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Warner Bros is willing to venture WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE with Jonze!

I've been waiting for this movie to be made. Couldn't b by Han Ol' Buddy	Jan 9th, 2006 01:39:03 AM

let the wild rumpus begin! by mocky_puppet	Jan 9th, 2006 01:39:22 AM
don't go! we'll eat you up, we love you so!
This is something I'd like to see. by Virtual Satyr	Jan 9th, 2006 01:40:37 AM
It will make for an interesting movie. Especially directed by Jonze.
i thought they were already filming this and was hoping this was by Chief Redcock	Jan 9th, 2006 01:45:23 AM
get it in gear, jonze. people've been talking about this one forever...
Give me "Encyclopedia Brown" and then my childhood will always b by Monkeybrains	Jan 9th, 2006 01:54:38 AM
The "Wild Things" better look exactly how they do in the book, or there will be hell to pay. At least on here
New Zealand shooting locations? by Mr Sparkle	Jan 9th, 2006 02:43:30 AM
Anybody know if this will shoot down under, as previously reported.
Jonze working is great news by Koola_Norway	Jan 9th, 2006 02:45:51 AM

his Adidas ad would suggest he'd be perfect by mansep	Jan 9th, 2006 03:15:33 AM
but this project could go in so many different directions it's hard to presume anything. but it definitely SHOULD be cool.
thank you by Bryan	Jan 9th, 2006 03:25:42 AM
I was just wondering if this movie was still happening. I love Spike Jonze, and I think he's one of the rare minds that would treat Maurice Sendak respectfully. Also, I understand that Sendak is working closely with Jonze, or at least he was a while back when Entertainment Weekly did a big article on him. I hope they are still doing it in live action with giant costumes. If anyone has seen the Pacific Northwest Ballet production of The Nutcracker, which Sendak designed the sets for, they can imagine how great giant live action wild things could be. (Yes, I went to a ballet because I like Maurice Sendak. And I'd do it again.)
In addition to Encycolpedia Brown by Virtual Satyr	Jan 9th, 2006 03:26:07 AM
We also need movie versions of "My Teacher is an Alien" (not The Faculty) and "Sideway Stories From Wayside School".
Sweet. Dave Eggers is still attached. by Lenny Nero	Jan 9th, 2006 03:54:57 AM
Expect a lot of sardonic post-modernist wit. Which is good.
FIRST AGAIN... by unclefishbits	Jan 9th, 2006 03:56:11 AM
time and time again I am first. oh wait, I am not and that is lame... but I must admit... the fanfare should continue... this is markedly exciting... like, some of the more interesting news in awhile. Yay.
Dave Eggers... by unclefishbits	Jan 9th, 2006 03:58:11 AM
whoah.. whuh? huh? wait... how do you know? I thought he was working on that jamaican snow ski resort comedy spoof. uhh. maybe not.
Holy crap, Virtual Satyr, I totally remember "My Teacher Is An A by Lenny Nero	Jan 9th, 2006 03:59:11 AM
That shit's messed up. Let's do the whole series, though. "My Teacher Fried My Brains," "My Teacher Flunked the Planet," "My Teacher Glow in the Dark" and "Aliens Ate My Homework." Hell, if they're now making a "How to Eat Fried Worms," this doesn't seem strange at all. I'm not sure if "Wayside" would make a good movie, but it could definitely work as a miniseries, live or animated.
This is just another reason to love WB even more... by dr_buggerlugs	Jan 9th, 2006 06:49:21 AM
...they seem to be making some good decisions as a studio - this seems to be another one. Yay for us!
There is no real good reason for this film to be made. by Ingeld	Jan 9th, 2006 07:09:40 AM
Not every book should be a movie, certainly not ever kid's picture book. The only reason a film like this is being made is because there is a built in audience and film companies hate taking risks on unknown material.
Link is dead, look here for whole story by KoozyK	Jan 9th, 2006 07:18:51 AM
http://www.variety.com/article /VR1117935686?categoryid=13&cs =1&nid=2562 ehh, could be good, could be bad, but we won't know until 2007
Let's have a Captain Underpants movie!!! by Borgnine JR	Jan 9th, 2006 07:53:52 AM

