Where The Wild Things Are

Jonze’s vision for the film may never have materialized without an equally inspired art direction team. Concept artist Sonny Gerasimowicz, who went to high school here in Orange County (and still enjoys surfing the OC beaches), gave The Gazette an inside look at translating book illustrations to live action. “There’s always some fear when you’re drawing representations of someone else’s characters,” Sonny explained, “I had to overcome that and just draw what I thought looked best. [Sendak] respected that I drew my own way, and we worked together from there.” Other concept artists had a different mode of guidance. Storyboard artist Federico D’Alessandro told us, “We’d pile into [Jonze’s] office and act out a scene, playing all the parts as if we were really Max and the Wild Thing, while Spike would move around the room taking pictures. Spike would give me those photos for storyboarding the scene.” Surprisingly, many artists and effects specialists turned down the opportunity to work on the film. Dave Elsey, who worked as the Creature Effects supervisor, clued us in on this. “A lot of FX companies turned it down. They all said ‘You’re crazy! Don’t do it!’ They didn’t think it could be done, and instead of running away, I dug my heels in. I’m glad I did, even though it was a huge challenge.” D'Alessandro also expressed his early uncertainty, “I was skeptical [about] if the book would translate to the big screen; however, as soon as I read the script and talked with Spike, those doubts evaporated. Spike’s enthusiasm and respect for the material was all over the script. I told Spike that reading the script was like being inside the mind of a child.”

I contacted Lance Acord, the Director of Photography (who has ties to Fullerton and Orange), for his insight on turning Jonze’s vision into cinematographic brilliance. “I chose to work on this film because I thought Spike had a fascinating approach. Because of [my] history of collaboration with Spike, it was a culmination of a lot of things we’ve done together. We’ve worked together for over ten years, going on fifteen. Through that time, the projects have gotten bigger and more elaborate. All that work prepared us to make a film like this.” (Some of the projects he’s referring to include film heavyweights Adaptation and Being John Malkovich). Lance detailed a bit of his journey in terms that were accessible for those who, like me, appreciate good cinematography but hardly understand it. “It’s a combination of elements,” Lance explained. “The type of film stock, the type of camera, the way you light the film, the way you move the camera—all those things go into establishing the look of the film. Customarily, a film like this would be done on stage, to make it easier to work with the suits. We set off from the beginning to shoot this like a wildlife documentary; accepting the challenges of shooting on location. That decision [to shoot on location in Australia] ended up steering a lot of the decisions. The other guiding aesthetic was that the film maintained a real subjectivity from the character of Max. A lot of times the camera height is with Max, [so] you view the film as you would from Max’s eyes.”

The monsters themselves are works of art. Elsey (of Creature Effects) told us what it was like building the creatures into realistic figures of the film. “[Spike] wanted creatures that were believable, and that looked exactly like in the book. We wanted actors, not suit performers—it’s not easy [to act] inside a nine-foot tall suit with a head the size of a gas oven! Plus, the suits [had] to withstand extreme stunts that would have made Johnny Knoxville cry. They made me cry. We had to put everything back together again! [The suits] had to be so astronomically versatile. It was important because Max Records, who plays Max, had to really believe in the Wild Things. He had to be able to touch them, see them, and even hear them. You really won’t believe what we’ve done here, or how we did it. Especially in an industry that usually fixes anything using Computer Graphics. We didn’t.”

The message of the film stays true to the book, although expanding on it. Everyone I spoke with on the production team had something to say about the influence the story had on them personally. D’Alessandro described a long-term love of Sendak’s book. “The art captivated my imagination. I was always drawn to the darker aspects of the book; I loved the book because I was afraid of monsters, and reading about them allowed me to experience that fear in a way I could control.” Acord speculated, “There’s a dreamlike quality to the book. There’s something that is powerful on an emotional level. So much of the material that is targeted toward a younger audience wouldn’t [cause me to be] as inspired and passionate about working on it; It lacks the sort of complexity that I look for, and I wouldn’t be as inspired to work on it as on a film like this.” Elsey added, “The script was superb; haunting and scary and emotional in a way that will surprise so many people. Kids will see stuff in it that adults won’t, and adults will understand things that children won’t, but all will be equally affected by it.”

You can find me at the midnight showing with fellow enthusiasts, ages 6 to 96. Dare I say that you can find me where the wild things are?

Author’s Note: The Arcade Fire’s song “Wake Up” (really the whole album The Funeral) provided an excellent backdrop for writing this piece, as it does for the film’s trailers.

The Gazette’s Blythe Hill talks with the cinematographer and concept artists behind one of the most anticipated films this year.

{ BY BLYTHE HILL }

{ PHOTOS COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. }

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, the beloved children’s book written in 1963 by Maurice Sendak, has become a favorite for many people from childhood into adulthood. It captured us as children, and continues to now. With graceful sophistication, Sendak taps into issues of human fear, escape, and the power of hope. This is likely why the book went on to win multiple awards (the Caldecott Medal, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, named a Notable Book by the American Library Association), and why it captured the special attention of Director Spike Jonze.

Many said it couldn’t be done—that it shouldn’t even be attempted. On October 16th, audiences nationwide will see the ten-sentence children’s book Director Spike Jonze and hundreds of others believed should be translated to the big screen.

CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE TO SEE MORE BEHIND THE SCENES SHOTS FROM WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE