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When we picked our 10 Breakout Stars of 2009 we missed the boat on the child actor likely to end up as the biggest breakout star of the year: Max Records.
The 12-year-old star of the well-reviewed Where the Wild Things Are was plucked from relative obscurity by director Spike Jonze, likely in part due to Records' appearance in music videos for Cake and Death Cab for Cutie.
Before he became director of one of the year's most anticipated films, Jonze started off directing music videos for Sonic Youth, the Beastie Boys, Daft Punk, and Fatboy Slim (to name a few). Kindred spirits, it would seem.
Posted 10.16.09 by reelz -
Just the other day, Warner Bros. released two new TV spots for Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are. Here's a little something to go along with that: The New York Times has published five new images from the movie as part of an interactive multimedia feature.
In the corresponding article, Jonze spoke with Times free-lancer Dennis Lim about the movie.
I wanted it to be as natural feeling as possible. I wanted to shoot the wild things in camera: on location, out in the wild ... [My goal was to] maintain this feeling I had reading the book as a kid. Those drawings are so immersive, you just fall into them ... Maybe it's because I've known [the creatures] since I existed, basically, but my feeling is that they've always existed as creatures in the world.
The article also discusses Jonze's movie-making process, which included voice-recording sessions with actors, filming on location with different actors, and digital manipulation for facial expressions.
Where the Wild Things Are opens on October 16 and features in-the-flesh performances from Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, and Max Records as the protagonist. Voice talent includes Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherina O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, and Paul Dano.
Posted 09.15.09 by reelz -
Four brand new character banners depicting Max (played by Max Records) and three of his friends from the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are movie have been released on MySpace. Incredibly detailed, the images bring to life characters created by author Maurice Sendak in his classic 1963 book of the same name. In both, Max escapes into a world of fantasy by donning a wolf costume.
Where the Wild Things Are is directed by Spike Jonze and stars Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo. It also features the voice talents of James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, and Lauren Ambrose.
Posted 09.11.09 by BrentJS -
The movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak's initially-controversial-but-now-classic 1963 book, Where the Wild Things Are, has been beset by its own share of delays, re-edits, and controversy. But according to Max Records, the young star of the picture, any controversy over the movie could simply portend good things.
When the book first came out, it was banned and all the adults hated it and stuff. But all the kids absolutely loved it. Then people started realizing, "Oh this is good. This is good." And so, I think it's the same thing — only hopefully it won't take too long for people to actually realize that it's really, really amazing.
Though Records is only 12 years old, Wild Things is his second feature and he spoke with some insight about the movie's director, Spike Jonze.
Spike's great; his big thing is he takes people and puts them in new situations, like I've never done the acting before. He wants it all to be spontaneous and authentic and real, and not like acting.
Posted 09.09.09 by BrentJS -
We're all excited about Spike Jonze's upcoming adaptation of the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are, especially after the book's author Maurice Sendak gave Jonze his full endorsement and glowing approval in a very titillating behind-the-scenes featurette.
And now, here's something to get everyone even more excited: We Love You So recently posted a sneak peak at the cover that will grace the latest issue of Filter Magazine.
The cover, which was illustrated by Geoff McFetridge, looks appropriately trippy. According to the post, the Filter issue will feature interviews with Jonze and actors Catherine Keener, Catherine O'Hara, and Max Records, as well as some photos and art from the set and crew.
Posted 09.04.09 by reelz