Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze

Host:  Tanner

Tanner's Take: 

I remember the first time I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and thinking to myself how it was such an original film in every aspect. I had never seen a story so surreal and at the same time feeling very real and personal. That was the first time I remember digging into WHO was behind the concept. That was how I first learned of Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman's stories have such a vibrant imagination to them it's hard to picture them coming to life on the big screen. It takes a real talent to take these scripts and translate them on screen. Spike Jonze has handled a few of these scripts and done such an excellent job crafting them into the films they're renowned for today. Jonze is a bit of a renaissance man. Tackling everything from skate videos, music videos, theatrical motion pictures, and owning his own skate company. Being exposed to all these different forms of media I think really refined him to be the creative mind that he is today. Being John Malkovich and Adaptation were two of the films showcased for this night. Both which display a very special symbiotic relationship between writer/director (Kaufman/Jonze). Both being very bizarre in their own right, but with enough dark humor and emotion to make them films worthy of being remembered as classics. The third film we watched was Synecdoche, New York. This was Kaufman's directorial debut. The structure of Synecdoche is very odd, and the themes darker, but the story is very Kaufman. It's the least accessible of the three we watched, but very much worth watching none-the-less. Kaufman and Jonze have a vision that is unlike a lot of talents seen today. All their films delve into the minds of a human being in the most unique of ways. And with the mind comes limitless possibilities. I hope that these two continue to explore these possibilities throughout their career.

Adaptation

Being John Malkovich

Synecdoche, New York

Being John Malkovich: The Interview