Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are

[Watashi]

Amnesiac posted the new pictures in the 2009 anticipation thread, but this needs its own thread.

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wildthingsaicn1.jpg

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wildthingsaicn2.jpg


* They “spent months just working on that voice shoot before we even shot a frame of the film.”
* Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is working on the film’s score.
* Picture locked three weeks ago, and all the effects will be done by May.
* Framestore is doing the effect shots (the same team that did baby scene in Children of Men)
* Warner Bros will be releasing a behind the scenes art book
* One of the Wild Things is Voiced by Billy Bob Thornton.

[MadMan]

Man I can't wait to see this movie. I loved the book as a child, although judging from some of the pictures and what I've heard of this movie so far it will be different in some ways. Which I'm perfectly fine with.

[Ezee E]

So it'll actually come out? Yay.

[Raiders]

Man I can't wait to see this movie. I loved the book as a child, although judging from some of the pictures and what I've heard of this movie so far it will be different in some ways. Which I'm perfectly fine with.

Well, if it stuck only to the events in the book, it would be about 10 minutes long. Seems obvious they'll have to add a lot of stuff in between the few pages of the book.

[Sven]

So, like, I can't wait for the movie and all, but the idea of the chick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs doing the score and Eggers having written the script wreaks of hipster pandering. [/Armond, but true]

I hate Eggers. Still, love the Jonze and the interview makes it sound like a winner.

[Raiders]

Only Eggers I have read is his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and very much enjoyed it.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Ew. Eggers wrote the script? Well, that puts a much needed damper on my expectations.

[Raiders]

Spike Jonze co-wrote, so it's not like Eggers had free roam. I'm sure his work very much was molded to Jonze's vision for this.

[Sven]

Yeah, in truth, screenplays concern me very little, and as I said, the interview paints a rock solid picture of the movie and it sounds beautiful.

[Qrazy]

Yeah, in truth, screenplays concern me very little, and as I said, the interview paints a rock solid picture of the movie and it sounds beautiful.

Come on now, a bad screenplay can singlehandedly kill an otherwise solid production. In fact often I find a film fails because of it's screenplay and not as a result of it's execution. George Lucas is a competent storyteller but his writing sucks my dick.

Granted the old adage great scripts don't always make for the best films (in the literary versus cinematic sense) is true but yeah...

[Sven]

Come on now, a bad screenplay can singlehandedly kill an otherwise solid production. In fact often I find a film fails because of it's screenplay and not as a result of it's execution. George Lucas is a competent storyteller but his writing sucks my dick.

Granted the old adage great scripts don't always make for the best films (in the literary versus cinematic sense) is true but yeah...

I don't think Lucas is a competent storyteller. That is why the prequels are balls. If the stories were any good, the bad dialogue could've been backhandedly positive. That is my opinion.

[Qrazy]

I don't think Lucas is a competent storyteller. That is why the prequels are balls. If the stories were any good, the bad dialogue could've been backhandedly positive. That is my opinion.

Yeah but the story is an element of the screenplay. The visual execution of the crap story was still competent (to an extent... the glossy CGI wankery was a bit much of course). But it was the plot, pacing, characters as well as the dialogue that truly buggered the films.

[Sycophant]

This project sounds and looks beautiful. I don't know much about Eggers (I think I read a few short pieces a couple years back), but what Jonze talked about in his AICN interview makes it all sound quite promising. Also, I am looking forward to hearing Gandolfini's performance. I still haven't really seen him as anything but Tony Soprano.

Oh, and I agree with Sven on Lucas. Lucas (at least the Lucas that brought us the prequel trilogy) is best described as a pretty good special effects supervisor.

[Sven]

I still haven't really seen him as anything but Tony Soprano.

Man Who Wasn't There? True Romance?

[Sven]

Yeah but the story is an element of the screenplay. The visual execution of the crap story was still competent (to an extent... the glossy CGI wankery was a bit much of course). But it was the plot, pacing, characters as well as the dialogue that truly buggered the films.

Certainly. Which is why I responded to your comment that he was a competent storyteller.

[Qrazy]

Certainly. Which is why I responded to your comment that he was a competent storyteller.

Forest for the trees. My point was that if he'd started with a decent script he most likely could have made a much better film. The mediocre acting and CGI overload are drawbacks but for me the films primarily failed on a narrative level.

Anyway what have you read/disliked from Egger? The Heartbreaking... etc?

[Kurosawa Fan]

I disliked Heartbreaking quite a bit. Emotionally shallow tripe. Not the least bit affecting or interesting.

[Sycophant]

Man Who Wasn't There? True Romance?
I suppose I have. But those were both before I knew who Gandolfini was. I actually saw True Romance again a few months before watching The Sopranos for the first time. But I still can't really remember who he was in the film. Might be a good excuse to revisit The Man Who Wasn't There, though, which is something I've been meaning to do for a while now.

[Sven]

Anyway what have you read/disliked from Egger? The Heartbreaking... etc?

I've read the first two or three chapters from Heartbreaking, likewise with What is the What (working at B&N, I have read many books' opening chapters to get a feel for the book to see if I am comfortable recommending it or interested in reading it myself), both of which I found confounding and obtuse. Also, I've read the odd essay/intro here and there, which are less offensive.

[D_Davis]

I like Eggers the anthologist and editor more than I do Eggers the author.

[Ezee E]

Gandolfini was in The Last Castle, which I have not seen.

His natural voice is pretty different from his Tony Soprano voice.

[number8]

I saw The Last Castle in theaters, heh.

[DavidSeven]

Spike Jonze co-wrote, so it's not like Eggers had free roam. I'm sure his work very much was molded to Jonze's vision for this.

Yeah, but Jonze is like O.H. (original hipster, yo), so this film is like hipsters' paradise. We're getting hipster-ocity from all directions. Armond's face will melt.

[Watashi]

What's wrong with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

[DavidSeven]

What's wrong with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs?

Hipsters are the worst thing on Earth. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are hipsters. Thus, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are the worst thing on Earth. Their music is besides the point.

[Dukefrukem]

For some reason I'm not the least bit interested in this film.

[number8]

I think I disliked their music before I found out they were hipster heroes. That didn't help, of course, but still, I feel legitimate in my hatin'.

[Acapelli]

i'm pretty sure hipsters very much dislike the yeah yeah yeahs now, since they're way too mainstream

[Sycophant]

The word "hipster" breaks my fucking mind.

[D_Davis]

At least the soundtrack isn't by Peaches.

[Sven]

Armond's face will melt.

Except Armond likes Jonze...

*head explodes*

[MadMan]

Well, if it stuck only to the events in the book, it would be about 10 minutes long. Seems obvious they'll have to add a lot of stuff in between the few pages of the book.Well duh, but that's not entirely what I meant....ah screw it, never mind. Its not worth the effort.

