. The best collaborations come from working with people who bring their own genius but are also open to adapting and evolving ideas. Costume designers, for example, are incredibly creative people whose artistry influences the final product in ways most people don’t realize. Clothing is a fundamental part of human culture, and the way characters dress can shape an entire film. My role as a director is to guide these elements and let other creative experts bring their best ideas forward.” 

“Careers have hot and cold periods, but I know I keep getting better because I never stop learning.”

You’ve worked with major artists like Taylor Swift and Britney Spears. What’s the dynamic like when balancing their needs, the record label’s desires, and your vision? 

JK: “By the time an artist works with me, their original art form has evolved. A singer sings, a rapper raps—but when they step into my world, we’re building a persona, a way for their music to connect with audiences visually. At that point, they become actors in a sense. My job is to listen to them, understand their vision, and shape it into something powerful for the screen. The key is authenticity—capturing a real emotional connection rather than just making something flashy.” 

How do you approach working with artists who have their own strong ideas? 

JK: “I never walk into a project thinking, ‘Listen to me, I’ve been doing this for decades.’ I start by listening to them. Sometimes their ideas aren’t necessarily visual, but I can understand the instincts behind them. Like a psychologist, I work to channel those instincts into something cinematic. That’s the difference between a good music video and a great one—it’s about capturing something real, something human.” 

“It never gets easier. Every project is a mystery before it exists because it’s all in your head. And the more experience you have, the more you know how many things can go wrong.” 

Does the lack of loyalty in the industry ever bother you? 

JK: “Not at all. There’s always more work out there, more ideas to explore. Careers have hot and cold periods, but I know I keep getting better because I never stop learning. That’s what keeps me relevant. I don’t worry about whether an artist will work with me again—I focus on the work itself. 

Also, my reputation has only gotten good in the last few years. When I started, no one cared. There were tons of big directors back then. I just happened to be the one who survived.” 

So longevity is important? 

JK: “Longevity is everything. Just sticking around is a kind of power. 

A lot of artists die young, and people romanticize that. But the truth is, your work has to be exceptional. It has to last. Just dying isn’t enough. Plenty of poor artists died in obscurity.” 

What are some challenges with record labels and their influence on music videos? 

JK: “The biggest issue is that too many executives get in the way of the artist’s vision. Sometimes it becomes a design-by-committee situation, where too many people give input and the end result feels washed out. The best projects happen when an artist and director work directly together, without unnecessary interference. That’s why my work with Taylor Swift was so strong—it was just the two of us shaping the vision.” 

“The best projects happen when an artist and director work directly together, without unnecessary interference. That’s why my work with Taylor Swift was so strong—it was just the two of us shaping the vision.”

If you could direct a music video or movie for any artist, who would it be? 

JK: “Mozart or Ravel. I might not be able to work with them directly, but their music inspires me, and I incorporate that influence into my films. My work is often described as a 90-minute music video, and I say, ‘Guilty as charged.’ That’s my style.” 

The music video premiere culture has changed. Do you miss the way it was in the MTV era? 

JK: “Absolutely. There was a time when a new music video release was an event—something people anticipated. We had a little bit of that with Taylor Swift’s releases because of the massive buildup, but the landscape is different now. The challenge is keeping that level of excitement alive in a world of instant content.” 

What advice would you give young creatives trying to find their voice in an oversaturated world? 

JK: “The tricky thing about advice is that what works for one era doesn’t always work for the next. Youth culture is constantly shifting, and staying ahead of it is hard. The key is to understand your instincts and trust them. There’s a point where you might not be as in sync with youth culture anymore, and at that stage, your themes have to evolve. The best creatives know how to transition from trend-driven work to something more lasting.” 

“The movie ICK is probably my most technically accomplished piece of work.”

What has been the most challenging scene you’ve ever had to direct? 

JK: “In terms of sheer complexity, I’d say ICK is probably my most technically accomplished piece of work. 

It was written like a $100 million movie, and I didn’t even have a fraction of that budget. There’s a sequence where the character is climbing a massive tower, an entire action scene playing out at high altitude, with a monster chasing him. The audience accepts it for what it is. They see him climbing; they feel the height, the danger.” 

But in reality? I only had the budget to build about 10 feet of the tower. I had to shoot that same section repeatedly from different angles to make it look like they were climbing 100 feet. That was some serious problem-solving. 

And even before that, there was a car chase I initially tried to shoot practically, but we didn’t have the budget for it. So I had to go against a green screen. People focus on the CGI monster, which looks good—now, after seven iterations. But what they don’t realize is how much of the film is just a green screen. Entire sequences where it looks like they’re driving through a real landscape, but it’s all CG.” 

Do you take pride in pulling that off? 

JK: “It’s a quiet victory. Because you don’t want to advertise it, you don’t want people to know. The best effects are the ones the audience never questions.” 

Do you still feel insecure every time you start a new project? Many people I talk to have that moment of panic—like, “Oh **, this is the time I’m going to fail.’ Does it ever get easier? 

JK: “No, it never gets easier. Every project is a mystery before it exists because it’s all in your head. And the more experience you have, the more you know how many things can go wrong. 

Every time you place the camera and start framing a shot, it’s never exactly what’s in your head. The human being in front of the camera moves slightly differently than you imagined. The set isn’t quite what you pictured. It’s not animation. That’s why many animation directors struggle with live-action—they’re used to controlling every frame. But with live-action, you’re dealing with reality. 

Every time, there’s that little voice: Am I screwing this up? Is the client going to hate this? Are they going to make me reshoot it? It’s always there.” 

You’ve done animation yourself; would you ever want to do more? 

JK: “No, I like working with humans. The beauty of film, to me, is capturing a performance, a real human being. 

I don’t see film purely as a technical craft. I’m good at the technical side—I analyze things quickly. But the magic? That’s in the performances. I don’t watch Raiders of the Lost Ark just for Steven Spielberg, even though I love his work. I watch it for Harrison Ford. The magic is in the actors, in what they bring to the screen.” 

Do you have any ambitions to work in different mediums or venture out in different artistic fields? 

JK: “No. I have a limited amount of time, and I have more stories to tell than I have time to make them. 

I watch a lot of films, go to every festival and screening, and I always walk away with frustration. On my next project, there are things I want to improve. I know I’m not there yet.” 

Final question: when people Google your name, one of the first things that comes up is the Thong Song. Does that ever bother you? 

JK: “I told myself for years I’d never do a booty video. 

And then I got the song. I saw the potential. And I thought, You know what? If I’m going to do this, I’m going to make the best one ever. 

And I did.”