Dave Eggers Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Our Favorite Romantic Scenes: Away We Go
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Fandom », Trailers and Clips », Scenes We Love »
In honor of Valentine's Day, our staff will be sharing some of their favorite romantic scenes all day long.
Believe it or not, I actually consider Sam Mendes' Away We Go as one of my favorite romantic films. I just wanted to warn you, because my contribution to Our Favorite Romantic Scenes is from that very movie -- one that has been described as having a "smug self-regard", tainted by "unsettling meanness" and contained songs that will "wear out their rueful, faux-naïve welcome". But I stand by the story of a couple looking to start a new life for their family, once their own are out of the picture because it is full of moments that define my kind of romance. It isn't about grand gestures or what I call 'Scarlett O'Hara' moments, but it's a story about real and lasting love between two people who seem like they might be fun to have a beer with.
The film was written by novelist and McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers and his wife, Vendela Vida, and like most of Eggers' work, the story touches on the idea of home and having a family on your own terms. The flick is easily one of Mendes' warmest films, and the writing is full of a kind of sarcasm and sweetness that has become a trademark of Eggers' work, and the reason he is one of my favorite authors.
Exclusive: 'Where the Wild Things Are' Character Banners, IMAX Poster
Filed under: Warner Brothers », Fandom », Exhibition », Family Films », Posters »
Cinematical has received four exclusive new character banners and the final IMAX poster for Where the Wild Things Are, the eagerly anticipated Spike Jonze adaptation of Maurice Sendak's timeless children's picture book. In fact, for people born after the book's first publication in 1963, Where the Wild Things Are may just be the most anticipated release left on the 2009 calendar. I can't recall the last time - if there ever even was one - a simple trailer for a film was met with such an overwhelming degree of universal admiration (watch both trailers after the jump), which leads me to believe the five posters in the collage above and the ones in the gallery below are bound to adorn the walls of dorm rooms, home theaters, and living rooms around the world.
And that's not just blind hyperbole for a movie I am deeply looking forward to. I've seen the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are cause grown men to shed tears. And while I may not share so strong a reaction to it, it's hard to deny that Spike Jonze's gift for truly beautiful imagery combined with Dave Eggers' (the brilliant author behind the WTWTA adapted screenplay) talent for reducing all of us to vulnerable children has created a palpable tingle in the film loving air.
Warner Brothers shows us Where the Wild Things Are in IMAX and regular theaters on October 16th.
Check out the new banners and poster in the gallery below, along with the previously-released banners and poster.
400 Screens, 400 Blows - Literary Devices
Filed under: Columns », 400 Screens, 400 Blows »
Sam Mendes' Away We Go (54 screens) makes for a great trailer, consisting of all the very funny, snarky stuff written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The actual movie has some very funny moments as well, and some terrific individual scenes, but it doesn't add up to a reasonable whole, mainly because the ever-shifting tones never quite mesh. Nevertheless, it seems to be performing well in its arthouse capacity, surviving more on a well-executed stream of hype rather than on the quality of the movie itself. From the ads, you'd think it has already won an Oscar (and, because of this kind of subconscious suggestion, it still might). Either way, what this means is that a literary giant like Eggers didn't have to go slumming. His reputation is intact.
In the old days, great novelists would sometimes write for the movies, but it was sneered at and looked down upon. Movies were for hacks and has-beens, or for desperate sellouts who were willing to work for cash rather than for the reward of a richer soul. William Faulkner was perhaps the most famous example of this, scribbling screenplays for drinking money. Fortunately, nowadays, Mr. Faulkner's literary reputation not only remains totally intact, but also some of his screenplays, including To Have and Have Not (1944) and The Big Sleep (1946), are celebrated for their high quality. Similarly, Billy Wilder once hired the great crime novelist Raymond Chandler to adapt a book by another great crime novelist, James M. Cain, into Double Indemnity (1944). I can only imagine the indignity Chandler must have felt at the time, but today no one cares.
