• Director: Spike Jonze
• Writer: Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers, Maurice Sendak
• Year of Release: 2009
• Actors: Max Records, Pepita Emmerichs, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Michael Berry Jr., Chris Cooper
• Genre: Drama
• Country of Origin: USA

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Simon Cowell taking ‘X Factor’ to Vegas
Report: Talent show to be a global pay-per-view Web venture
British TV and record producer Simon Cowell, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in British and U.S. show business, is planning to bring his “The X Factor” talent show to Las Vegas in a global pay-per-view Internet venture.

Seagal’s ‘Lawman’ sets record for A&E
Good start for reality show at cable network
Action star’s new 10 p.m. reality show, “Steven Seagal: Lawman,” drew 3.4 million viewers in its premiere episode Wednesday night on A&E. Number represents the most ever viewers for a premiere episode of any series on the cabler.

‘The Hills’ receives season pickup
MTV also renews ‘The City’
Despite falling ratings, MTV’s “The Hills” will return for a sixth season. Skein was once a must see among the 18-34 demo but show has lost a bit of its luster with the departure of Lauren Conrad, who began the franchise when she starred in “Laguna Beach.” Conrad left “The Hills” after a handful of episode from season five.

CBS schedules another ‘I Get That a Lot’
CBS is bringing back its celebrity-filled prank special “I Get That a Lot,” where famous faces work menial jobs and confuse unsuspecting customers. This next edition features, according to the press release, “Julie Chen, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Rachael Ray, Gene Simmons and Tony Hawk.”

More Horsemen

• Oxygen, Russell Simmons prep reality show
• ‘Married on MySpace’ web series to become reality show
• Adam Lambert to perform on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ finale
• ‘Judge Alex,’ ‘Divorce Court’ extended
• Germany’s Vox acquires ‘X Factor’
• Mark Burnett signs on to produce HGTV ‘Design Star’
• Kevin Pollak to host Fox’s ‘Our Little Genius’
• CBS to air ‘Celebrity Skifest’ special with Neil Patrick Harris
• Nancy Grace set for daytime TV show

Business of the Business

Domestic B.O. dynamo
‘Transformers’ sequel leads studios to U.S. record
The domestic box office has rocketed to its best year ever, with “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” topping the chart. Through Sunday, revenues for the year were $9.61 billion, besting last year’s record-breaking take of $9.59 billion, according to Rentrak.

New Web site offering 12,000 film clips
Movieclips.com inks deals for videos from six major studios
Movieclips.com, which launched Wednesday, has signed licensing agreements with six of the major studios so that it can offer more than 12,000 two-minute clips culled from a diverse collection of movies. The free, ad-supported site has deals in place with Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. The clips, which can be searched by such criteria as title, genre, actor and dialogue, link to third-party sites where consumers can rent or purchase feature-length versions of each title.

India’s VCL sets up in California
Hynek, Ashford, Blue join Santa Monica studio
Indian VFX house Tata Elxsi’s subsid Visual Computing Labs has set up a $5 million studio in Santa Monica, which will be up and running Dec. 7. VCL has created VFX for several Bollywood films including “New York,” “Jodhaa Akbar” and “Rang De Basanti,” and executed India’s first 3-D animation feature, the Walt Disney Pictures-Yash Raj Films co-production “Roadside Romeo” in 2008.

Murdoch talks future of online journalism
News Corp. CEO defends pay-for-news model
Murdoch said the future is promising for publishers that can adapt to the ongoing migration of audiences and advertisers to the Web. Key to survival, he said, is giving consumers what they want how they want it – be it on a computer, mobile device or e-reader – and then charging for it, as his company already does with The Wall Street Journal. “We need to do a better job of persuading consumers that high-quality, reliable news and information does not come free,” Murdoch said. “Good journalism is an expensive commodity.”

Nielsen to combine TV and online ratings next year
Urged by clients to move faster, Nielsen announced Tuesday a plan to accelerate adding an Internet measurement to its national ratings sample. The plans call for Nielsen to complete the roll out by Aug. 31, 2010, instead of some time in 2011 as previously planned. The initiative, now called “TVandPC,” will create the industry’s first single source measure of viewing to both TV and online. Once the rollout is complete, Nielsen will be able to report online video viewing from 7,500 national-people-meter homes, representing about 20,000 people and 12,000 computers.

Minutae

• Reliance MediaWorks in pact to help with 3D conversion in India
• Showbiz sees bright spot in ad market
• Film Department makes ‘Law Abiding Citizen’, now enters distribution biz
• Cable ads outperforming expectations, up 1.8% from last year
• GE pledges $345 mil in ads to NBC
• SAG, AFTRA face deadline to negotiate together
• FTC: Still too much violence for kids
• U.K.’s Five inks output deal with YouTube

Planet of the Odd

Ron Livingston sues: I’m not gay, Wikipedia!
Ron Livingston, who starred in ABC’s short-lived sci-fi series Defying Gravity, is suing someone who persists in altering Livingston’s Wikipedia page to say he’s in a gay relationship. Livingston also claims that someone has created fake Facebook profiles for him and Dennison, whoever that is. Livingston is suing for libel and invasion of privacy and for using his name and likeness without his permission.

