MTV snagged an exclusive photo from the mysterious Where the Wild Things Are, which they spotted at the New York Licensing Expo. Click on the tantalizing photo on the right to see the whole thing over on MTV. It isn't very big, but it is one of those evocative images that makes you absolutely crazy to see this movie. It really is perfect -- from the wolf suit down to those mysterious monster paws.

The rumors still abound about it. The fact that it is appearing at the Licensing Expo gives one hope that we will see it, and that they won't actually recast a child they have featured on the advertising. To catch you up, Kim talked to Tom Noonan at Cannes. He thought the film would be released as Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers had intended it to be.

Yet, as Monika reported at the beginning of June, Warner Bros is prepping a month of reshoots. It was unclear how much was being changed, but new casting calls went out for various stand-in roles. That suggests that it is more than a few pick-up shots, and that all the whispers of unhappiness and drastic alterations are true. The silence from all involved (with the exception Noonan and Forrest Whitaker) doesn't help. At least we can enjoy the picture and wonder.

[via Empire]

From Cannes last week, Kim shared a discussion with Tom Noonan about Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are. Although she wasn't able to ask about the whole Wild kerfuffle that has been going on, between test screenings and release dates, she said: "He seemed to think the film will be released in his current iteration, though of course, if that's not the case, he wouldn't necessarily be in the loop."

No, it looks like he wasn't. According to Bloody Disgusting, Warner Brothers has scheduled reshoots for Jonze's film, which will take place in Los Angeles from June 5-30. They say: "It is unclear how much is being reshot, but there are new casting calls out for various stand-in roles."

Considering the fact that test screenings reduced some kids to tears, begging to be let out of the screening, I imagine the reshoots will try to wipe away the scary bits. That'll be good for sensitive young tykes, but not so much for adults, and those who said positive things about the test screenings. Maybe they can just put out two; it would be a shame for the original vision to go to waste. Then again, all of this depends on SAG not striking.

What do you guys think? Should kids get a less-scary version? And, what should be done with Jonze's original vision?

During the roundtable interviews for Synecdoche, NY today, actor Tom Noonan, who plays one of the "wild things" in Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, chatted with us a bit about the film.

Noonan confirmed that the film was not shot using motion capture, but is "mostly live action -- they shot us (the actors) in a room, they video-taped us doing the parts, and then they trained acrobats and dancers and had them imitate our gestures, then put them in the costumes and had our voices coming out."

John Krasinski has had a bit of a rough start transitioning his TV career into a movie career. For starters, have you seen License to Wed? Luckily for my favorite office drone, his upcoming projects look a lot more promising. Variety reports that Krasinski, SNL's Maya Rudolph, and Cheryl Hines have signed to star in Sam Mendes' new untitled comedy. News of the film first appeared back in January, and just over a month later, three top-notch comedians have signed on for the film. That has got to be a good sign, right?

Celebrity novelist Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (author of Girls of the Verge and Egger's wife) wrote the script for the romantic comedy. Eggers made his name with his memoir, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but is still relatively new to the screenwriting trade. In the film, Krasinski and Rudolph will play an expectant couple traveling around the country looking for a place to settle down and start a family.

If you have ever read anything written by Eggers or the McSweeney's 'brand' then you know that this slight premise is just the kind of story you would expect. Knowing Egger's penchant for personal touches, I'm sure some of the details of his life with his own family found their way into the script. The production is expected to start shooting this April in Connecticut, and the film is set for release in 2009.

No, it's not another sequel to the Neve Campbell/Denise Richards classic! The extremely likable Lauren Ambrose (Claire on Six Feet Under, Denise Fleming in Can't Hardly Wait) will voice a character in the upcoming adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved childrens' book -- Where the Wild Things Are. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ambrose is playing KW -- "one of the giant characters in the land of the Wild Things. When a young boy named Max visits their strange world, KW and company turn him into their king."

Ambrose is taking over the role from Michelle Williams. Apparently Williams got along well with the filmmakers, but "her voice didn't match their original vision of how the Wild Things should sound." Where the Wild Things Are mixes flesh-and-blood actors, computer animation, and live-action puppetry. I can't wait to see it, I adored the book as a kid and I love pretty much everyone involved with the film. Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation -- a couple of my favorite flicks) will direct, and wrote the screenplay with Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, one of my favorite books). You can go into the Wild in Fall 2008.

Got a small boy nearby that you wouldn't mind subjecting to some Wild Things? Is he yours? Do you both live in New York?

Then head on over The Church of St. Paul the Apostle (60th & Columbus) on Saturday, July 8th (between 10am and 4pm), because that's where WB will be holding an open casting call for Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are, which is the big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's well-beloved book. The casting directors are looking for young boys between the ages of 7 and 11. (No, Michael Jackson does not work for the casting directors. Matter of fact, all kids must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.)

Adapted for the screen by Jonze (Adaptation.), Michael Goldenberg (Contact), and award-winning author / first-time screenwriter Dave Eggers, Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of "Max, a headstrong young boy who runs away from home and finds himself in a thriving forest bordering a vast sea. Misunderstood and rebellious, Max sets sail to the land of the wild things were mischief reigns."

The live-action / animation combo will star Benicio Del Toro, Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Catherine O'Hara, and ... maybe your kid.

Details are beginning to emerge about the previously announced movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's classic Where the Wild Things Are. Major casting decisions have been declared, although due to the nature of the film most of the casting is for voice work, of course. Catherine Keener will play the only live-action part cast thus far; the mother of main character Max. Max himself has yet to be cast.  Six other actors will be tapped for voice work: Benicio Del Toro, Forest Whitaker, Michelle Williams, Catherine O'Hara, Tom Noonan and Michael Berry.

I know it is just a children's movie, but I am super-excited for this flick. Who among us doesn't have tremendously warm and fuzzy memories of Where the Wild Things Are from our childhood? If I had children, I'd take them to see it several times. As I don't, I'll just have to go myself and buy the DVD for my children of the future to watch. After they've heard/read the book, of course.