From Page to Screen: 'Where the Wild Things Are'
Filed under: Family Films », From Page to Screen »
Where the Wild Things Are is ten sentences long, but they're some sentences. They – along with Maurice Sendak's magical illustrations, of course – are at once angry, heartwarming, troubling and reassuring. They get at something profound that kids feel, and that I still do from time to time, frankly: a desire to rage, to leave the world behind, backstopped by an even deeper need for home – a warm dinner – a hug.
These feelings aren't trivial, especially in kids. The authors who understood them best were Sendak and Roald Dahl. Dahl wrote for an older audience; he abhorred sentimentality, his wounds and his anger were usually laid pretty bare, and his stories weren't always appropriate for the single-digit-ers. But Sendak's Wild Things is a book that grows up with you. It's cathartic and comforting at any age. Those are, as I say, ten pretty remarkable sentences.
Then there are the pictures, which are strange enough to be subtly disquieting, but which have a warmth and softness that make it pretty clear everything's going to be okay. And I'm not talking just about the wild things themselves, which (deservingly) tend to get all the attention, but the fact, for example, that Max's idea of mischief is terrorizing his family's terrier with a fork while wearing a wolf costume. The previous page shows him wielding a hammer twice the size of his head to construct a blanket fort, off one edge of which we see he's suspended a pathetic-looking teddy bear from a clothes-hanger. Why? Who knows. But if you're going to be sent to your room, it should probably be for something fun.
Watch This: Maurice Sendak Talks 'Wild Things'
Filed under: Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
If the trailer and the insane reactions coming out of Comic-Con haven't got you excited for Where the Wild Things Are, perhaps this video of author Maurice Sendak, director Spike Jonze, and screenplay writer Dave Eggers will melt your icicle-covered heart. In this featurette, Sendak discusses the initial response to the book and what he thinks about Spike Jonze's vision. Dave Eggers also pipes up a little about Sendak's involvement in the adaptation. Jonze talks about "his" version of the story and how important it was that Sendak approved.
"I've never seen a movie that looked or felt like this," Sendak says, "and it's his personal 'this.' And he's not afraid of himself. He's a real artist that lets it come through the work. So he's touched me very much. He has touched me very much."
There are also plenty of movie snippets and great behind-the-scenes stuff that you must see. Link courtesy of the fantastic and fantastical writer Jonathan Carroll.
Watch This: James Franco Freakout
Filed under: Comedy », Shorts », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking », Trailers and Clips »
You know, I've always gotten an irrational thrill from watching good old fashioned physical destruction -- rock stars trashing hotel rooms, Gallagher sledge-hammering watermelons, you name it. Sure, it's a little immature of me, but I place the blame on my 'inner child', who's been known to be a little destructive now and again. So, personal idiosyncrasies aside, I have to ask: is there anyone who wouldn't enjoy watching lovable stoner James Franco wield a staple gun?
The Room Before and After is a 32-minute short film that appears in the latest issue of Wholpin (McSweeney's DVD magazine), and was directed by McSweeney's founder, Dave Eggers. There are other films included in the issue for the Room series starring Creed Bratton from The Office and comedian Maria Bamford, but I don't know if they contain quite the same level of mayhem as Franco's installment. The clip is the perfect combination of McSweeney's (and presumably Franco's) style of high-art mixed with abstract silliness, and it's a great of example of how Franco has slowly become one of the most interesting actors working today. He has the same great sense for silly comedy that he does for dramatic work -- and without the usual hang-ups of so many 'serious' actors. Not to mention, you have to love a guy that can go from likable weirdo to just plain weird in 51 seconds flat.
After the jump: Franco lays waste to a studio apartment and another of his famous 'freakouts'...
