2008-03-28
Forest Whitaker: "Leave the film how it is"
Forest Whitaker, who voices the Wild Thing 'Ira' in Where The Wild Things Are, has spoken up about the controversy surrounding the film and its apparent 'scariness' for kids. While it's still unclear how much Warner Bros is wanting to change, Whitaker, who saw an early version of the Spike Jonze film with his kids, says it should be left the way it is, citing that the sometimes dark nature of the film and the main character, Max, is important to the story.
Warner Bros. were unhappy with the original 'not-so-child-friendly' state of Spike Jonze's film, and have postponed the release until October 2009, pending possible reshoots.
Read Forest Whitaker's full comments below:
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2008-02-27
Warner Bros. give new 2009 release date to Where The Wild Things Are
After being pushed back time and time again, we now have a new tentative date for the release of 'Where The Wild Things Are'. Warner Bros. has given a date of October 16, 2009 for the release of the film. That's a long way away, but it gives plenty of time for whatever re-shoots and changes they have in mind for the film (which is good or bad depending on who you ask).
Rumors have been all over the place that the studio is unhappy with Spike Jonze's current incarnation of the film. With the now 20 months before their new release date, there's plenty of time for them to fix, or even possibly reshoot the entire film. Question is: Will Spike Jonze be a part of it?
Originally, the film had a May 2008 release, which was pushed back to October 2008, and just a few months ago it was pushed further back to an ambiguous 2009 release.
2008-02-21
Uh Oh...Warner Bros. want a complete RESHOOT?
CHUD posted an article suggesting that Warner Bros. are unhappy with the film (which they spent $75 million on), and are considering reshooting the whole film. Apparently they are unhappy with the lead actor, Max Records, as well as with the tone of the film.
It's unknown right now if they would want Spike Jonze to reshoot the film, or even possibly get a new director who would be willing to make a more fitting film to what they have in mind. Leaked comments from the Pasadena screening a few months ago suggested that the film was more adult than child-friendly, which is probably what Warner Bros. were hoping for the film.
In any case, this is bad news for those who were looking forward to Spike Jonze making a Spike Jonze film. Will pressure from the studio derail his vision for the film? Read the article below.
Source
2008-02-19
Spike Jonze clears things up
A response from Spike Jonze about that apparently leaked 'Where The Wild Things Are' clip was posted at Slashfilm today. Speaks for itself:
"that was a very early test with the sole purpose of just getting some footage to Ben our vfx (visual effects) supervisor to see if our vfx plan for the faces would work. The clip doesn’t look or feel anything like the movie, the Wild Thing suit is a very early cringy prototype, and the boy is a friend of ours Griffin who we had used in a Yeah Yeah Yeahs video we shot a few weeks before. We love him, but he is not in the actually film…Oh and that is not a wolf suit, its a lamb suit we bought on the internet. Talk to you later…"
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2008-02-16
Is it real? Possible clip from 'Where The Wild Things Are' surfaces..
This past day or so, a clip has surfaced on the net that seems to be footage from the upcoming film.
The clip shows Max and a Wild Thing he refers to as 'Carol', talking with each other. Max asks if 'Carol' knows any tricks. Carol tells Max to grab a stick and hit him with it, as it won't hurt him. Carol then asks Max if he knows any tricks. Max goes ahead and does 'the Robot', saying that 'Robots are the best'. Carol looks hurt by this and walks away. Max joins him as they look off into the distance.
The creature is quite awesome and looks just how we expected it to. It's a large puppet costume, and the facial expressions look to be computer generated, and very well done at that. As a whole, it looks extremely close to what we've seen in Sendak's book.
I couldn't pin down any particular actor who was doing the voice of Carol. One thing that I questioned though, was that the boy depicting Max in the clip didn't look much like the actor we saw in the official still released by Warner Bros. last year. The costume he's wearing also doesn't seem entirely consistent with it. But who knows..
While the relevancy of the clip has come into question on different message boards, cinema site 'Cinematical' posted the clip and pretty quickly received a call from Warner Bros. asking for the clip to be removed, not directly confirming it was related to the film, but saying it was 'not authorized' to be released. Due to the above, the clip will not be posted here. (I'm sure you can find it if you really want to)
SO: Could this clip be from the film? Or could it maybe be from some early test shooting (which seems a good possibility)? Or maybe it could be from an entirely different production?
Who knows. But either way, it's pretty exciting.
edit: On a second viewing, you can clearly see what looks to be the Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles) in the background for some shots, so this probably wouldn't be a clip from the movie as it was filmed in Australia. More evidence that this is probably from an early test shot.
2008-02-04
More on Dave Eggers "The Wild Things" novel
A new Publishers Weekly article gives more information on Dave Eggers' "The Wild Things" novel, which will be released to coincide with the Movie. Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay for Where The Wild Things Are with Spike Jonze, has been working on an 'adult' novel that would tie-in with the movie adaptation.
Check out the full article for an interesting read.
Source
2008-01-16
More on Karen O's music contributions
We knew Karen O (Jonze's ex-girlfriend and Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer) was contributing something for the film's soundtrack, but composer Carter Burwell (who has scored Jonze's previous films and is helping with this one) mentioned that she written numerous songs and other pieces of music for the film.
