SpikeJonze Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Most people look at Kanye West as a bit of a joke these days, and to be fair he's responsible for most of the damage to his own reputation as an egomaniac and a bit of a blowhard. But I guess it takes the directorial genius of Spike Jonze to remind us that there's probably more going on underneath Kanye's surface than we give him credit for, and no matter what you may think of West he does have pretty good taste in his pop culture 'associations' -- and the latest is an 11-minute short film directed by Jonze that premiered at the Los Angeles Film Fest earlier this summer and is now available online.

Unfortunately I can't really tell you much about it, because frankly, you have to see it to believe it. But here is what I can tell you: the film is titled We Were Once a Fairytale and it starts out with Kanye being his usual drunken and obnoxious self (though luckily Taylor Swift is nowhere in sight). But keep in mind this is Jonze's short, and as to be expected, things take a very strange (and somewhat disturbing) turn.

Hopefully the success of Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are this weekend means we will be seeing more from the director this year, because this short reminds us that there's nobody that makes movies like Jonze -- not to mention that he does the impossible with this short: he makes Kanye West seem almost human.

After the jump: West's life imitates Jonze's art in We Were Once a Fairytale...

Next to the table of contents in the new book Heads On and Then We Shoot: The Making of Where the Wild Things Are, there's a list of songs that Spike Jonze says were influential and inspirational in the making of his adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's classic. Among them are plenty of melancholy mood pieces, including The Smiths' "Cemetry Gates," "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whose lead singer composed original tunes for the film, and perhaps most obviously, Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," which ultimately appeared in Wild Things' theatrical trailer. But in my opinion, the most telling track included on that list was Langley Schools Music Project's devastating cover of The Beach Boys "God Only Knows" sung by a chorus of Canadian schoolchildren in the late 1970s, it captures the deeper sentiment of desperation and loneliness in Brian Wilson's lyrics even as it reverberates with the naïve, wholesome enthusiasm of voices unfamiliar with real heartbreak.

In the best possible way, Jonze's film also harnesses that contradiction: it feels like a grown-up story told by kids, where all of its emotional weight is buried in the story or otherwise ignored because nobody seems to know better than to emphasize it. Bereft of nostalgia, much less a cinematic style that lends itself easily to conventional spectacle, Spike Jonze brings Where the Wild Things Are to life in a way that no one could have possibly expected, but thankfully in one better than they could have ever imagined.

This week, Spike Jonze's long-awaited adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are finally arrives in theaters, rewarding us for years and years of devoted attention to the production's twists and turns. But as exciting as the saga of its making has been, we've been bummed out that there are so few stopgap releases offering a similar kind of creepy, beautiful melancholy for kid audiences (and especially, audiences that are kids at heart).

Then again, looking back at the legacy of so-called family films that truly offer something transgressive, much less a little bit trippy, there aren't a whole lot of titles that come to mind as consummate entries in that rewarding, rarified canon. All of which brings us to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. No, not Tim Burton's 2005 film about a dentist's son who overcomes his obsession with Michael Jackson impersonation with the help of an adorable street urchin; the 1971 Mel Stuart film that turned the stuff of kids' dreams into a palpable reality, while offering a few future nightmares along the way.

Whether by accident or design, Warner Home Video released Willy Wonka on Blu-ray last week as a home-video supplement to Wild Things, and both because of our affection for borderline-creepy kid stories and of course our appetite for all things high definition, Stuart's film is the subject of this week's "Shelf Life."

No, silly, I'm not asking about the steamy modern noir from 1998, but the big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's classic that opens on Friday. Cinematical will have a full review of Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are later this week; my personal reaction is that it's a sweet adventure, suffused with melancholy, displaying a delicate, altogether pleasant and grounded spirit of childish wonder. But is it for kids or adults?