this could be the very definitiion of by judderman	Jan 9th, 2006 08:03:37 AM

cool. Even if my last post wasn't.. by judderman	Jan 9th, 2006 08:05:07 AM
I personally credit Maurice Sendak for generating, oh I'd say half my childhood nightmares, and I thank him for it. I was about eight before I stopped having the "naked baked in dough" one.
Fuck Dave Eggers. by fiester	Jan 9th, 2006 08:19:52 AM
Fuck him in his self-absorbed, supercilious, manic-depressive arse. He's a hack. A glorified vanity press and that's all. You'd have to be a twelve year old girl not to recognize that.
i greet this news with trepidation by Peven	Jan 9th, 2006 08:29:13 AM
i was in primary school when the book was "new" and while i liked it well enough, there really isn't much of a story to tell, not enough full-length feature, imo. i could see a made for tv 1 hour adaptation, which with commercials would mean about 40 minutes long, and even that would be stretching it. there is so little actual story in the book that to make it a feature length movie Jonz is going to have to embelish and create a bunch of stuff as filler to stretch it out. seriously, there is much less to the story of Where the Wild Things Are than there is to The Lorax, yet The Lorax movie is great as a half hour adaptation of the Dr Seuss storybook.
I once saw some Disney test footage of WTWTA by Crimson Dynamo	Jan 9th, 2006 08:41:51 AM
it was of Max running through a house in the suit, and the background was done in early wireframe CGI
"voltaire can suck on my balls..." by jig98	Jan 9th, 2006 08:52:38 AM
seriously, is anyone clamoring for a fucking "wild things are" movie? no. that book couldn't have been anymore fucked up. spike jonze should do a sequel to "martin crowne:action hero" that was an awesome flick with chris collins, i just watched it last night when casey smith was blasting the dust bunnies all to shit,and when debra barone was attacking martin crowne as that psycho vine lady? holy shit! we got a planet hollywood AND hooters las vegas casino and resort coming, we don't really need this b.s., there's plently of other things to do to make a quick buck.
Lemme guess, they're gonna go all meta on us by Lance Rock	Jan 9th, 2006 09:22:20 AM

Great news. by hallmitchell	Jan 9th, 2006 09:52:49 AM
Exciting material with cutting edge director.
Uh-But Are Kids Mature Enough to Watch Another Lesbian Scene? by hipcheck13	Jan 9th, 2006 10:02:28 AM
...oh - it's not "Wild Things 3?" My band.
Dammit! Make that "My Bad" and Be DONE With It! by hipcheck13	Jan 9th, 2006 10:03:04 AM

