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Katy Perry f/ Nicki Minaj "Swish Swish" (Dave Meyers, dir.)

Just when it seems like Katy Perry and team are gonna stumble, they pull off a slam dunk. "Swish Swish" is a star-studded, comedic basketball romp that's massive, but also laced with perfect details that keeps pushing to absurd new heights over its 6+ minute runtime. Cameos of note include Molly Shannon, Terry Shannon, announcers Rich Eisen and Bill Walton, football star Rob Gronkowski, Doug The Pug, and, of course, Backpack Kid.

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Don't Call It A Fatwa: The Katy Perry "Dark Horse" Controversy

Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition for YouTube to removed the Katy Perry "Dark Horse" video because:

At 01:15 into the video Dark Horse; a man is shown being burned, whilst wearing a pendant (also burned) forming the word 'Allah', which is the arabic word for God.

Such goes to show, that blasphemy is clearly conveyed in the video, since Katy Perry (who appears to be representing an opposition of God) engulfs the believer and the word God in flames.

Got that?

Three thoughts:

1. If you have to cite timecode and circle the object in question (see above) to make people notice, then you're likely calling way more attention to it than necessary.

2. Have Rick Ross and the Maybach Music Group also started a peition since their medallion is also clearly present?

3. There are 1.6 billion Muslims around the world. 50,000 is less than .004% of them. 

In Depth

Talking Katy Perry "Roar" with co-directors Grady Hall and Mark Kudsi

If you're going to trudge into the jungle and challenge some of the most iconic film motifs ever, there's probably not a better choice than the Motion Theory creative team, which has previously tackled the high seas, candyland and way more over the course of many music videos.

Directors Grady Hall and Mark Kudsi — two independent directors at Motion Theory who collaborated on this project — took Katy Perry's "Roar" as a call to empowerment, leading the pop star on a journey from damsel in distress to queen of the jungle.

We recently chatted with the directors about everything from how.PETA recently hijacked a press cycle by questioning the treatment of the many animals in the video, and the general usage of animals in film production — claims which were rebutted by Katy in a statement and further countered in our interview — plus film inspirations, art directing nature and the truth about Junglescope.

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Katy Perry "Roar" (Grady Hall, Mark Kudsi, dir.)

The easy description is "Katy Perry as Queen of the Jungle," but that doesn't really capture how massive this production is. Elephants, monkeys, tigers, oh my. A lush tropical practical set — complete with waterfall — and just enough vfx magic to make things sparkle. And then there's Katy, who's got solid comedic timing and looks to remind you of Bettie Page in her jungle finest.

Plus, it was filmed in Junglescope, which I wouldn't be surprised to learn is an actual registered trademark and product from the geniuses at Motion Theory.