I've just been reading, in Publisher's Weekly, about the movie version of Where the Wild Things Are due out (according to IMDB) in October 2009. Apparently Maurice Sendak has been in talks with studios for 15 years about making a movie and the end result is that he started his own production company and hired Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers of McSweeney's fame (and you know how I feel about McSweeney's....) to write the screenplay (Jonze will also direct). Jim Henson's Creature Shop is making the monster suits.I love Dave Eggers! The best part of it (in my mind) is that Eggers is also writing a novel version of Sendak's story to be titled Wild Things. This is being done with Sendak's blessing and I suspect this might be HUGE. Who doesn't love the Wild Things? My 6th Grade class turned it into a play ourselves and put it on for the rest of the school (I played the dog...don't ask...). Every adult who grew up loving the story of Max taking off to a magic world full of monsters in the night is going to jump all over this novel.
According to IMDB the movie has some pretty big names in it, including Forest Whitaker as the voice of one of the beasts.
Unfortunately, there are some stories out there that say that the studio is not happy with the film and may be reshooting the entire thing and possibly firing Spike Jonze. This could explain the 2009 release date (apparently it was previously set for fall 2008). The PW article says the screenplay focuses largely on Max's relationship with the Wild Things and his journey back home.
I just wonder who's playing the dog?
The movie is never as good as the book.
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