Cool. by DerLanghaarige	Jan 9th, 2006 10:03:08 AM
Nothing else to say.
Yeah, but will it be as good as 'cat in the hat'? by Stan the Bat	Jan 9th, 2006 12:04:29 PM
Maybe. Maybe not. Not everything should be made into a movie.
PLEASE NO CGI PLEASE NO CGI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by Doom II	Jan 9th, 2006 12:33:01 PM
Make the creatures with a COMBINATION of Henson puppets and MINIMAL CGI if you have too. This movie could RULE! Casting of the lead boy is the most important element. If they fuck that up, it doesn't matter how good the creatures look. Let Jonze run with. No studio interference.
yeah but.. by quadrupletree	Jan 9th, 2006 12:49:11 PM
I'm more interested in seeing how they plan to turn a 15-20 page kids book into a 1.5-2 hour movie. He'll have to add/modify it somehow and hopefully he can do that while being respectful to the tone and content of a story that's loved by millions of people (adults and kids).
It's "Where the Wild Things Are." by Childe Roland	Jan 9th, 2006 01:19:30 PM
What is "in my pants" for $1,000, Alex? I'm surprised you didn't know that. In all seriousness, though, I'd love to see this done as a half-hour animated (in classic non-CGI style) like The Grinch. If they turn it into a Hook-esque adult slacker Max gets his wolf-suit groove back kind of thing, I will be mightily pissed.
Hold onto your wolf pajamas. This is gonna get weird. by Cabron	Jan 9th, 2006 01:28:04 PM
Jim Carey as Max?
please keep the cgi to a minimum by Nizzuts	Jan 9th, 2006 01:49:50 PM
this would be much cooler with Henson-like puppets and elaborate sets. Just my two cents. I am excited about Jonze directing it. I think his visual style will be right on for the movie.
Disney and Crimson by EriamJH	Jan 9th, 2006 01:50:44 PM
Yeah, I remember seeing the Disney footage back in the late 80s/early 90s... thought they were going to make the full thing. Whothoppanned?
Spike Jonze and picture books by Bryan	Jan 9th, 2006 01:57:25 PM
Remember, he spent years trying to adapt Harold and the Purple Crayon. Hopefully this one will actually get made. I have no way to back this up, but I have a hunch that Jonze will not "go all meta on us" like someone said above. He has different sides to him and I think there's a sincere side. I hope so. I'd like it to be timeless and somewhat minimalistic in order to be reminiscent of the book. A little like Polar Express, but without the crappy songs, and intentionally creepy instead of accidentally.
This better not end up looking like "Dogville" by 007-11	Jan 9th, 2006 02:49:39 PM
I can't shake this feeling that it's going to end up looking like that episode of the Cosby show where Ruthie wrote that same bullshit story every kid writes and it was acted out by the cast against paper backgrounds.
This is actually something I want to see... by Anna Valerious	Jan 9th, 2006 03:56:29 PM
A recent episode of "The Simpsons" reminded me how I love Maurice Sendak's work. It's about time this movie was getting made.
Also... by Anna Valerious	Jan 9th, 2006 04:00:48 PM
Bryan-"The Nutcracker" you were referring to was made as a film in the mid-80s. It's not on DVD yet, but I did catch it on TV in '04. Sendak definitely kept the dark aspects of the original story intact. VIrtual Satyr-I have been saying since "Holes" was released that we need a damn "Wayside School" series. And the Ms. Zarves mystery better be in there.
there isn't enough material in the book for a feature length by Peven	Jan 9th, 2006 04:22:32 PM
doesn't that worry anyone here? you may love the original book, but what you'll end up seeing on the screen will be something else; it will have to be in order to fill out the time requirements for a feature length movie. what you're going to end up seeing is 30 minutes worth of the original story, tops, and 40-60 minutes of Jonz and his writers embellishments and expansions. the majority of the movie will be from their minds and imaginations. it may end up being a good flick, but it won't be the book you are remembering with such affection.
>500 Words by bigj3rk	Jan 9th, 2006 04:53:49 PM
Seems to me most kids books don't make good movies, for one reason. The source material is too short. You can't make The Grinch or the Cat in the Hat or this into an effective feature length movie without adding extraneous filler that ruins everything that was good about the story in the first place. Having Jonze on board is encouraging but projects like this have a huge hurdle to overcome. Say Grich/Cat were one movie split into 2 instead of 2 feature lengths....might be a better movie with a more economical cut...
