Spike Jonze Talks Where the Wild Things Are; Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down

AICN has a huge interview up with director Spike Jonze as well as a couple exclusive photos from Where the Wild Things Are. I mean it when I say it’s a huge interview, but it’s worth the read. Spike talks extensively about his adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic book and all the bullshit he’s had to go through to get his vision to the screen (which is scheduled to be released on October 16, 2009). He doesn’t sound dispirited, so that can give us hope that the studio didn’t castrate the bajeezus out of it. Spike was intially apprehensive about taking on the project because:

…the book is just so beloved to so many people. And as I started to have ideas for it I was worried that I was just making what it means to me, and what the book triggers in me from when I was a kid. And I’d be worried that other people were gonna be disappointed, because it’s like adapting a poem. It can mean so much to so many different people.

Executive Koala on DVD Today

From Amazon:

AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE U.S., MINORU KAWASAKI S FOLLOW-UP TO CALAMARI WRESTLER, A CULT CLASSIC PSY-KOALA HORROR / COMEDY! Tamura is an average Japanese salaryman working in the offices of a pickle distribution company. He is well liked in the office, hard-working, polite, wears a suit and tie, and also happens to be a six-foot tall koala bear. But when his girlfriend Yoko turns up dead one day and Tamura is the chief suspect, he is forced to enlist the help of his boss (a white rabbit) and a friendly convenience store attendant (a frog) in order to prove his innocence. A psychological thriller wrapped up in the packaging of a nonsense comedy with giant animals EXECUTIVE KOALA is like nothing America has ever produced…which is why it was made in Japan!

I am speechless. I am without speech. Japan, you’re alright, kid (messes up Japan’s hair).

Jodie Sweetin Signs Six-Figure Book Deal

Jodie Sweetin and the twins. I don’t mean Nicky and Alex.

About time. You know how long I’ve been itching to do some Full House related news? It was canceled 13 years ago, which makes the chance of any news pretty slim, I know, but this morning the NY Observer reports:

Jodi Sweetin, who played middle daughter Stephanie Tanner on Full House from 1987 until 1995, has signed on to write a book for Simon Spotlight, Simon & Schuster’s pop culture imprint, about the years she spent addicted to and recovering from drugs. According to the description that just ran on the Publishers’ Marketplace deal-wire, literary agent Kirby Kim at Endeavor sold Ms. Sweetin’s book at auction for a sum in the six figures.

Back in 2006 during an interview with ABC News, Sweetin spilled the beans about her years as a meth addict. She confessed that while on meth, she drove Joey’s car through the kitchen, gave Jesse a shitty haircut (causing him to get in a motorcycle accident), lost Danny’s wedding ring down the toilet, flooded the bathroom in an botched attempt to retrieve said ring, stole a sweater form the mall, illegally helped Joey gamble, mocked classmate Walter Berman by calling him “Duckface,” neglected her duties as a Honeybee, moved into the bathroom after a tiff with Michelle, got thrown out of a movie theater, proposed to pop sensation Tommy Page (who was actually interested in DJ), allowed Kimmy to pierce her ears, smoked cigarettes to impress classmate Mickey, and snuck into Steve’s apartment with Kimmy to prove that he’s a male ho.

The Mad Hatter: Fact Or Fiction?

Everywhere I’ve looked this morning, Johnny Depp is being gossiped, talked, and babbled about. All of this elementary school chit-chat is caused by this image:

Films To Find: TIMERIDER

If this movie is still available in ANY form, I shall track it down and review the hell out of it…just for yous.

L.T. The Landfill-Terrestrial

In a time where most video games look like big budget films, we often forget about the old days of games. Way back when Tron had the best graphics ever, and Saturday Night Live was still funny, a little video game system called Atari got an idea. They thought it would be swell to make a game version of the hit film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Stephen Spielberg got on board, and millions of cartridges were produced. What we got, turned out to be the worst game in history…

The only thing that sucks about this video, comes from Wikipedia.com:

“Although the video is a fun trip down memory lane for many people in their late-twenties, it is however historically inaccurate. In order to prevent looting of the landfill, Atari had the cartridges crushed with the tracks of a Caterpiller track loader before being covered with cement after insertion into the landfill.”

Such a pity.

Larz’ Comic Book Pick: November 19, 2008

By Larz

Fan favorite superhero Spider-Man cracks jokes when fighting villains or in uncomfortable situations as his method of easing tension or trying to defuse a situation. Deadpool, another masked nut, doesn’t stop talking…at all…even to himself…out loud. The “Merc With the Mouth” returns with issue #4 in “Say ‘Hi” to the Bad Guy,” Part 1 (OF 2).