I've never read any of Eggers work, so I have no idea what his style is like. Also I like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs despite the fact that they are hipsters. I can excuse certain musicians and actors for being douchebags so I think I can overlook that.

[eternity]

I don't understand hipster hate in any way more than just general hatred towards any label of self-aware douchebaggery.

[Spaceman Spiff]

So, like, I can't wait for the movie and all, but the idea of the chick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs doing the score and Eggers having written the script wreaks of hipster pandering. [/Armond, but true]

Word to the power of truth.

Still interested, though.

[Boner M]

I doubt that Jonze's choice of collaborators was a ploy to reach out to the hipster contingent. The dude obviously just has lots of hipster friends.

[Sven]

I don't understand hipster hate in any way more than just general hatred towards any label of self-aware douchebaggery.

Well, then you understand. Douchebaggery by any other name, etc...

[SirNewt]

This was done a while ago right? And then there was going to be studio editing and reshoots right? So the version that is coming, do we know how much it has been jiggered with?

[Spun Lepton]

What defines a "hipster"? I'm curious what all the fuss is about.

Oh, and I'm looking forward to this flick.

[Winston*]

What defines a "hipster"?
Tight jeans and being hated.

[Ivan Drago]

i'm pretty sure hipsters very much dislike the yeah yeah yeahs now, since they're way too mainstream

I hate it when I hear that complaint about a band. They're still the same band coming out with the same music. Hell I even hear the same thing about restaurants - people don't like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant when it becomes "commercial". It's still the same restaurant coming out with the same great food, it's just became popular with the public.

[Wryan]

Nothing "defines" hipsters. They just....hold on........sec......okay, sorry, I forgot that I'd rather talk about AIDS raping in the Holocaust than get meta about hipsters.

[Spun Lepton]

Nothing "defines" hipsters.

Then how are you able to tell a hipster from a non-hipster?

[number8]

Then how are you able to tell a hipster from a non-hipster?

When they piss you off just by being alive in your vicinity.

ie. Guys in huge-rimmed glasses who wears a sweater while drinking red wine from a beer mug, talking about The Flaming Lips, as they converse with a guy wearing a D.A.R.E. t-shirt, hand-rolling his own cigarette and talking about how cool Animaniacs is.

[Qrazy]

I hate it when I hear that complaint about a band. They're still the same band coming out with the same music. Hell I even hear the same thing about restaurants - people don't like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant when it becomes "commercial". It's still the same restaurant coming out with the same great food, it's just became popular with the public.

Not always, particularly with music actually. I find a lot of bands that 'make it' start churning out crap shortly thereafter. The original albums remain quality but popularity can severely fuck with artistic integrity.

[Qrazy]

When they piss you off just by being alive in your vicinity.

ie. Guys in huge-rimmed glasses who wears a sweater while drinking red wine from a beer mug, talking about The Flaming Lips, as they converse with a guy wearing a D.A.R.E. t-shirt, hand-rolling his own cigarette and talking about how cool Animaniacs is.

Nice.

Although The Flaming Lips may be too mainstream now for true hipsters. But Iron and Wine and Snow Patrol are probably still just barely fair game.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Nice.

Although The Flaming Lips may be too mainstream now for true hipsters. But Iron and Wine and Snow Patrol are probably still just barely fair game.

Snow Patrol became more mainstream than the Flips with that car chasing song last year. Man, fuck that song. Anyway, Iron and Wine would work, but you could also throw Godspeed You Black Emperor in there for the truly hip hipsters.

[Qrazy]

Snow Patrol became more mainstream than the Flips with that car chasing song last year. Man, fuck that song. Anyway, Iron and Wine would work, but you could also throw Godspeed You Black Emperor in there for the truly hip hipsters.

Ah I haven't been following music in about a year so I missed that song, perhaps for the best. I thought Godspeed You Black Emperor was semi-popular but I guess that's more of an indication of the fact that I have no idea what's in and what's not these days.

[SirNewt]

D.A.R.E.

That was six hours of my life I'm never getting back.

[Spaceman Spiff]

They all seem to like Blonde Redhead.

Yeah, they're the worst for sure. Especially if you live and go to school in Toronto which is hipster haven, along with Montreal and New York.

[Boner M]

http://a235.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/44/l_b15d7b8f4987be80929d72e92155 82b2.jpg

[Melville]

That's what a hipster looks like? Man, my understanding of that term was way off.

[number8]

Nah, those are American Apparel models. My idea of hipster is more like this dude:

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/6426/hipster20endoresment201nw8.jpg

[Kurosawa Fan]

I have his shoes. :sad:

[Ezee E]

I'm glad I've never seen any of these people in Colorado.

There's gotta be some in Boulder, somewhere.

[number8]

This is the kind I see most in San Francisco:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_01/jeansDM3003_468x417.jpg

[number8]

By the way? Elbow patches on suit jackets are not cool.

[Ezee E]

In Boulder it's either this:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1125/627898976_03cc503404.jpg?v=0

or this

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dSNZePQ3VPQ/Ru65GiiNBQI/AAAAAAAAD_g/h-504gh1ZUc/IMG_0248.JPG

[Saya]

I see too many people wearing those Palestine scarfs. I bet every hipster has at least one.

[number8]

In trying to define hipsters, I think those venetian blinds glasses are a good metaphor for hipsters. Those things make you look like an idiot, which is the point because you want to stand out, but everyone has them because Kanye wore them.

Hipsters are people who dress like douchebags so in their mind they'll look weird and stand out, but their idea of the alternative is to copy the look of someone considered alternative. It's very weird. They're kind of like goths, but with retro-nostalgia and forced self-deprecation.

[bac0n]

This is the kind I see most in San Francisco:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_01/jeansDM3003_468x417.jpg

These look like something far more vile and sinister than hipsters.

These look like English Majors.

[MadMan]

This is the kind I see most in San Francisco:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_01/jeansDM3003_468x417.jpgThe girl at the end is super cute. Both of the dudes look like douchebags.

[Ezee E]

Guys just shouldn't wear scarves, period.

Also, the shoes of each guy. They deserve to be punched in the face.

[Boner M]

Surprised by the scope of this semantic discussion. FWIW, here's what we've got so far:

hip⋅ster [hip-ster]
–noun Slang.
1. a person who is hip.
2. hepcat.
3. a person, esp. during the 1950s, characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established social activities and relationships.
4. a person who is deemed unhip by those who are truly hip (ie, matchcutters)
5. a person who wears stupid clothes
6. a person who owns the same shoes as KF
7. a person who has a different opinion from Armond White

[Ezee E]

Surprised by the scope of this semantic discussion. FWIW, here's what we've got so far:

hip⋅ster [hip-ster]
–noun Slang.
1. a person who is hip.
2. hepcat.
3. a person, esp. during the 1950s, characterized by a particularly strong sense of alienation from most established social activities and relationships.
4. a person who is deemed unhip by those who are truly hip (ie, matchcutters)
5. a person who wears stupid clothes
6. a person who owns the same shoes as KF
7. a person who has a different opinion from Armond White
Ha.