Fears about the film's suitability first surfaced more than a year ago when test screenings reportedly reduced some children to tears. Delays and reshoots ensued, with some fans expressing concern that 'the scary bits' would be excised from the final product. I have no idea what children find scary these days; many young ones were in attendance at the screening I attended last night and I heard nary a whimper or a scream. Some early reviews have suggested that it's "a movie about a child that isn't a children's film," as Brent Simon wrote in his review for Screen Daily. Is that because it's still too scary? No, but because "family audiences may find it too challenging." Jonze himself has acknowledged that it's not "a studio film for kids, or ... a traditional film about kids. We didn't have like a Movie Kid in our movie, or a Movie Performance in a Movie Kid world. We had a real kid and a real world."

Based on what you've heard and seen so far, are you planning to see Where the Wild Things Are? Do you have any concerns that it might be too "adult" for your kids? Or, on the other hand, does it sound too childish for teens or adults?

We've already covered some of the clothing inspired by Where the Wild Things Are that you can buy at Urban Outfitters, both for us normal people who buy t-shirts and stuff and for the people who can afford insanely awesome suits designed by Christian Joy, who is most well-known for creating costumes for Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O.

Well, they're not the only ones gunning for your hard earned money this Halloween. (Actually, any time of the year is a fine time to dress up like a Wild Thing or Max, if you ask me. Or furries.) The ultra-hip and expensive store Opening Ceremony collaborated with Spike Jonze and a number of designers for an entire line of Wild Things-inspired clothes, with the crowning touch being a super-cuddly pajamas outfit just like Max. It's also available as a sweater (with gloves that have cut off fingers!).

Do you think the Wild Things hype has gotten out of control? Or are you lusting after these crazy outfits too? How many Maxes and Wild Things do you think we'll see this Halloween?

As Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are nears its October 16th release date, a whole bunch of neat behind-the-scenes videos and images are beginning to sneak online. Cinematical has received one of those videos, which follows production designer K.K. Barrett (Lost in Translation, Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Marie Antoinette) as he discusses at length his career, his projects and the creative process behind Where the Wild Things Are.

This video, along with four others, are part of an ongoing series called "Art Talks" pieced together by VBS.TV, who've created a pretty groovy looking Wild Things-themed website which you can check out over here. Along with our exclusive behind-the-scenes video with production designer K.K. Barrett, we'll also be treated to chats with Sonny Gerasimowicz (art director), Eric Z. (Spike's artistic sidekick), Lance Accord (cinematographer) and Casey Storm (costume designer) in the coming days. Aside from the videos, you can also check out a website that just went live (via Vice) called 24 Artists Inspired by Where the Wild Things Are. Feel free to head over there for some groovy art and funky Wild Things-inspired coolness.

Watch the video with production designer K.K. Barrett after the jump.

The thing I love most about Where the Wild Things Are is that it's a story that promotes creativity and the use of your imagination, which is something more kids today desperately need to get in touch with. As we begin to piece together another awesome Halloween costume contest here at Cinematical (look for details soon), I can't help but hope to see a bunch of Wild Things-inspired costumes from across the board. If my little one was old enough to understand what a Halloween costume actually is or was or could be, this year we would totally spend an entire afternoon (or several) dreaming up (and constructing) our own homemade Wild Things costumes.

In honor of Spike Jonze's upcoming film, Urban Outfitters and the new Space 15 Twenty in Los Angeles are all over Where the Wild Things Are. You can buy a number of Wild Things-related clothes from Urban Outfitters online, and now Christian Joy (best known as the designer behind the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O's costumes) has created five "monster suits" based on the Wild Things and Max. The suits will be on display and available for purchase at Space 15 Twenty, with a percentage of the proceeds being donated to 826 Valencia.

Check out some of Joy's costumes below, and here's what she had to say about the Max costume (pictured above): "Everyone knows the way Max looks like, and I wanted to stay within the realm of what a kid's suit would look like. But I also thought that the rest of the Wild Things were already looking like a glam rock band, so I thought he should be a little bit rock n' roll. I found this weird silver fabric, and we made the paws and crown out of Mylar, and then the tail is like a found piece from a fabric store."

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.

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.

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.