Kanye West’s “Runaway” Short Film

In case you missed it, last night (Oct. 23) Kanye West debuted his short film Runaway simultaneously on MTV, BET, VH1, MTV.com, BET.com and VH1.com. He directed the 35-minute feature, which was written by Hype Williams with art direction from Italian contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft. Featuring Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks as The Phoenix, Kanye portrays Griffin, a man who rescues Phoenix when she falls to earth in a fireball. Nicki Minaj introduces the film and many of the visuals pay tribute to Michael Jackson.

Runaway features the title track from Kanye’s upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, with several more songs intertwined in the story, including “Devil in a New Dress,” “POWER,” the Rihanna assisted “All of the Lights,” and “Lost in the World.”

Last Sunday, West tweeted that the cover art he intended for his album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was banned.