I personally like the urban dictionary version:


. Hipster

Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as "complicated." (Most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.) Probably tattooed. Maybe gay. Definitely cooler than you. Reads Black Book, Nylon, and the Styles section of the New York Times. Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon. Often. Complains. Always denies being a hipster. Hates the word. Probably living off parents money - and spends a great deal of it to look like they don't have any. Has friends and/or self cut hair. Dyes it frequently (black, white-blonde, etc. and until scalp bleeds). Has a closet full of clothing but usually wears same three things OVER AND OVER (most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt). Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure. Sleeps with everyone and talks about it at great volume in crowded coffee shops. Addicted to coffee, cigarettes (Parliaments, Kamel Reds, Lucky Strikes, etc.), and possibly cocaine. Claims to be in a band. Rehearsals consist of choosing outfits for next show and drinking PBR. Always on the list. Majors or majored in art, writing, or queer studies. Name-drops. May go by "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby," etc. when drunk. On PBR. Which is usually.

[Grouchy]

You guys are incredibly lucky not knowing what a flogger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flogger_(fashion)) is.

http://www.proyectounder.com/fotos/2008/noticias/noticia-floggers.jpg

[Acapelli]

i regret ever contributing to this conversation

[Sycophant]

Hipsters = people who irritate you and have some air of pretention around them which allows you to justify your hatred of them, even though they really aren't all that different from you.

Varies by region and individual.

Also, hates hipsters.

[number8]

Hipsters = people who irritate you and have some air of pretention around them which allows you to justify your hatred of them, even though they really aren't all that different from you.

Varies by region and individual.

Also, hates hipsters.

Did our discussion offend you, you hipster?

[Sycophant]

Did our discussion offend you, you hipster?Guess I'm just really pissy today for some reason.

And I don't dress well enough to be a hipster. :(

[number8]

And I don't dress well enough to be a hipster. :(

That's what they all say...

[Sycophant]

That's what they all say...Shit. You called my bluff.

[MadMan]

Sycophant is a hipster! Lynch him! :P

[Qrazy]

I have lots of obscure tastes and interests but I dress like Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia... what does that make me?

[monolith94]

Guys just shouldn't wear scarves, period.

Also, the shoes of each guy. They deserve to be punched in the face.
oh really?

http://www.foolquest.com/trek%20pix/Tom_Baker_4_b.jpg

I think that a scarf, a proper scarf, can look quite dashing.

[Qrazy]

oh really?

I think that a scarf, a proper scarf, can look quite dashing.

Yeah they shouldn't be punched in the face. They should be strangled... with the scarf.

[bac0n]

You guys are incredibly lucky not knowing what a flogger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flogger_(fashion)) is.

http://www.proyectounder.com/fotos/2008/noticias/noticia-floggers.jpg

That guy on the right... his hair... I can't tell if it's one of those snap-on playmobil emo hairdos... or a mullet... or both? An emullet, perhaps?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hipsters are almost always english, philosophy or film majors.

They dislike music that came out before 1990.

They party a lot and have almost entirely like minded friends.

They generally all like the same shit.

I can't believe there are people who are confused as to what a hipster is. Are you serious? Do you live in the middle of the desert and have no internet? Jeez. I bump into literally dozens maybe hundreds every day. Fuck, I'll snap a picture of my TA in that bullcrap film class I'm taking. That'll settle it.

[Winston*]

http://www.popculturebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/wild_things.jpg

[Qrazy]

Hipsters dislike music that came out before 1990.


I don't know about this one.

[Sven]

I don't know about this one.

It's true. One thing I know is that they, or at least many factions I've encountered, worship Brian Wilson.

[Qrazy]

It's true. One thing I know is that they, or at least many factions I've encountered, worship Brian Wilson.

I feel like I've seen and know people that fit the hipster bill (fashion-wise) but that have a genuine knowledge and appreciation of lots of different music... films... literature... etc. Wouldn't a hipster like or at least pretend to like Jazz? So are those people not really hipsters? To be a hipster must one also be a poseur?

On another note (unrelated to the above) I find I'm almost as annoyed by mistaken generalizations about people and groups as I am by the groups themselves. Particularly the whole emo thing... yes emo's are annoying but I know people who have referred to genuinely suicidal individuals as emo... it's just absurd.

[Ezee E]

http://www.popculturebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/wild_things.jpg
Oh yeah...

Um...

This movie is still going to be awesome, regardless of all the hipsters involved.

[Sven]

I feel like I've seen and know people that fit the hipster bill (fashion-wise) but that have a genuine knowledge and appreciation of lots of different music... films... literature... etc. Wouldn't a hipster like or at least pretend to like Jazz? So are those people not really hipsters? To be a hipster must one also be a poseur?

On another note (unrelated to the above) I find I'm almost as annoyed by mistaken generalizations about people and groups as I am by the groups themselves. Particularly the whole emo thing... yes emo's are annoying but I know people who have referred to genuinely suicidal individuals as emo... it's just absurd.

It's all true, what you say. I've mostly been refraining from trying to define the term because there are so many types and gradations of 'hipster' that it's almost pointless to pin it down. Still, if you've ever been to the lower east side of Manhattan, there's no mistaking that what you are seeing are Hipsters. They exist, but God knows what they are.

As for their levels of learnedness, I take the name "hipster" to qualify that as a passing, tenuous, or superficial interest in things. On people that really know their shit I generally would not apply the label.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't know about this one.

Well to be fair, one of them did say those exact words to me. It was abysmal. But yeah, I mean, how can you not dig Bob Dylan.

[Ivan Drago]

My definition of a hipster is someone who thinks they're cool because they're different. Ex: Someone who, in a town full of Fighting Illini fans, roots for Michigan State in a game AGAINST the Illini just to sound cool. It's ridiculous.

Ok. Can we PLEASE go back to discussing our ridiculously premature thoughts on this movie?

[Sycophant]

My definition of a hipster is someone who thinks they're cool because they're different. Ex: Someone who, in a town full of Fighting Illini fans, roots for Michigan State in a game AGAINST the Illini just to sound cool. It's ridiculous.
You're wrong.

Ok. Can we PLEASE go back to discussing our ridiculously premature thoughts on this movie?

No.

[bac0n]

No.

The night Match Cut wore his wolf suit and made trouble of one kind and another, his mother called him HIPSTER, and Match-Cut said "I'll EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating his supper.

