ROTTEN TOMATOES: Warner Bros. Finally Knows Where the Wild Things Are

Warner Bros. Finally Knows Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze joint no longer TBA.

by Jeff Giles | February 28, 2008

Negative rumors have been swirling around Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are for weeks, but the (supposedly) troubled production just received a bit of good news.

Slashfilm reports that Warner Bros. has settled on a new release date for Wild Things -- the formerly "TBA 2009" picture, once slated for an '08 debut, will now reach theaters October 16, 2009.

As Slashfilm's Peter Sciretta notes, people have been quick to circulate bad buzz about Jonez's adaptation of the classic Maurice Sendak book; rumors have the studio doing everything from wringing its hands over negative test-screening feedback to demanding the entire film be reshot. Unfortunately for Jonze and crew, the studio's selection of a release date over a year and a half away will likely only encourage more speculation.

But hey, any publicity is good publicity...right?

Source: Slashfilm

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(1-17 of 17 posts) | Reply

romsy writes:
on Feb 28 2008 06:17 AM

Where the wild things are is one of my favorite books ever, its a big chunk of my childhood so naturally i want this to be good. But i have full confidence in Jonze, he is an amazing visual artist. So please leave him be studio, he will pull through.

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Elixor writes:
on Feb 28 2008 08:03 AM

I agree. As a kid this book was one of my favorites and really fed my imagination. But, I have a hard time conceiving a movie based on this book. Sure, they can easily do it, but it's a picture book with a little story. You're going to extrapolate this book in movie form no matter what you do, and is this movie as a whole going to really capture the book? It will probably add to it, which is rarely a popular thing to do.

Not saying that they shouldn't make the movie. Just curious as to how they're going to implement it.

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darthvaderismydadgod writes:
on Feb 28 2008 09:02 AM

My dad read me this book every night when i was a kid i used to be word perfect but i agree with elixor it hardly has any storyline

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Feb 28 2008 09:32 AM

I loved the book when I was younger, I still do. Im still really looking foward to this I'm a big Spike Jonze fan, hes a great director. I also think the cast is perfect, I really hope they have the dark and scary to the movie like the book.

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dahluzz writes:
on Feb 28 2008 09:59 AM

so a bunch of wussy little kids got scared in the test screening. GOOD! that means jonze is doing what he should be doing: making a true adaptation of the book, in all its darkness and glory.

i really wonder whether or not many of the kids seeing the film were familiar with the book. I mean it's story about monsters for christ's sake.

studios, stop with you endless meddling. you know who your actual target audience is? NOT 8-year-olds, it's the multiple generations of now young adults who grew up on this story and want to see it realized. let the man work, jonze is a true visionary and has never disappointed.

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nightbat666 writes:
on Feb 28 2008 10:27 AM

Studios like most companies are only looking out for their investment, they don't care about much about art or staying true to source material. They want a return on their money. Unfortunately for us, this means we have to deal with this type of *****.

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danielfrohlich writes:
on Feb 28 2008 11:56 AM

Watching a different version knowing that a Spike Jonze copy is sitting in a room somewhere would only depress me.

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harrismonkey writes:
on Feb 28 2008 01:46 PM

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35768

An essay/review on the film from someone who LOVED the test screening. (includes some spoilers)

BTW, the more I read about the screening, the more it sounds like the test screening was a joke. Apparently anyone with any idea who Spike Jonze or the screenwriter were were not actually surveyed (only a small portion of attendies were aparently actually surveyed). It sounds like the main criteria was that you had to be walking out of the theater with a crying 4 year old. I've seen the negative stuff, but I've also run a cross a number of really passionately positive reviews as well now.

Keep in mind ALL of the above info is hearsay. I wasn't there.

All I can say is if WB tweaks Jonze version more than just a small amount (which happens to most fims), they'd better at least release Jonze cut on DVD. I'm very concerned they're going to wreck this thing. :(

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mssk8erboy writes:
on Feb 28 2008 02:01 PM

I loved the book as a kid, and i even liked the test screen they showed. I like how fake the monster looked and everything.

-MIKE

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POPCORNLUMPY writes:
on Feb 28 2008 02:15 PM

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Now I haft to wait longer????

why dosent WB just release the *Adult version* and put the flick in the frekin cinima!!!!

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The Webslinger writes:
on Feb 28 2008 03:00 PM

I don't really know a whole lot about Where the Wild Things Are. Could someone fill me in?

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divinecc writes:
on Feb 28 2008 03:21 PM

In reply to this comment (#1607868)
You are correct about the test screenings. If you were a fan or familiar with the director or screen writer, they overlooked you in a heartbeat. WB is going to mess this up. With the new release date, it seem pretty obvious they're going to do everything they can to make it kiddie friendly. Hopefully we'll get to at least see Spike's version on DVD.

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bookworm1994 writes:
on Feb 28 2008 07:19 PM

In reply to this comment (#1607928)
Yeah, cause you know TONS of children's films have an unrated director's cut DVD. *rolls eyes*

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ZeroDigital writes:
on Feb 28 2008 11:01 PM

great book, the film should be mainly visuals, and let yourself tell the story

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FarronFox writes:
on Feb 29 2008 04:53 AM

Please let it come out earlier.. I%u2019ve been waiting for this movie for what seems forever. I%u2019m quite a fan of the original story and I loved everything I%u2019ve heard so far about this movie.

They don%u2019t need to totally kidify this movie for a pre-school audience. Such great fantasy type movies such as The Dark Crystal and The Labyrinth were made in the past and they had their scary scenes (well at least The Dark Crystal did), the creatures were also created by the Jim Henson company (as they are in WTWTA). Another movie that had some scary scenes is %u2018The NeverEnding Story%u2019. These are classics!

Spike Jonze and his work is amazing. The story is about monsters who live in the wild so it isn%u2019t all fluff and flowers.

Please, please, please Warner Brothers see the amazing piece of work already in front of you and don%u2019t change it. This is sure to be a classic movie as long as you keep it as it is!

I hope Warner is listening and if not, someone who knows how to get in touch let them know that they shouldn%u2019t wreck a good thing.

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The_Duckling writes:
on Mar 27 2008 02:32 PM

JESUS CHRIST IT'S A KIDS BOOK FOR MOSES' SAKE! JUST LET HIM MAKE A PG-RATED GOOD FILM THAT'S HONEST TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL WHILE KEEPING US INTERESTED FOR 90 MINUTES. IS THAT REALLY THAT HARD!? Well...actually...yeah, it is. Sorry!

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The_Duckling writes:
on Mar 27 2008 02:37 PM

In reply to this comment (#1607907)
btw webslinger--Where the Wild things are is about a kid who gets sent to his room without dinner. He then is "transported" to a mysterious land where monsters roam free, and he has a great time in the end. I'm not doing it justice so you should check the book out. It's by Maurice Sendak and is fairly disturbing but a huge pop culture phenom. I'm surprised you've never read it.

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