Buy This For You and the Kids: Dave Eggers' 'Where the Wild Things Are'
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Family Films », Newsstand », Movie Marketing »
Look what's available for pre-order on Amazon.com! Dave Eggers' The Wild Things, which is loosely based on the Maurice Sendak story, and the screenplay he cowrote with Spike Jonze for the upcoming movie. That means it's original and smart, not just one of those florid novelizations. (Not that Eggers would write something like that, of course.) If the cover, the author, and the movie isn't enough to hook you, here's the synopsis: [The Wild Things] is about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can't control. His father is gone, his mother is spending time with a younger boyfriend, his sister is becoming a teenager and no longer has interest in him. At the same time, Max finds himself capable of startling acts of wildness: he wears a wolf suit, bites his mom, and can't always control his outbursts. During a fight at home, Max flees and runs away into the woods. He finds a boat there, jumps in, and ends up on the open sea, destination unknown. He lands on the island of the Wild Things, and soon he becomes their king. But things get complicated when Max realizes that the Wild Things want as much from him as he wants from them. Funny, dark, and alive, The Wild Things is a timeless and time-tested tale for all ages.
It's also a classy version you can read on public transportation without getting stared at the way you might if you're reading the classic Sendak book. Although if you're brave, you can opt for the fur-covered edition. There's no photo, but I imagine it looks like this cute copy of Little Fur Family. (If you don't own Little Fur Family, you should buy a copy immediately. Cutest. Book. Ever.)
[via the never sleeping Slashfilm]
It's also a classy version you can read on public transportation without getting stared at the way you might if you're reading the classic Sendak book. Although if you're brave, you can opt for the fur-covered edition. There's no photo, but I imagine it looks like this cute copy of Little Fur Family. (If you don't own Little Fur Family, you should buy a copy immediately. Cutest. Book. Ever.)
[via the never sleeping Slashfilm]
Watch This: 'Away We Go' Clip
Filed under: Comedy », Universal », Trailers and Clips »
In Sam Mendes' Away We Go, Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Burt (John Krasinski) touch down in a number of spots around North America in search of a new home after Burt's flighty parents decide to go live in Antwerp. Thanks to a script from Dave Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida, Away We Go is far less wrist-slittingly depressing than Mendes' last outing, Revolutionary Road, if quite a bit more twee.The clip below is from a scene where three concerned airline attendants don't want to let Verona board the plane because she looks more than eight months pregnant, even though she assures them she's not. This goes out to all the mommies and daddies (and expecting mommies and daddies) out there who have to deal with anyone eyeballing and/or touching your belly when it's not welcome. Hands off! (Unless you're John Krasinski armed with a stethoscope, of course.)
Watch the clip after the jump
Review: Away We Go
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Romance », Theatrical Reviews », Focus Features », Summer Movies »
Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) don't quite have things figured out yet. I mean, they pretty much have each other pegged, enjoying a marriage-less relationship, keeping each other warm on those cold Colorado nights, and they know that they want to bring a kid into this world -- well, want to or not, the baby's coming, and so they'll keep it warm as well.
Their parents won't be of much help. After all, his (Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels) are making plans to take off for Europe just before the baby's due, a trip years in the making and selfish as all get out, while hers passed away some time back. So Burt and Verona decide to visit other family and friends, looking for people they can depend on in places they could grow up in, let alone grow old in -- looking for a place that might help them figure out together the whys and hows of keeping it all together.
New Images: 'Where the Wild Things Are'
Filed under: Fandom », Images »
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A whole bunch of new images from Where the Wild Things Are have arrived online courtesy of USA Today (in advance of the first trailer), and not only do we get our first real good look at the Wild Things, but the darn thing looks pretty awesome too. With 12 images in all (some old, some new), the photo spread takes you through some of the story -- the one read to most of us first at a very young age. Directed by Spike Jonze, and adapted for the screen (from Maurice Sendak's classic book) by Jonze and Dave Eggers, this new version of Where the Wild Things Are stays mostly true to form with a few small additions, like names for all the Wild Things. They are: Carol (James Gandolfini), Judith (Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker (Ira), Douglas (Chris Cooper) and KW (Lauren Ambrose). Max Records plays Max, a rowdy little kid who creates his own world full of wild creatures after causing trouble and getting sent to bed without dinner. Check out a few of the images below and the rest over at USA Today.
Where the Wild Things Are hits theaters on October 16.
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