Where the Wild Things are.

[Figs]

So where can I see this test footage?

 

[Rezzo]

So where can I see this test footage?

You can check it out here.

 

[Octoberist]

honestly, i hope WB keeps Spike.

I mean..you're going to pick Spike from his resume, on have him work on a mainstream kiddie flick like this? I think the current version of the movie can be great,if it's an original film catered to an older demographic. In some ways, I don't blame WB if that's the case. Again, you picked Spike Jonze; what are they expecting.

I hope that Spike will make it more...kiddie friendly without compromising his vision.

 

[Space Moose]

That test footage was awesome. WB are morons if they don't release this. If kids don't see it, a bunch of stoned teenagers will., as well as the art crowd.

 

[K.B.]

One of the big things in that article that bugged me was the part where they say max isnt likeable. We arent suppose to like him at first because he is a brat.

Same as the grinch dosnet need a love interest or villain for his movie.

 

[Space Moose]

So if they re-shoot the whole movie, will they leave Spike's version unfinished (sound edits, cuts and CGI SFX)?

 

[Rezzo]

Didn´t see this article posted.

Where the Wild Things Are Update

Update - I can’t speak for what happens in the future, but when I wrote the story below it appeared to be 100% accurate based on information from more than one credible source. All I can say is that after a few phone calls tonight from other close sources to the production, I’m less optimistic about what I originally wrote. Take that as you will.

Today must be some sort of karmic payback, as coming only a few hours after breaking the news that Spielberg has delayed/dropped out of “Chicago 7,” I’ve now got news on Spike Jonze “Where the Wild Things Are.”

As most of you know, this week has been loaded with news about the production. All week, rumors have been online that the film might be completely reshot and that Spike might be replaced as director. Fandom has been concerned that they’d never see Spike’s take on the material, and that the test screening sometime last year in Pasadena would be an event that people spoke about like the “Blade Runner” test screenings in Denver and San Diego back in 1982.

Well, we can now relax.

I’ve just spoken with two sources and both of them have confirmed the same story – Spike is not getting replaced as director, Warner Bros. is not reshooting the entire movie, and we will see - at some point - Spike Jonze “Where the Wild Things Are.”

I’ve been told that the movie is doing reshoots and that they’ll be done here in the Los Angeles area. I’ve also been told that Spike is directing them and they’re mostly being done to fix the animation of the Wild Things and to address a few problems with the script. Basically, all the usual stuff that comes up when you make a movie.

The only thing I don’t know for certain is when the movie will get released. I’d imagine that since the film is not even close to completed and that the reshoots are still being planned, 2009 is the earliest we’d see it.

But even if we have to wait till next year, I think you’ll all agree that it’s better to wait and see what Spike has come up with, than to lose his take on the Maurice Sendak story.

 

[Gotham]

That's good to hear. Spike must have really fought for his vision. Glad we'll see something much more fit to the novel.

 

[K.B.]

I hope that we get some sort of directors cut as well down the line

 

[Rezzo]

According to Variety WB has set the release date for October 16, 2009.

 

[Gotham]

According to Variety WB has set the release date for October 16, 2009.

Which isn't that bad.

 

[Space Moose]

Phew! Thank God for that! Is the additional footage going to be studio filmed?

 

[Art Damage]

I heard reports that when they were showing footage of the film that little kids were crying and that it had an overall dark feeling to it. Which made me completely excitied...

Then I heard about the reshoots and that Warner Bros. wanted to have a complete makeover like something of Cat in the Hat crap...

Thank god for that Collider update. It does suck though it's not coming out in 2008...all my favorite movies are coming out around that time and it was would be great to see it around Halloween.

 

[Rezzo]

Whitaker Addresses ‘Wild Things’ Re-Shoots, Says Kids Can Handle Jonze’s Vision

Recent headlines have speculated wildly on the fate of “Where the Wild Things Are.” Advance screenings have reportedly proven too scary for kids, and resulting rumors have Spike Jonze’s flick being re-cut, re-focused, or even entirely re-shot.