[Acapelli]

is this the worst thread on the internet?

nope, but it sure is trying hard

[Sycophant]

is this the worst thread on the internet?

nope, but it sure is trying hardThank you for your assistance. With the continued contributions of yourself and others, we can get there!

[Grouchy]

That guy on the right... his hair... I can't tell if it's one of those snap-on playmobil emo hairdos... or a mullet... or both? An emullet, perhaps?
Think of a flogger as a kind of happy emo. They have the same age and the same shit for brains, but instead of mourning and listening to The Crow soundtrack, they listen to stupid pop songs, dance badly and are constantly taking photographs of themselves.

[number8]

I'll save it!

No.

[Wryan]

I hate hipsters, but I love making fun of hipsters.

Also, hipster is the new dada.

[number8]

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources. com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/07-08-2006%2010;00;05AM.JPG

Hipsters. All of them.

[Sycophant]

http://whatnot.bombdotcom.net/shit/matchcutaplaceforhipsters.JPG

[MadMan]

That banner is hilarious.

[Grouchy]

I say someone track down an angry picture of Armond and let's hang it high.

[Dukefrukem]

is this thread even about the movie anymore?

[MadMan]

is this thread even about the movie anymore?Heh. I wonder if there are any pictures from the movie featured online. There might have been at the start of this thread, but I'm too lazy to go back and look.

Okay, I'm not that lazy. I checked and yes there are some stills released. Both which looked good.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I say someone track down an angry picture of Armond and let's hang it high.

I like the way you think.

[Sycophant]

is this thread even about the movie anymore?Read the last three or four pages including the two or three recent posts that asked or suggested more or less the same thing you did.

Get back to us with results. I'm curious.

[Boner M]

In Australia, a hipster is called a 'coolsie'.

DISCUSS.

[Watashi]

I don't think hipsters like anime.

[Dukefrukem]

when's this due anyway? Summer?

[D_Davis]

This is the kind I see most in San Francisco:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_01/jeansDM3003_468x417.jpg

Sweet.

I guess I'm a hipster because I dress a lot like the guy with the hat, only I wear Dickies exclusively and, when I'm not at work, I wear old school Vans. And my hat is black. I love hats and scarves. I've got plenty of both. I also like suit jackets, and I like elbow patches (although the suite jacket I am wearing now doesn't have them) - keeps the material from wearing out. I constantly wear out the elbows on my sweaters from working at a desk all day. I wish sweaters had reinforced elbows.

I always thought I was a nerd, but I guess I'm hip!

[Ezee E]

If I went to more formal places, I'd be all about the suit jacket as casual wear. But with my type of life, it'd just get torn apart.

It'd be even cooler to walk around in tailored suits all day.

[Acapelli]

In Australia, a hipster is called a 'coolsie'.

DISCUSS.
yes

[number8]

I do wear suit jackets over a t-shirt as casual wear, but there is no excuse for elbow patches, D. Why would you wear a suit jacket at your desk?

[D_Davis]

Why would you wear a suit jacket at your desk?

Because it's cold at my desk.

[Ezee E]

Because it's cold at my desk.
Scarf?

[D_Davis]

Scarf?

Sometimes I wear my beanie in the mornings.

But not a scarf.

[Ezee E]

I like beanies.

[Wryan]

Because it's cold at my desk.

Stop being a wuss. Coldness puts hair on your balls. Or something like that.

[D_Davis]

Stop being a wuss. Coldness puts hair on your balls. Or something like that.

I don't need any more of that!

I'm a total wuss when it comes to being cold. And I hate being really hot.

:confused:

[Wryan]

I don't need any more of that!

I'm a total wuss when it comes to being cold. And I hate being really hot.

:confused:

I can stand a pretty good range, but I'm bad at the real extremes as well.

[D_Davis]

I can stand a pretty good range, but I'm bad at the real extremes as well.

I'm super skinny, and so I get really, really cold.

Because I'm so skinny, I used to be all self conscious and I hated wearing shorts, and so I was always hot during the summer.

However, now I don't care anymore - happy with the way I look. Finally. It only took like 30 years! So, I do better in the heat now.

I don't mind being kind of cold when I'm outside, but I hate being cold inside.

[Wryan]

I'm super skinny, and so I get really, really cold.

Because I'm so skinny, I used to be all self conscious and I hated wearing shorts, and so I was always hot during the summer.

However, now I don't care anymore - happy with the way I look. Finally. It only took like 30 years! So, I do better in the heat now.

I don't mind being kind of cold when I'm outside, but I hate being cold inside.

Was skinny for years, as well. Probably stayed ~130 pounds from 15 to 25. Finally decided to do something about it. Funny, though, the "thing" I decided to do wasn't to find happiness with the way I looked but rather to actively decide to change it. So I did. And that's what made me happy. Now I'm happier than I was, tho I have a ways to go before I'll be satisfied.

[SirNewt]

Oh no! I wear scarves too!

[SirNewt]

http://a235.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/44/l_b15d7b8f4987be80929d72e92155 82b2.jpg

Wait, this looks to me like a truck full of nothing but Clash memorabilia crashed through a JC Penny.

[Fezzik]

The 'hipsters' I've met all seem to have the amazing luck to have "a buddy" of theirs in the business/field you're talking about and therefore know more/are more informed about it than you are.

And they like hats. And coffee.

[Spaceman Spiff]

The 'hipsters' I've met all seem to have the amazing luck to have "a buddy" of theirs in the business/field you're talking about and therefore know more/are more informed about it than you are.

And they like hats. And coffee.

Oh lord yes. What is it with white indie youths and coffee? Games are afoot, methinks.

[Spun Lepton]

What is it with white indie youths and coffee? Games are afoot, methinks.

I'll tell you what it's about ... coffee is delicious.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'll tell you what it's about ... coffee is delicious.

...

Hmm.

::ponders on an overturned case of half and half::

[keyinblack]

guys,

[keyinblack]

also, i can't believe no one has mentioned the key word and alpha sentiment of hipsters: irony.

[NickGlass]

also, i can't believe no one has mentioned the key word and alpha sentiment of hipsters: irony.


THERE IS A FUTURE IN HISTORY

Yup.

Also, hipsters love to hate on hipsters.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm looking forward to this movie.

[transmogrifier]

I'm looking forward to this movie.

What?

[Sxottlan]

Hispter?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hispter?

My secret shame...

Actually, I'm a pretty old curmudgeon.

[MadMan]

Love the new title for this thread :lol:

And yes I will be seeing this movie. I had no idea I apparently had hipster leanings :P

[SirNewt]

I kind of wish this thread didn't veer off into irrelevancy.

Anyways, Cinematical (http://www.cinematical.com/2009/01/01/new-images-public-enemies-terminator-wild-things-and-m/) put up a new picture from the film:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.cinematical.com/media/2009/01/wildthingsimage.jpg

"in theaters October 16"

Wait! Seriously? This movie is goddamn done, out with it already.

