comment #1

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

I'm really intrigued what the movie is gonna look like...

I just hope it won't be a disappointment

comment #2

actionman says ...

I used to read this book over and over again as a kid. It was always my favorite.

To say that I am extremely excited to see what a genius like Jonze does with this material would be a massive understatement.

I can only hope that the statement made by the AICN reviewer that the film isn't a children's movie but a film about childhood is accurate.

comment #3

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Three and half years? What is this, Return to Apocalypse Now?

comment #4

rr3333 says ...

Do you smell that? Do you?

Smells like a BOMB went off.

Its been in the can longer than Valkyrie.

comment #5

DavidF says ...

I almost forgot about this movie.
On one level I'm hugely curious to see it. On the other hand, when a release date gets pushed back TWO YEARS, that doesn't seem like a good sign at all.

Jonze can probably shoot a whole other movie before this thing comes out. On the other hand, Chinese Democracy comes out Sunday so nothing is impossible...

comment #6

Circumvrent says ...

But it's not "in the can" - I get the sense from that interview that it's something they've actively been working on for years.

Not every vision is able to be successfully completed in time for a preordained release date. It's nice to see someone not from Pixar dedicated to making a genuinely movie that kids and adults can appreciate together, and in their own way as well. I say give Spike however much times he needs.

Up until this morning, I thought Jonze was at best a smart trust fund kid, and at worst, an idiot savant, but after reading that interview, I'm excited to how this comes out, as well as what he does next.

comment #7

NDH says ...

I was at the "disastrous" December '07 screening, and I guess I was one of the few audience members who marked the film as Excellent. I definitely agree with Cinemaniac1979's assessment about the film not being for children, but rather being simply about childhood. It's a dark, dark film, shot in a gritty, unpolished manner that came as a complete surprise to me when I saw it. But aside from moving a little slow in a couple of scenes, I couldn't find anything drastically wrong with it. My guess is that the studio did not like the mature tone of the film, and would have likely found it hard to market. Therefore, they ordered a complete overhaul, which in my opinion is a shame. I'm very interested to see how the final version of the film compares to the one I saw almost a year ago.

comment #8

Drew says ...

NDH --

Same screening I was at. They have not done a complete overhaul. That was the main point of the interview... far from it. There were some internal conversations about how to "fix" it, but in the end, you'll see pretty much the same film we saw, but with some additional scenes added and a few trims. It's not a substantial reworking at all.

comment #9

alUrdun says ...

My daughter is three-almost-four, and I've been reading this book to her on a regular basis. Beyond the fact that the art is incredible, what really strikes me is how lyrical and poignant the text is. There's both joy and sadness here. Max escapes the real world to an imaginary world of crazy abandon in which he can be the dominant figure, but ultimately is called back to reality by hunger and fatigue. It celebrates the imagination of youth, but also laments how the real world impinges on that imagination both day-to-day and as childhood becomes adulthood.

I'm hoping Jonze can capture that spirit in the film.

I'd love to see a trailer that uses lines from the book...

"That very night in Max's room a forest grew
And grew
And grew until his ceiling hung with vines
and the walls became the world all around

and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max
and he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks
and almost over a year

To where the wild things are"

comment #10

DavidF says ...

I'm all for a mature take but it would be a bit sad if it ended up being a film that people like me and alUrdun couldn't take our daughters too, wouldn't it?

It's all fine and nostalgic for those of us who grew up with it to see something that goes deeper but I'd hate for my kid to see a commercial on TV and then to have to say, "Um, it's PG-13...wait 8 or 9 years til you're old enough to see Where the Wild Things Are." If it can do both simultaneously, like a Pixar film, that'd be just grand.

And AlUrdun - I never read it as him being called back by hunger and fatigue so much as his mother's love. She sent him to bed without dinner, leading to his fantasy, but he's called back by the presence of that dinner which, as you know, was still warm...

comment #11

ZayTonday says ...

I was invited to that screening back in December.. I really regret not going now.