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At this point, it almost feels like we've been worried about Where the Wild Things Are for as long as the project has existed. For something that's been teased since 2000, the film's epic production schedule has been plagued by rumors of re-shoots, an unhappy production studio and the purported squashing of Spike Jonze's vision. The big question hanging over the project has been whether Jonze has final cut or if, ultimately, he'll be forced to say yes to the studio or get thrown off. Luckily, there may have been some good news about the project to come out of San Diego Comic Con.
CHUD caught up with Wild Things'
producer Gary Goetzman at the convention, seized the opportunity to
ask him about the project and the news was good: Jonze has final cut. This may have been one of the reasons why Jonze initially moved from
Universal to Warner Bros.
"There was an Alan Horn conversation where he said his vision and Spike's vision weren't on the same page," Goetzman said. "We support Spike's vision. We're helping him make the vision he wants to make."
AICN decided to do the same thing and received a similar sentiment from Goetzman, who referred throughout their conversation to "Final Cut Spike." This means that so long as Jonze is in charge, he doesn't need to put the film out until he feels it's finished. Goetzman also reiterated that, "Warner Bros. has no intention of bringing down the hammer on anyone." However, despite all this positive word he also said, "I think that Warner Bros. vision and Spike Jonze's vision may be a little different." Given the film's $100 million+ budget, it seems a tough sell that they'd put out something they were unhappy with just because Jonze said so.
One issue is whether Jonze's final cut is based on film length, an issue raised by AICN though seemingly unprovoked. But whether or not Jonze's vision is dependent upon certain criteria, length among them, it would not be too out of the ordinary for studio culture these days.
For all the panic the project's provoked by fans, it should also be noted that Spike Jonze has always taken ages getting his films just right. Being John Malkovich took about a year just to edit and doesn't require nearly the amount of CGI that Wild Things does. Adaptation followed suit, and despite the impression his video catalog may give, Jonze works slowly. It hasn't been the smoothest production, but there's no reason to think Jonze's vision has been totally compromised... yet.
"There was an Alan Horn conversation where he said his vision and Spike's vision weren't on the same page," Goetzman said. "We support Spike's vision. We're helping him make the vision he wants to make."
AICN decided to do the same thing and received a similar sentiment from Goetzman, who referred throughout their conversation to "Final Cut Spike." This means that so long as Jonze is in charge, he doesn't need to put the film out until he feels it's finished. Goetzman also reiterated that, "Warner Bros. has no intention of bringing down the hammer on anyone." However, despite all this positive word he also said, "I think that Warner Bros. vision and Spike Jonze's vision may be a little different." Given the film's $100 million+ budget, it seems a tough sell that they'd put out something they were unhappy with just because Jonze said so.
One issue is whether Jonze's final cut is based on film length, an issue raised by AICN though seemingly unprovoked. But whether or not Jonze's vision is dependent upon certain criteria, length among them, it would not be too out of the ordinary for studio culture these days.
For all the panic the project's provoked by fans, it should also be noted that Spike Jonze has always taken ages getting his films just right. Being John Malkovich took about a year just to edit and doesn't require nearly the amount of CGI that Wild Things does. Adaptation followed suit, and despite the impression his video catalog may give, Jonze works slowly. It hasn't been the smoothest production, but there's no reason to think Jonze's vision has been totally compromised... yet.
Related links:
Review: The Work of Director Spike Jonze
Where the Wild Things Are on IMDb
News: Karen O is Where the Wild Things Are
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Spike + Final Cut = A Very Good Film