[Wryan]

Yup.

Also, hipsters love to hate on hipsters.

Reminds me of...

"You guys are snobs."
"No we're not."
"Yeah, seriously, you're totally elitist. You feel like the unappreciated scholars, so you shit on people who know less than you."
"No!"
"Which is everybody..."
"Yeah..."
"That's so sad."

[Watashi]

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wheretehwildlatimes-440x300.jpg

[Pop Trash]

Gosh those stills are positively gorgeous. Like paintings.

[MadMan]

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wheretehwildlatimes-440x300.jpgUtterly fantastic.

[Ezee E]

Will this be a PG-13 rated kids film?

Can't wait to see some of this in motion. Bring on the trailer!

[Spun Lepton]

Some images of the monsters in the movie. There was some serious attention to detail.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/01/16/sneak-peek-the-monsters-of-where-the-wild-things-are/

Editing in images:
http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wildthingstopboards.jpg

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wildthingsboards1.jpg

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wildthingsboards21.jpg

[Acapelli]

no wonder kids were frightened at the screenings for this. those things are horrifying

[Watashi]

This movie will bomb so horribly.

[Ezee E]

This movie will bomb so horribly.
It'll probably do better at arthouses than the multiplexes.

The desert shot is amazing.

[MadMan]

This movie will bomb so horribly.Probably, but it was obvious from the get go (what with Jonze's name attached and all) that this wasn't going to be a typical children's film. Or even really a children's film regardless. And I'm down with that.

[Ezee E]

Probably, but it was obvious from the get go (what with Jonze's name attached and all) that this wasn't going to be a typical children's film. Or even really a children's film regardless. And I'm down with that.
If it ends up being as good as I imagine, it'll be a huge success in the long term.

[Sycophant]

Are you that averse to just editing your post?

Also, those are pretty tasteful for marketing tie-ins!

[Kurosawa Fan]

Those shoes will get me to momentarily stop buying Chucks. I need a pair of those.

[D_Davis]

Those shoes will get me to momentarily stop buying Chucks. I need a pair of those.

I'll probably buy some as well.

They look sweet.

[Sycophant]

I gotta say, I'm not crazy about the bright orange patch logo on the tongue of the shoe.

[Watashi]

A full 3-minute trailer for Spike Jonze’s big screen adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are will screen in front of DreamWorks Animation’s Monsters vs. Aliens, which hits theaters on March 27th 2009. Scored to the song Wake Up by Arcade Fire, a scooper over on CHUD describes the trailer as “beyond the most grandiose superlatives: ‘beautiful’ and ‘gorgeous’ and ‘breathtaking’”, calling the environments “a work of incredible vision” and the finalized monsters “some kind of incredible technical achievement”, “nothing short of real and feel very alive and very, very huggable.” I’ve been waiting for this movie since I was a little kid, and I can’t explain how excited I am just reading a vague description of a trailer.

:eek:

[Sven]

Scored to the song Wake Up by Arcade Fire

Hilarious. This project couldn't get more hip if the kid was played by Jessie Eisenberg.

Still, this and Crank 2. Only films I'm really dying to see this year so far.

[MadMan]

I'll just wait to see the trailer online, as Monsters v. Aliens does not look like a good movie. Can't say I'm an Arcade Fire fan, but then I've heard very little of their work.

[Watashi]

Poster!

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wherethewildthingsareposter-440x640.jpg

Don't know about the 'Freaks and Geeks' font, but I love it.

[Watashi]

And can we please change the thread title or at least give it correct spelling.

[Boner M]

Hispter nilihism

[Acapelli]

and this movie continues to scare children around the world

[eternity]

I can't wait for Armond's review. I anticipate it more than I actually anticipate the movie itself.

[Sven]

I can't wait for Armond's review. I anticipate it more than I actually anticipate the movie itself.

He'll probably like it. He likes Jonze's work.

[eternity]

He'll probably like it. He likes Jonze's work.There's no way he can like something written by Dave Eggers though, right?

The ambiguity of whether he'll like it or not is what makes it so interesting. It's a clash of the best and worst things to him.

[Acapelli]

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wherethewildthingsareposter-440x640.jpg
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5426/easter20bunny20crying20.jpg (http://img17.imageshack.us/my.php?image=easter20bunny20cr ying20.jpg)

[Spun Lepton]

I'm sensing that Acapelli was traumatized by somebody in a mascot uniform when he was a toddler.

[Acapelli]

there's a picture of me as a kid just like that bunny picture somewhere at home

[Sven]

There's no way he can like something written by Dave Eggers though, right?

The ambiguity of whether he'll like it or not is what makes it so interesting. It's a clash of the best and worst things to him.

I think you're not considering White's perspective very thoroughly. He also likes the work of Wes Anderson and put Eternal Sunshine on his ten best of the year list. He's not as easy to pigeon-hole as the board makes him.

[transmogrifier]

I think you're not considering White's perspective very thoroughly. He also likes the work of Wes Anderson and put Eternal Sunshine on his ten best of the year list. He's not as easy to pigeon-hole as the board makes him.

I still think the Tintin project will completely blow the circuits of his mind; his one true love Spielberg paired with his idea of the anti-Christ Peter Jackson.

[Watashi]

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wtwtausatoday1-440x293.jpg

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wtwtausatoday2-440x293.jpg

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wtwtausatoday3-440x189.jpg

http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/wtwtausatoday4-440x293.jpg

Sweet Momma. I want the trailer now.

[NickGlass]

Ellen Page is looking more and more boyish by the day.

[Amnesiac]

The website is up (http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbr os.com/).

Not much on it, yet.

[number8]

Oye oye.

I bring you TRAILER (http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/where-the-wild-things-are/trailer).

[Sven]

Oye oye.

I bring you TRAILER (http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/where-the-wild-things-are/trailer).

Holy amazingness.

[Mara]

Oye oye.

I bring you TRAILER (http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/where-the-wild-things-are/trailer).

Hmm.

[Amnesiac]

Awesome!

[Sycophant]

Oh, man. It's tempting, but I don't think I'm gonna watch that trailer. I want the film tainted with as little expectations of what I think it's supposed to be as possible. I'm already there opening day.

[Sven]

Oh, man. It's tempting, but I don't think I'm gonna watch that trailer. I want the film tainted with as little expectations of what I think it's supposed to be as possible. I'm already there opening day.

Take it from me, John, this trailer will make you die.

[Sycophant]

Take it from me, John, this trailer will make you die.

I'm not sure how to take this.

[Wryan]

Looks great.

I still don't really get AF. I like 'em ok, but, really?

[Sven]

I'm not sure how to take this.

