Forest Whitaker talks Where the Wild Things Are
March 30th 2008 00:07
Where the Wild Things Are in turmoil
Oner of the few screenshots from the film
Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the seminal children’s book Where The Wild Things Are oozes cult potential. Here at hunt famous we have been eagerly following the films progress and as many know the project has been in an unofficial state of turmoil since early screenings left kids with skid marks in their pants.
Criticised for being too scary and horrific for bubble wrapped infants, the studio has unfortunately listened to test screen audiences and suspended release with threats of re-shoots.
Director Spike Jonze and his wife Sofia Coppola
Ever since then rumours have been flying all over the place about the troubled state of Spike Jonze’s (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) unique vision. Heartbreaking, now what could have been a subversive classic may be homogenised by Warner Brothers into just another generic flick.
The Mighty Forest
Standing up for all us lovers of the book and admirers of the Director’s singular style, the lead monster in the film Forrest Whitaker (Ghost Dog, Bird) has now gone on the record in an interview with MTV.com.
Defending the films darker elements Whitaker says: “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.”
“My children are 9, 11, and 16,” and “It was intense. They liked it, though. They enjoyed it.”
“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.”
“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.”
Sounds like Spike has captured the essence of the source and remained loyal to its intentions to me. It really is a sad trend that Hollywood tries to shelter children from works with any real substance or challenges.
The recent film Bridge to Terabithia proved that when handled with care serious issues that are a fact of life can elevate a family movie. After all the Grimm Brothers fairytales for instance are horror tales for kids that serve to educate them on important life lessons.
Here is some early test footage for the film that was created to see how the melding of CGI and Live action would work. (Note this is not a part of the finished film.)
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Cibbuano
Jessie
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Tyronne
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
Jo
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Perhaps we can hold out hope for a director's cut DVD?
I haven't seen Bridge To Terabithia (although I read the book when I was quite young) - but the kids were watching it the other night, and we adults had our conversation sporadically interrupted with little feet scurrying in from the next room: "Daddy, this movie's scary."
Homogenising stories is criminal, but you do need to consider what id age-appropriate, no? I couldn't believe the tender age of some if the kids sitting in the movie theatre for Lord of The Rings!
Comment by Bob Kovacs
Movie Stripe