Jay-Z's 'Picasso Baby' performance has a filmic bent

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Zac Barnett of American Authors is seen on set for a video shoot on Oct. 26, 2014, in Dickson, Tenn. (Rick Diamond / Getty Images)

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Extras acting in the HBO series “Game of Thrones” leave the bullring on Oct. 22, 2014, as film crews began shooting part of the fifth season in the southern Spanish city of Osuna. (CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP/Getty Images)

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Indira Varma is on the set of “Game of Thrones” at Real Alcazar on Oct. 19, 2014, in Seville, Spain. (Europa Press / Europa Press via Getty Images)

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Actors film “Game of Thrones” at Real Alcazar on Oct. 19, 2014, in Seville, Spain. (Europa Press / Europa Press via Getty Images)

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is on the set of “Game of Thrones” at Real Alcazar on Oct. 19 in Seville, Spain. (Europa Press / Europa Press via Getty Images)

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Sylvester Stallone poses with his puppet as he takes part in the TV show “Le Grand Journal” at the Cannes Film Festival. (LOIC VENANCE / AFP/Getty Images)

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Jamie Foxx filming “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on April 21, 2013, in New York City. (Aby Baker/Getty Images)

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Actor Andrew Garfield, center left, is seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City with his stunt double William Spencer, right, and a second stunt double. (Raymond Hall/ WireImage/Getty Images)

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Actor Andrew Garfield, right, rehearses a scene with his stunt double William Spencer on the “The Amazing Spiderman 2” movie set in Madison Square Park in New York.

(Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

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Actor Andrew Garfield, right, his stunt double William Spencer, center, and a second stunt double are seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/ WireImage/Getty Images)

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Jamie Foxx filming on location for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on April 21, 2013, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone filming “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on location in New York City. (Aby Baker/Getty Images)

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Jamie Foxx as Electro/Max Dillon in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” on location in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Actor Paul Giamatti films a scene at the “The Amazing Spiderman 2” movie set in Madison Square Park on June 22, 2013, in New York City. (Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

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Actor Andrew Garfield is seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Actor Paul Giamatti is seen on the set of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Raymond Hall/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Actor Paul Giamatti on the set of “The Amazing Spiderman 2” in New York City’s Madison Square Park. (Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)

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Jamie Foxx on location for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in New York City. (Bobby Bank/ WireImage/Getty Images)

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Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart play mother and daughter filming on location for “Still Alice” on March 21, 2014, at Lido Beach, N.Y. (Steve Sands/Getty Images)

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Richard Gere on the set of “Time Out Of Mind” on March 26, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImages/Getty Images)

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Jeremy Renner films an action scene in Aoasta, Italy, for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”. (Photopix/Getty Images)

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Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson film on location in Pont-Saint-Martin in Aosta, Italy, for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” (Photopix/Getty Images)

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Actors are suited up for special effects on the set of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in Aosta, Italy. (Photopix/Getty Images)

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Richard Gere and Ben Vereen on the set of “Time Out Of Mind” on March 26, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Arnold Schwarzenegger performs on the set of “Despierta America” with Joe Manganiello at Univision Headquarters in Miami. (Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)

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Donal Logue, left, and Ben McKenzie on the set of “Gotham” on March 20, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Kevin McHale, left, Chord Overstreet, Chris Colfer and Darren Chris on the set of “Glee” at Washington Square Park on March 14, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Lea Michele and Michael Lerner on the set of “Glee” on March 16, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Louie CK on the set of “Louie” on Jan. 31, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Wil Estes and Vanessa Ray on the set of “Blue Bloods” on Jan. 31, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Skyler Gisondo and Ben Stiller on the set of “Night at the Museum 3” on Feb. 6, 2014, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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George Clooney, second from left, filming “Tomorrowland” at Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias on Jan. 21, 2014, in Valencia, Spain. (Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images)

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Kevin Bacon and Sprague Grayden on the set of “The Following” on Dec. 10, 2013, in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Mark Wahlberg is seen on set filming the movie ‘Transfomers 4: Age of Extinction’ on Sunday October 27,2013 in Hong Kong,China. (TPG/Getty Images)

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Mark Wahlberg performs on the set of “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in Hong Kong on Oct. 26, 2013. (Aaron Tam/ AFP/Getty Images)

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Scarlett Johansson filming a scene for her new movie, “Lucy” on Oct. 21, 2013, in Taipei, China. (TPG/Getty Images)

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Director Clint Eastwood, right, and actor John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli on the set of “Jersey Boys” in Kearny, N.J. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

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Edie Falco, left, and Julie White on the set of “Nurse Jackie” in New York City. (Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images)

By Steven Zeitchik

July 10, 2013 4:05 PM PT

Jay-Z has a flair for the theatrical. Does he also have a flair for the cinematic?

The rapper’s latest stunt, a six-hour performance of “Picasso Baby” — he rapped the song over and over at an art gallery in New York on Wednesday to promote his new record “Magna Carta Holy Grail” — is apparently being shot for a music video. But it’s not just any music video. It’s a video for the Hollywood director Mark Romanek, who had a little burst of cinema with his “99 Problems” video for Jay-Z several years back. (Though I’m currently in New York, I wasn’t able to attend Wednesday’s show. Lots of people did, though, and were happy to remind us of that fact on social media.)

The gig has a very cinematic feel, and not just because Jay-Z is behind the soundtrack for the recent “Great Gatsby” — a movie that’s completely in sync with the kind of inclusive showiness of Wednesday’s performance.

PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments

The stunt also has echoes of Tilda Swinton, the eclectic actress who recently took to sleeping in a glass box at MOMA. And Marina Abramovic turned out for the “Magna” show. The performance artist is the subject of her own recent documentary, “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present,” and it feels like its spirit also animates Hova’s popup turn.

But it’s Romanek’s presence that underscores just how commingled the world of music, art and cinema can be. Interestingly, the filmmaker presents his own untidy narrative. The director of the underrated dystopian drama “Never Let Me Go,” Romanek hasn’t made a movie since that film flopped three years ago. But a new Jay-Z video — especially if it has a significant amount of heat — could put him back on the radar of both film and music fans.

Nor is Romanek the only director who attended the concert: Judd Apatow reportedly turned out, too. Which means that in a future Apatow movie, we might well expect Paul Rudd’s married man to sneak away from his wife so he can hear a secret rap performance at a downtown art gallery.

ALSO:

Jay-Z takes to Twitter

Glitches aside, Magna Carta lets Jay-Z rewrite rules

‘The Great Gatsby’ glitters but is not gold, reviews say

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