It will make you die of awesome. It will make you die of anticipation. It will make you die for dying's sake, because where else would there be for you to go?

[Qrazy]

I could see Jonze cementing himself as one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers with this one. Being John Malkovich is OK but Adaptation is great. This looks like it has fantastic potential.

[Qrazy]

Looks great.

I still don't really get AF. I like 'em ok, but, really?

I'm not that huge on them (from a sporadic listen, haven't really sat down and given them a fair shake) but the song fits the trailer perfectly.

[Sycophant]

It will make you die of awesome. It will make you die of anticipation. It will make you die for dying's sake, because where else would there be for you to go?

So are you telling me I should practice dying with the trailer so when the movie makes me die, it's not so hard on me?

[Sven]

So are you telling me I should practice dying with the trailer so when the movie makes me die, it's not so hard on me?

I... I don't want you to die.

[Lasse]

I hope I live long enough to finish this post.

I loved the trai

[Qrazy]

I love the shot of Max running towards that large round thing near a tree.

[Raiders]

I hope I live long enough to finish this post.

I loved the trai

At least your ghost was nice enough to hit the "submit" button.

[Kurosawa Fan]

At least your ghost was nice enough to hit the "submit" button.

:lol:

I had the same thought.

This trailer was everything i wanted it to be. And the Arcade Fire song was used brilliantly.

[dreamdead]

:eek: Um, that trailer is incredible. Please let this live up to its potential. Visually it looks stunning. I'll be curious how it handles itself storywise...

[Acapelli]

really could have done without af, and i love funeral

but otherwise it looked great

[Qrazy]

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

HD

[Ezee E]

Okay, I'll be the one to be the dissenter.

Amazing visuals indeed. I think the movie will be brilliant, but I think the Arcade Fire song just seems out of place here.

And from a business standpoint, it couldn't cater any less to the young demographic. I guess it already knows who will be watching it though.

[Sxottlan]

Looks great.

I don't remember ever reading the book though. Or listening to AF.

I guess I'm off in my own little world too. :eek:

[NickGlass]

There's absolutely too much editing (and running) in that teaser--I look forward to the full-length trailer or, rather, just seeing the film when it's released so the images can actually resonate and not simply elicit a shallow "AWESOME." The sense of imagination and angst certainly seem to be in place, though. I highly approve of directors exploring the psyche of hip 10-year-old audience (myths and wonder) as opposed to pandering to 17 year-old boys (boobies and oh-so-cool graphic violence).

There's a monster-sized possibility that this adaptation will be a huge mess. Fortunately, I love me a Spike Jonze mess.

[Wryan]

I'm not that huge on them (from a sporadic listen, haven't really sat down and given them a fair shake) but the song fits the trailer perfectly.

Oh that it does. I think I thoroughly enjoy that one song of theirs about a car window or...something...autumnal. I can't remember. But thoroughly enjoyed it I have.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Looks adorable.

I just read that this was in limbo due to test audiences thinking it was too dark and the main kid was unlikeable.

I hate test audiences. Stop sanitizing my movies!

[Ezee E]

I highly approve of directors exploring the psyche of hip 10-year-old audience (myths and wonder) as opposed to pandering to 17 year-old boys (boobies and oh-so-cool graphic violence).

I don't think it applies to either. More 19-year old... [Armond expletive]

[Watashi]

What the devil? I love Arcade Fire and the song works perfectly.

But seriously, that trailer is pretty much the sex. In fact, it's better than sex.

[number8]

In fact, it's better than sex.

You shouldn't say things like this.

[Qrazy]

There's absolutely too much editing (and running) in that teaser--I look forward to the full-length trailer or, rather, just seeing the film when it's released so the images can actually resonate and not simply elicit a shallow "AWESOME." The sense of imagination and angst certainly seem to be in place, though. I highly approve of directors exploring the psyche of hip 10-year-old audience (myths and wonder) as opposed to pandering to 17 year-old boys (boobies and oh-so-cool graphic violence).

There's a monster-sized possibility that this adaptation will be a huge mess. Fortunately, I love me a Spike Jonze mess.

This term seems to be becoming the new 'emo' (in use, not content distinction). Both terms are awful and borderline meaningless at this point btw.

[Sycophant]

Wats, you just keep telling yourself that.

[Raiders]

In fact, it's better than sex.

... I must... refrain...

[Watashi]

Yeah, I know. My sex life sucks.

[Sycophant]

Thanks for drawing attention to it every couple months, though!

[Sven]

a shallow "AWESOME."

I assure you, sir, that my "awesome" was not shallow.

[Sycophant]

Today, we are all hipsters.

[Sycophant]

Is that new?

[Amnesiac]

There's absolutely too much editing (and running) in that teaser--I look forward to the full-length trailer or, rather, just seeing the film when it's released so the images can actually resonate and not simply elicit a shallow "AWESOME."

Yes, agreed, but I'm at least grateful that the sense one gets from this trailer and its fleeting images is "AWESOME" rather than "ABYSMAL" or "CLOYING" or "AWFUL", etc.

[Watashi]

I like hipsters for the lulz.

[shaun]

I can watch this trailer over and over again. Excellent.

[Qrazy]

For anyone who hasn't read the book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cOEFnppm_A

[DavidSeven]

Stop deleting words.

Cool trailer.

[MadMan]

Pretty flippin' sweet. The AF song in the trailer fits the whole thing perfectly. And I loved the shot where they're all just standing there howling with the sun in the background. Very nice.

[Pop Trash]

ZOMG!!! SPIKE JONZE YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTERD!!!

[Amnesiac]

Some random tidbits about the film and a nice picture of Jonze and Max Records (all of which, I think, can be found via that USA Today article but it's still worth posting for those of you who aren't yet aware of some of this trivia):

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dnyC0x0jeos/ScdCmeksQnI/AAAAAAAAAdI/rQn0mRj5m3o/s400/jonze+(2).JPG


Spike Jonze thinks the Wild Things are both cuddly and dangerous.

Since Spike Jonze was a child, he wanted to ride a Wild Thing.

Max Records was 9 years old while filming, but is now 11.

Catherine Keener has read the book to her son, Clyde, who is just as old as her on-screen son.

Local actors/actresses were hired to wear the Wild Things costumes.

Spike Jonze turned down the chance to make the movie fully animated, because he wanted people to feel the Wild Things, and thought it would be more exciting and dangerous if a real kid were running around with them.

Max Records enjoyed the wolf suit.

Spike Jonze has known Maurice Sendak since 1995.

The Bull will be voiced by Michael Berry Jr., but won't have any lines.

The book was a personal favorite of Max Records' since he was 3 or 5.

The scene in the book where Max meets a sea monster won't be in the film (it wasn't in the script, either). The scene is Max Records' favorite from the book.

Max Records had never travelled internationally before filming this in Australia.