Sam Spiegel, Jonze's younger brother, later confirmed that she would be doing the bulk of the soundtrack.
The film's release has been pushed back to 2009.
Source
2008-01-10
2008 Release for WTWTA seemingly unlikely
Rumor for the past few weeks is that 'Where The Wild Things Are' won't be getting the October 2008 release date it was scheduled for (after also being bumped from May 2008 originally). Although I haven't seen any official statement yet, trusted movie sites have been changing their estimated opening dates to 2009. It's unclear on whether this change is due to editing & post being behind schedule, or due to the studio shooting for a Spring opening instead of Fall. There is also the chance that this change may just be temporary.
2007-12-11
New Image from 'Where The Wild Things Are' shows Wild Things silhouettes
Warner Bros released a new photo (along with an already seen one) from 'Where The Wild Things Are' showing Max standing with the Wild Things. The positioning with the sun shows their silhouettes and the costume nature of the creatures. Click to check it out:
Source
2007-12-07
Dave Eggers working on 'Wild Things' novel to coincide with the movie release
Dave Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay for 'Where The Wild Things Are' is apparently working on a related novel that will be released with the film. It's unclear on what similarities it will hold to either the original book or the upcoming film, but it will apparently be different to both. Dave said he was approached by original author Maurice Sendak with the idea.
The target audience for the novel is expected to be both adult and younger readers.
Dave Eggers is a well known and praised for his previous writing. Publisher Dan Halpern predicts 'The Wild Things' will be a big success for Eggers.
Source
2007-12-02
Early version of 'Where The Wild Things Are' test screened in Pasadena, California
An early cut of 'Where The Wild Things Are' was screened in Pasadena, California yesterday. Free tickets had been handed out during the week at local theaters.
Although those who participated had agreements not to mention anything, details from the screening have already leaked.
It's said that the version shown to the test audience was an incomplete version, with music scores missing, wires showing, as well as most of the CGI not done. Many shots of the monsters did not have CGI faces yet implemented, and instead there were green markers on the costumes for post-production composition.
With still 10 months to go until the film is due to be released, there's a lot of time for director Spike Jonze to fine tune and edit the film based on whatever response was received from test audiences. Post-production CGI work and voice work are now currently being done.
2007-11-26
Lauren Ambrose to replace Michelle Williams in 'Where The Wild Things Are'
Lauren Ambrose (of 'Six Feet Under' fame) will be taking over Michelle Williams' (Dawson's Creek, Brokeback Mountain) voice role as a Wild Thing in 'Where The Wild Things Are'.
The reason being given by the filmmakers is that Michelle's voice doesn't match what they're going for.
Source
2007-11-20
Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O to be on 'Where The Wild Things Are' soundtrack
Ex-girlfriend of director Spike Jonze, and Yeah Yeah Yeah's singer Karen O is said to be performing on the 'Where The Wild Things Are' soundtrack. It's unknown how many songs she will be singing.
Source
2007-10-16
An early look at Spike Jonze and David Eggers' 'Where The Wild Things Are' script
New York Entertainment posted an article about a version of the 'Where The Wild Things Are' script, which was turned in sometime in 2005.
They give a lot of praise for the script, which they say focuses less on crazy plot twists, and more on exploring the psychology of Max's character.
They go on to mention some of the plot elements:
"Max, the hero of Wild Things, is now an 8-year-old with an absent father, an older sister who's drifting away from him, a mother whose personal and job concerns leave her little time or energy for the rambunctious boy she dearly loves. Eggers and Jonze — mostly, we suspect, Eggers — touchingly sketch this troubled family unit and carefully track the rising frustration and alarm Max feels as his world becomes darker and more unhappy, until, on page 21, he runs away, climbs aboard a boat, and sails to the island of the Wild Things.
There Jonze's influence begins to be felt, as the enormous creatures — with names like Carol, Alexander, and K.W. — look to Max as their King, and in a series of marvelous adventures, wrestle tornadoes, eat mud, and tame hawks. Always, though, there's a subtle undercurrent of menace, and it becomes clear that while spinning a yarn, Jonze and Eggers are also taking us on a tour of Max's psyche, as he works out so many of the issues that plague his young life. But any time the drama threatens to overcome the story's wonder, along comes another visual cherry bomb to shake things up: a tiny model of a city with rivers for streets; a pile of Wild Things, wiggling and wet, with Max sleeping against them; Max's final hiding place, and how he gets out. We won't give too much more away, because the pleasures of this screenplay are in its moment-to-moment details and discoveries."
Click below for the full article.
Source
2007-06-21
First picture from 'Where The Wild Things Are' movie surfaces
MTV Movie Blog has posted a high-resolution image from the upcoming 'Where The Wild Things Are' film, which was obtained after a recent Licensing Show in New York which introduced the film. The image shows actor Max Records (as Max) running amongst two Wild Things. More images from Aint It Cool News & Wizard Entertainment, also from the show, shows a displays for the upcoming film. Check them out:
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