According to one of the film’s voice stars, however, there are at least three kids who had no problem handling the horribleness.

“My children are 9, 11, and 16,” insisted Forest Whitaker, saying that he took his children to one of those early “Things” screenings. “It was intense. They liked it, though. They enjoyed it.”

The film is a unique mix of live-action, CGI, animatronics and enormous puppets, with Whitaker as the main monster. “I play Ira, he puts the holes in the trees,” the Oscar-winner grinned. “I have a wife and kid, and we’re the only family unit inside [the land of the Wild Things]. It’s a good movie. I saw an early cut of it. I brought my kids to see it, and I was really impressed.”

So impressed, in fact, that Whitaker is becoming increasingly concerned by all those rumors that Jonze’s cut is under siege. “I’m going to call Spike and find out what’s going on,” he promised. “The thing is, it’s one thing to read [scary stuff] in a book, but when you see an itty-bitty kid running alongside a 10-foot-giant on the side of a cliff, it gets intense. But that’s the point, because we’re representing the things inside of the kid. They represent his struggles, either him being too angry or being confused, or not feeling like he belongs. They’re a gargantuan extension of the way he’s feeling inside.”

The good news for fans is that Jonze has stayed faithful to the book; the bad news for Jonze, however, is that he may have stayed too faithful to the book. “[The dark scenes] are the point of the movie, and I hope that they maintain that point, because I think children can identify with a character who is upset,” the father of four explained, citing one key scene of destruction as being particularly controversial. “[The main character Max] built this whole city, and nobody likes it, and he tears it all up. He’s like, ‘Well if you don’t like it, I’m just going to tear it up!’ because he wants so badly for someone to like it.”

“This kid rolls by himself, no father figure; this is a single family home,” he continued, with passion. “His mother ends up having a boyfriend that becomes like a monster to him…people have to build trust with the people their parent starts to date…These are real issues that the character deals with, and I hope that [the filmmakers] continue to explore them, because kids need to see that; they need to see that other kids are dealing with it.”

I really hope WB doesn´t ruin Jonze’s cut.

 

[Figs]

Same here, I hope Forest with that Oscar sway of his can help keep this film the way it was intended. So sick of hearing crap like "It's too intense for the kiddies".

He said his kids were fine with it.

 

[Gotham]

The test footage looked and sounded remarkable. Glad to see Forest standing his ground on the film.

 

[Space Moose]

Don't like the sound of the October 2009 date. Too far. Does it really need that much post-production? James Cameron's Avatar dosen't even need that much.

 

[nite-owl]

The oddest news I've heard about the movie.

From total films website.

Ah, the perks of being a rap-man. Kanye West was recently treated to a tour of the Jim Henson Creature Workshop, and was apparently allowed to point his digital camera at whatever the bally hell he wanted.

Which is good news for us, because one of those things was a model for Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are.

Link to his blog.

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=193224_-1__0_~0_-1_4_2008_0_0&em3161=&em3281

 

[Gotham]

Ah! I was looking for this thread to post that exact image. It looks wonderful.

 

[Watson]

The pic got taken down, so I guess the studio caught it. But it is very cool. I really hope they do get this made and it sees the light of day.

OT, but it's stuff like this that makes me sure Kanye West is a big nerd at heart.

 

[tzarinna]

Very nice, and yes I believe Kanye is a nerd....looks like one to me.

 

[Space Moose]

He was cool before he started ripping everything off. Curtis Mayfield, Akira, Daft Punk...

Sure he had permission and everything but I prefered Late Registration stuff. But whatever, I don't know what I'm talking about anymore.

 

[Gotham]

I melt everytime I see that picture. What a memorable design.

 

[Space Moose]

The long release date pisses me off. But Bill and Ted was made in 1986 and wasn't released until 1989 and that movie ruled. They even had to dub some of the lines in post-production because of the change in time setting.

 

[KenK]

Jones actually co-directed Kanye's latest video (I'm not sure if he's done previous ones, though), and Kanye's been known for developing friendships with just about every he works with, so it's not that odd that he'd be given access to other stuff Jones is working on.