Spike Jonze couldn't imagine anyone else playing Max, other then Max Records.

[Pop Trash]

That kid has one of the coolest names ever.

[Lasse]

At least your ghost was nice enough to hit the "submit" button.


:lol:

I had the same thought.

I realised that shortly after posting, but thought that it was even more unlikely that my ghost would edit the post.

Assholes, you are! :lol:

[number8]

Stop deleting words.

It's automatic. I'm not fond of it either.

[Lasse]

It's automatic. I'm not fond of it either.

I thought it was some sort of in-joke. Which words are they replacing?

[Sycophant]

h1p5+3r

and

|u|z

[Winston*]

hipster lulz hipster lulz hipster lulz hipster lulzhipster lulz

I have the power.

[Sycophant]

You're a magnificent bastard, Winston*.

[number8]

hipster lulz hipster lulz hipster lulz hipster lulzhipster lulz

I have the power.

Meh. Same trick I used to do back in RT to beat their no profanity rule. I was fucking when peeps were fvcking. It was inconvenient, but worth it.

[Fezzik]

After seeing that trailer, I have only one reaction...


:pritch: :pritch:

[Raiders]

Stop deleting words.

Um, no.

[Amnesiac]

Jeffrey Wells is already preparing to hate this movie.


I don't want to see Where The Wild Things Are because I don't like movies about kids. Not any more. Exceptions will always occur (and thank god for that), but I pretty much don't give a damn about coming-of-age movies or learning-a-tough-lesson movies or movies about young kids going through an adventure that changes their life and/or has a profound impact. Really, throw all that shit out the window.

I'll tell you one reason why I'm not the only one thinking this. The Great Recession has been scaring the hell out of people, and with everyone getting down to brass tacks and doing what they can to survive parents are realizing that they haven't done their kids any favors by funding a cut-off, over-indulged fantasy realm for them to live in. That's what the Wall Street pirates have been doing in a sense since Bush came in and look what happened.

Kids need to grow up and grim up and learn the skills and disciplines that will allow them to survive. So enough with the Spielberg-aping films that portray a child's world as a magical-fantastical kingdom in and of itself that adults might be able to learn something from.

I loved E.T. when I first saw it 27 years ago, but the last time I watched (i.e., when the last loaded-with-extras bullshit DVD came out) I had a moderately hard time. There's no filmmaker who's more sentimental, manipulative and emotionally cloying than Steven Spielberg when it comes to under-age characters. His films are like McDonald's french fries; they tend to age very badly.

[...]

And I don't want to hear any crap about how I'm getting colorfully cantankerous and channeling Andy Rooney. The ones out there who believe that American culture should celebrate and nurture adolescence as an end in itself are the loonies, not me. The wake-up call of the Great Recession means -- or certainly should mean -- that the age of the "infantilization of movies" (a term coined by Pauline Kael, as I recall, in an attempt to describe the influence that Spielberg and Lucas began to exert in the mid '70s) is coming to an end.

Source (http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/03/enough_with_kid.php).

[Sycophant]

Has Jeffrey Wells written anything that doesn't make him sound like a total twat? Or do I just get the prime cuts filtered through you guys?

[Winston*]

Jeffrey Wells seems like a genuinely stupid person.

[Boner M]

I'd like to reiterate the reactions to the trailer on display over the last 200 pages.

[number8]

Ah, but the best part:


I hate teenager movies unless they have characters who remind me of myself when I was 16 or 17, which is to say a kid with at least a semblance of a brain and a semi-developed vocabulary and actual curiosity about the world outside his/her immediate realm. Twilight met that test for me -- I believed in that film almost all the way through.

[Ezee E]

Ben Lyons has already called it the best movie evah since I Am Legend.

[Watashi]

Ben Lyons has already called it the best movie evah since I Am Legend.
This movie is too weird for Ben Lyons.

[Watashi]

This movie is too weird for Ben Lyons.
Plus, I showed this trailer to a group of friends and they all said it looked pretty "stupid and weird".

This film was made for film buffs.

[Ezee E]

This movie is too weird for Ben Lyons.
But he remembers seeing the cover as a kid. And the music is roxxors.

[Watashi]

But he remembers seeing the cover as a kid. And the music is roxxors.
You do a horrible Ben Lyons impression. Just stop.

[Fezzik]

Wait...let me get this straight.

Because the world sucks right now, we should stop making movies that allow kids to believe in fantastical things?

Kids should grow up?

WTF is this guy on? We need movies like this now more than ever.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Jeffrey Wells seems like a genuinely stupid person.

Agreed.

[number8]

Wait...let me get this straight.

Because the world sucks right now, we should stop making movies that allow kids to believe in fantastical things?

Kids should grow up?

WTF is this guy on? We need movies like this now more than ever.

His theory is that we have a recession because Wall Street is full of kids who grew up with fantastical movies, and that if we breed a future of super-serious super-grim people, the economy will prosper.

Brilliant, I say. Bravo.

[Qrazy]

Ugh, someone give him the sympathy bullet to the back of the fucking skull already.

[Ezee E]

You do a horrible Ben Lyons impression. Just stop.
If we were in pictures together, would you be happy?

[MadMan]

Ben Lyons and Jeffrey Wells are part of the league of morons.

[[ETM]]

Isn't it fitting that Wells even got the fries parallel wrong? In case of nuclear holocaust, only roaches and McDonald's french fries would remain on Earth.

[Qrazy]

;148020']Isn't it fitting that Wells even got the fries parallel wrong? In case of nuclear holocaust, only roaches and McDonald's french fries would remain on Earth.

Hate to stand up for the guy since he sucks and I know what you mean in terms of fries not decomposing very quickly, but I think Wells meant taste-wise. Also interesting fact by way of mythbusters, apparently flour weevils are more likely to survive the nuclear holocaust than the cockroach.

[chrisnu]

That looks fantastic. Can't wait.

[Amnesiac]

Ben Lyons and Jeffrey Wells are part of the league of morons.

Not to flood this thread with irritating Wells tidbits, but I found this somewhat interesting... he and O'Reilly once went head to head (http://dirtyharrysplace.com/?p=3561) over his blacklisting of Jon Voight.

[Pop Trash]

His dis on Hook and The Phantom Menace are fine by me but I don't understand putting A.I. in with those films. A.I. is about a robot-child who is essentially a tabula rasa who is himself manipulated (Spielberg self-critique perhaps? hmm interesting) by his mother to have one true emotion. That of love for his mother who then abandons him, leaving him with an empty longing feeling he doesn't understand. David is then left to fend for himself and the reality of a cruel, harsh world he never quite understands. This seems like the exact type of movie he was wishing "kids" movies would be more like.

[NickGlass]

Jeffrey Wells is already preparing to hate this movie.

Source (http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/03/enough_with_kid.php).

