Wild Things are coming…

Wild Things are coming…
03/29/09

There’s been a lot of Buzz about the upcoming Spike Jonze adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are for a while now, but the trailer has finally emerged and as expected it’s awesome.

Incredible!

I’d like to be able to say that this was my favorite book as a child, or how it changed my life, but unfortunately I don’t think I’ve ever read it. If I did, I don’t remember the story line. I do know that Sendak is generally accepted to be a genius, the 1963 book is hugely popular even today and that it is only like 50 pages long, so my usual disappointment at what gets cut from a book or story as it transitions to film is a non-issue in this instance.

Maybe we should both go back and take a look at the book before the film comes out.
You can buy it here if you want.

Regardless of my inexperience with the story, I couldn’t be more excited for this film. There has been buzz and controversy from the beginning about Wild Things…. If the actor was right play Max, rumors of a mandated reshoot after the studio saw the rough draft, over spending speculation, and even accusations that Jonze was being overly creative in his vision of the film. Well, I for one am a big fan of Over-Creativity, especially for this book, and I’m for pissing off movie studios for that matter.

I’m a huge fan of Spike Jonze. As a director he has an incredible perception of what a shot should look like and he will do whatever it takes to make that vision happen. I don’t know the man, but I get the sense that he surrounds himself with the things and people that he finds really interesting, and it carries over to who he works with and the final product of his films and videos. Here’s a few videos to help you get a sense where you’ve seen his work, and maybe didn’t even know it was him.

Kanye West – Flashing Lights

Gap Commercial

Beastie Boys – Sabotage

Being John Malkovich

Heaven – Skate Boarding Film

And of course… Fat Boy Slim’s – Prasie You (featuring Jonze as his alter ego Richard Koufey a bonafied dancing machine)

The man co-created Jackass, is Charlie Kauffman’s go-to guy and has revolutionized the music video and commercial experience. I have a feeling that after the world sees Where the Wild Things Are, he will be more of a household name, and I’m curious what new big price-tag opportunities will come his way.

Fun work

Martin Luther King Tribute
06/1/10

I wanted to attempt this style  in February, and being Black History Month I chose the Rev. as my muse.

His face is made up of the words of his epic Lincoln Memorial “I have a dream…” speech.

Take a look. I am having it framed as I type.

Smoking Goat Branding
04/1/10

I like beer.

Beer high in flavor, alcohol and price. I brew at home, but wouldn’t consider myself very good at this point. I’m working on it.

We have friends in Louisiana who I would consider really good. I designed some branding for their forthcoming brewery down there.

The Smoking Goat will hopefully be amazing, especially if I get some good beer out of the deal.

Have a look. Then drink a beer and have a look again. Continue this process until the logo looks awesome.

New Poster
02/4/10

This is a poster I made for my buddy Dustin.

A classic quote from him as we drove by Effingham, IL’s infamous and huge cross.

I thought it would look good in his new apartment.

Sheltered Perceptions
01/6/10

I recently got the chance to work on a project for the Humane Society. Given the fact that every time I walk into an animal shelter I have to be talked down from taking home every animal in the place, I was happy to help in anyway I could.

With the majority of pet buying in the United States coming from breeders, mall pet shops and unfortunately mills, animal shelters (specifically the Humane Society) are left overflowing with pets that need loving homes. They are running into a perception problem however, and many misconceptions about shelter pets are accepted as fact, and often repeated as such.

To get past this, we decided to take the problem head on, and address the most common misconceptions individually.

Here is where we landed:

Lauren and Dan sit’n in a tree…
01/5/10

My good friend Lauren is getting married in July, and though I am extremely jealous of her fiance Dan (don’t tell my wife), I made their save the date cards.

I use VistaPrint to print these types of things. Though the quality suffers, and the rumor is that they are destroying local community printers nationwide, for the price they can’t be beat. Check them out next time you want to customize your own holiday card or invitation.

Here’s how Lauren’s STDs turned out: