As a music-video director, his best work conveyed a dense intimacy.
Mr. Puryear, a former advertising and music-video director, had written a script about a Federal marshal who unmasks a conspiracy.
You won't find the increasingly common path from music-video director to Hollywood feature-film maker here.
The number of musicians in the project is a reminder of Mr. Aitken's own history as a music-video director.
Many music-video directors came from advertising.
"Leslie's moves are explosive," says Millicent Shelton, a music-video director in New York.
Mr. Sednaoui, like many successful music-video directors, has had no formal film training.
He's 37 and was a music-video director for about 10 years.
Dale Pascual marked a turning point and the end of M-B's career as a music-video director.
Some sources additionally cite son Oley Sassone, a music-video director who spells his last name slightly differently, but this appears to be uncertain.