I wish this was just a scathing review of Finding Neverland instead of a broad-minded opinion piece.

[Amnesiac]

He's basically criticizing the entire bildungsroman genre. Or perhaps its execution in cinema. But, as Pop Trash indicates, this genre has actually been utilized in a lot of interesting and commendable ways.

However, Wells seems to claim that this genre has been entirely unproductive. Perhaps he doesn't realize that Max is likely to return from his fanciful imaginings having gained a more intricate and mature understanding of the real world. And furthermore, it is those very fanciful imaginings that allow Jonze to creatively deal with the vulnerabilities and complexities that kids (and adults, too) have to grapple with. I'm guessing the characterization of the Wild Things will inevitably be informed by Max's own turmoil in real life. It's escapism, sure, but there's a valuable function to that escapism. It's not just reckless resignation... and quite frankly, escapism is a part of every one of us, it's not something to evade or reprimand. It can't go unchecked, sure, but denying it expression within cinema seems kind of ridiculous.

But Wells may not be censuring escapism that generally. He seems to be attacking a certain brand of it wherein films reveal next to nothing about the real world. However, in the case of Where The Wild Things Are, I expect it will be a learning experience for Max. It's not about losing yourself indefinitely within fantasy. It's about using the possibilities of the imagination in order to interpret and deal with emotions that are complex, harmful or confusing. I think there will likely be a didactic, rather than self-indulgent and static, element to Max's fantasies.

Wells seems to believe that these films encourage submission to imaginative realms of non-productivity. However, I really doubt Where The Wild Things Are is going to end with Max permanently resigning from the real world.

[KK2.0]

loved trailer

that Wells guy is a dickhead


For anyone who hasn't read the book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cOEFnppm_A

thank you.

[Amnesiac]

A new update from Wells expanding on his aforementioned comments. He seems to have realized the kind of things I was mentioning in my last post...


I should acknowledge that HE reader "Cde." pointed out the following: "I don't want to spoil the ending, but I'll just say that [Where The Wild Things Are director] Spike Jonze seems to have a similar view to your own, which is exactly the reason that the studio freaked out and got into the huge battle with him that lasted eighteen months. They wanted reassuring, obvious bullshit that celebrates childhood and he made a film about the necessity of facing reality.

"A better way of putting all of that would be to say that Jonze wanted to make a film that was true to Maurice Sendak's feelings that, while children certainly have compassion, they are often unconsciously cruel or insensitive because of their lack of understanding of the world and those around them."


At least he's realized that his comments were a little precipitate. I think he was being unfair to a genre that isn't as corruptive as he's made it out to be.

Its certainly good that films such as Where The Wild Things Are focus on the cathartic possibilities of a child's imagination while also tempering its imaginative abandon by connecting to the real world and maturity. Even so, that doesn't mean that we should condemn any film that allows entry into a creative and whimsical universe that could only have been dreamed up by a nascent imagination. That is, even if those films don't enforce maturation or greater awareness (which may sometimes be the case) there's no real reason to get upset. Besides, it's not like any of those films were ever that thematically narrow (the message is always more than "imagination is fun, keep using it!"). The elastic logic of a child's imagination allows the right artist to say some pretty interesting things, and I can't think of many cases where there isn't a valuable lesson to be learned or where a film simply and merely unabashedly supports resignation from the real world.

I mean, really, does anyone here think that these kind of films are corrupting our youth and turning them into lethargic daydreamers? Isn't this logic similar to the idea that violent movies propagate violent actions?

[Henry Gale]

I love the trailer to death, blah blah, echoing everyone's sentiments, probably one of my most anticipated, etc. But a lot of people have reported that ages before this there was a brief teaser back in 2000 when Universal had it and it was attached to The Grinch.

Does anyone have any recollection of this? Is this just misinformation or has Jonze really been set to make this since right after Malkovich?

[Amnesiac]

I love the trailer to death, blah blah, echoing everyone's sentiments, probably one of my most anticipated, etc. But a lot of people have reported that ages before this there was a brief teaser back in 2000 when Universal had it and it was attached to The Grinch.

This is true. I never saw The Grinch, in theaters or otherwise, so I never saw the teaser. I've seen discussions about it crop up but no one has ever posted a link or anything.

I've always been curious what the teaser was like. I think I've read descriptions of it, though.

[Sycophant]

It's amazing what the advent of YouTube and flash-based video has done. If it had been attached to a 2005 movie, I could provide you with thirty different links to the actual teaser across the Internet.

[Henry Gale]

I'm pretty sure I saw The Grinch opening weekend... but I was about 10 when it came out. I imagine the trailer having just been a black screen with forest noises and text popping up with obvious things like "Based on the beloved children's book... From director Spike Jonze" and other tagline-y stuff like in the new trailer.

But if I'm wrong and they actually tried to do something in terms of footage, then that would be extremely interesting to see.

[Amnesiac]

New interview with Jonze:


Spike Jonze has nearly completed Where the Wild Things Are, the epic children's-book adaptation he directed from a script co-written with Dave Eggers, but after coping with studio clashes, reshoots and rewrites, and special effects "unlike anything I've dealt with before," he's feeling bummed about one thing in particular: "I've been working on the same movie for four years and basically haven't been paid anyway," he said at MoMA last night, following the premiere of Patrick Daughters and Marcel Dzama's new music video for Department of Eagles. "When you break down how much you're making [over that time] ... Yeah, it's kind of crazy."

But Jonze is relieved to be putting the finishing touches on the film, which is due in October. And he's excited about another labor of love: a documentary about Wild Things creator Maurice Sendak, which he hopes to finish in time for the release of the main event. "He's awesome and amazing," said Jonze of the 80-year-old writer, who wrote the book when he was living in a basement apartment on West 9th Street, and who now lives in Connecticut. "But yeah, this year I should probably get back to work on other stuff, and start making money again," the filmmaker said with a shrug. "I haven't made money in a long time."

Maybe more music videos — like the "short film" he just made with Kanye — would be in order? "No way, I don't think so. There are no budgets at all. We support ourselves with commercials. That's how I make money." Our all-time favorite was that Gap ad in which customers rip a store to shreds. Well, "It's a good thing to get paid to destroy a Gap."

Source (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/03/spike_jonze_looking_for_where. html).

[Grouchy]

Of course it's both unprofessional and unethical that he hasn't seen any money for his four-year efforts, but I'm pretty sure that hit directors like Jonze don't need the money. I mean, between DVD sales, TV rights and stuff, they got a constant cash flow coming to them.

...

I'm not sure what the point of this post was, except to assure you all that you won't see Spike asking for change on NYC streets anytime soon.

[ledfloyd]

he made it sound like he was doing commercials to make money. jonze isn't really a "hit" director. this isn't spielberg or scorsese.