yeah, but the Cat in the Hat by all accounts was just insanely c by Freakemovie	Jan 9th, 2006 05:29:01 PM
you're right that you need to flesh out all childrens' books to turn them into full-length movies. but polar express mostly succeeded in doing that last year. the trick is not making the filler seem extraneous. and i think Jonze is the type of guy that can pull that off -- turn it into a richer story, not just bloated.
fuck i hate kids by AwesomeBillFunk	Jan 9th, 2006 05:31:48 PM
And yet love kids' movies. I reckon there is much cinematic potential in where the wild things grow. Imagery and atmosphere up the wazoo. I trust Jonze. It's a kids' movie so it doesn't have to be too long. Three acts, Act one -he is bad, chucks tantrum, sent to room, forrest grows. Act two- he is where the wild things are, becomes wild things' ruler and overlord. Act three- he gets tired of it and wants to go home, wild things don't want that, he gets home we all learn valuable lesson. If you can stretch that to 75 minutes of spike jonze goodness i'm entirely there. The real trick will be casting the kid. He'll have to be able to chuck a tantrum but remain somewhat likeable. Be bossy and domineering but somewhat charming. He'll have to be young enough to be believable in the role but capable of doing some actual acting. Kids wreck movies. fuck i hate kids.
Yes, puppets.... by Shaner Jedi	Jan 9th, 2006 05:44:43 PM
...Or animatronics to be more precise. Then use digital for the puppeteer and rig removals, matte paintings, etc. You could even do a hybrid where they track the puppets and then can enhance their features with CG animation for scenes requiring alot of emoting. Just absolutely no motion capture ala Polar Express. If I see Jack with those creepy CG dead eyes with no soul.....>:(
I'm much more interested in "Curious George" by Drunken Rage	Jan 9th, 2006 06:13:55 PM
Who's set to play "The Man in the Yellow Hat?" I vote for Christian Bale.
Lenny Nero by yellowoystercult	Jan 9th, 2006 06:47:27 PM
Those books are all by Bruce Coville, but Aliens Ate My Homework was part of another series he wrote long after the My Teacher... series. Aliens Ate My Homework was amazing - as were its sequels, I Left My Sneakers In Dimension X, The Search For Snout, and Aliens Stole My Body. Man, they were great. Kids' books today are all trying to be like Harry Potter. It's really a shame. And fuck yeah - Jonze and Sendak can get together for a movie any day. Hell, Carole King and Sendak can get together whenever they want.
This should be 2D animation drawn in the style of the book. by jrbarker	Jan 9th, 2006 09:28:04 PM
I could see stop-motion, 3D, or CG live action working...but it couldn't capture the look of the book as well.
Drunken Rage by Anna Valerious	Jan 9th, 2006 09:45:49 PM
It's Will Ferrell, and David Cross and Eugene Levy are also in the "Curious George" movie. And the title character is being played by the reigning king of voice actors, Frank Welker. Thus, I will see it and tolerate the Jack Johnson songs.
I'm picturing something like a modern Labyrinth... by empyreal0	Jan 10th, 2006 12:22:18 AM
except no David Bowie in tights.
ROFL, moviemack by empyreal0	Jan 10th, 2006 12:25:00 AM
Can you IMAGINE if Peter Jackson directed this? Can you say, Meet the Feebles?
You're right, Yellow, I forgot that was another set of books by Lenny Nero	Jan 10th, 2006 02:04:43 AM
And there's really nothing wrong with trying to write books like Harry Potter. I just wish there'd be some variety.
I'm worried. by Plum	Jan 10th, 2006 03:21:11 AM
"Where the Wild Things Are" is, like "The Polar Express", a none-too-long children's book that's at least as reliant on its unique illustration style as on its (spare) text. Both are gorgeous books, but as another poster pointed out, the latter is going to need fleshing out just as the former did. I just hope it turns out okay.
Casting... by bigj3rk	Jan 10th, 2006 10:57:44 AM
They should cast the kid from Millions...he was great.
In term of visuals of the film... by SouthSide_2010	Jan 12th, 2006 11:51:43 AM
I wonder if this will be full blown CGI or some no face actor in a suit ala Godzilla. I know it'd be kind of surreal if the same kind of color visuals used in "Donnie Darko" were used in "Where The Wild Things Are". Well here's to blazing a big spliff and waiting in line with a bunch of loud assed little kids in line on opening day.

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