Rita Ora Talks Tapping MCU Filmmaker Taika Waititi To Direct "Praising You" Music Video

Marvel Cinematic Universe fans know Taika Waititi as the director responsible for creating Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder. Waititi is also the husband of British singer Rita Ora.

Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe caught up with Rita Ora to talk about her new single “Praising You” featuring Fatboy Slim. Additionally, the conversation included Ora discussing tapping Taika Waititi to direct the song’s official music video.

“I tried to call Spike Jones. He wasn’t available to be in the video, man. Taika is good seconds. I mean, I’ll take Taika. I’ll take him. It’s so cool to be able to collaborate with the ones that you actually respect. I really love Taika’s brain,” Rita Ora told Zane Lowe. “That’s what I really fell in love with. He teaches me things every day.”

Classic Musicals Inspired Rita Ora’s Latest Visuals

The 32-year-old R&B/Pop performer also added, “We were lying down and we were just hanging out watching a movie. I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to do something like All That Jazz and Fame?’ And [Waititi] said, ‘Look, I would love that.'”

Rita Ora continued, “And then we came up with the whole idea and boom. We shot it all on film in one day in downtown LA. It was amazing to be able to work with him and make this mini-movie because it really is a mini-movie. Yeah. And having [Fatboy Slim] in the video too was a really good touch.”

Bob Fosse’s Oscar-winning All That Jazz musical drama hit American theaters in 1979. The teen musical Fame from 1980 led to a television spin-off version of the same name which ran for six seasons between 1982 and 1987.

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You & I Album Is On The Way

The “Praising You” track will live on Rita Ora’s forthcoming third studio album You & I which will arrive on July 14 via BMG. She dropped her debut studio LP, 2012’s Ora, under Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. 2018’s Phoenix came out through Atlantic Records UK.

Following her breakout hit “How We Do (Party)” in 2012, Rita Ora went on to release other commercially successful songs such as “R.I.P.” featuring Tinie Tempah, “I Will Never Let You Down,” and the controversial “Girls” featuring Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX.

In addition to his work with the MCU, Taika Waititi also directed films such as What We Do in the Shadows and Jojo Rabbit. Waititi won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Jojo Rabbit at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020. The comedy-drama earned a Best Picture nomination as well.