Star Trek named one of the 10 best films of the year
The venerable National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, a national film group, selected J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek as one of the top 10 films of the year! The list also included Quentin Tarantino’s alternate-universe World War II movie Inglourious Basterds, Spike Jonze’s fantasy Where the Wild Things Are and Disney/Pixar’s animated Up. The organization also singled out Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi action movie District 9 and Duncan Jones’ creepy Moon as among the year’s top independent films.

A Star, a Soap and the Meaning of Art
Why an appearance on ‘General Hospital’ qualifies as performance art
I have been obsessed with performance art for over a decade—ever since the Mexican performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña came to visit my class at Cal Arts summer school. I finally took the plunge and experimented with the form myself when I signed on to appear on 20 episodes of “General Hospital” as the bad-boy artist “Franco, just Franco.” I disrupted the audience’s suspension of disbelief, because no matter how far I got into the character, I was going to be perceived as something that doesn’t belong to the incredibly stylized world of soap operas. Everyone watching would see an actor they recognized, a real person in a made-up world. In performance art, the outcome is uncertain—and this was no exception. My hope was for people to ask themselves if soap operas are really that far from entertainment that is considered critically legitimate. Whether they did was out of my hands.

$110 million lawsuit says ‘Bruno’ and Letterman defamed Palestinian leader
Now Ayman Abu Aita, the leader of the Al Aqsa Bartyrs Brigade, is filing a libel and slander lawsuit against  Cohen and NBC Universal over his portrayal in “Bruno.”  The case will be filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. The plaintiff says Cohen represented himself during filming as a German filmmaker doing a film about the Palestinian cause. The film allegedly portrayed Aita as a “terrorist group leader.”

Meredith Baxter reveals she is a lesbian
Announced her four-year relationship on NBC’s ‘Today’
Meredith Baxter, who played mother Elyse Keaton on the 1980s TV series “Family Ties,” has revealed that she is a lesbian. “I am a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition of that fact,” the 62-year-old actress said in an interview Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show. Baxter said she has been in a relationship with her girlfriend, a general contractor, for four years.

Bits and Pieces

• Pauly Shore sues brother over control of Comedy Store
• Bollywood actress Bina Rai dies
• Oscar producer Adam Shankman Twittering about ceremony
• Roman Polanski moves to Swiss chalet

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

Along with the  new trailer we’re showing you a “behind the scenes” piece speaking with the book’s author Maurice Sendak.  He seems very happy with the direction that Spike has taken the film and says some very true things about any adaptation; that adaptation does nothing to the original work. Anyway i think i’ll let the visuals speak for themselves….

and then there is the featurette with Maurice Sendak. It’s odd i never knew Spike Jonze was a little bearded guy?

Do you remember this book? did you read it as a kid?  Were you a wild thing?  let us know!

This just in: Bryan Fuller exits ‘Heroes’
Just as Heroes was gaining some creative momentum comes word of another setback: Bryan Fuller has vacated his post as consulting producer. The acclaimed Pushing Daisies auteur left to focus on developing new projects for NBC, and not (as some have speculated) due to creative differences with series creator Tim Kring.

Another signs on for ’24′
Clayne Crawford joins cast of Fox drama
Clayne Crawford has been added to Fox’s “24″ as a recurring. On “24,” Crawford will play a bad boy from Dana Walsh’s (Katee Sackhoff) past. Sackhoff recently signed on as a new regular on the real-time drama starring Kiefer Sutherland, playing an expert data analyst at CTU with a secret past who is involved with CTU agent Davis Cole (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

Lost’s Maggie Grace Is Returning to Hawaii!
Emilie de Ravin’s return to the Island is already confirmed, and Dominic Monaghan’s is in a promising state of limbo. Now, Maggie Grace is hinting that she may be the next deceased survivor of Oceanic 815 to crash Locke’s power party.

Linda Hunt a lock for ‘NCIS: LA’
Joins series after departure of Loiuse Lombard
Oscar winner Linda Hunt has joined CBS’ new drama series “NCIS: LA” as a regular. Her character will oversee the “backroom” support staff tasked with providing everything from micro surveillance cameras to cars for Callen (O’Donnell) and his team. Efficient, hard-nosed and resourceful after years of being a Miss Fix-it in the film industry, she seems tough but genuinely cares about Callen and his team.

Showtime’s up on Tracey Ullman
Cabler greenlights third season of ‘Union’
Showtime has greenlit a third season of “Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union.” In the half-hour laffer, Ullman portrays a variety of real-life and fictional characters, doing impersonations of celebrities such as Celine Dion, Jodie Foster and J.K. Rowling. Cabler ordered seven episodes for the new season, with a launch set for 2010.

Congloms making nice for ‘NCIS’
NBC U to assist CBS in launch of show spinoff
NBC Universal will assist CBS in launching the Eye’s upcoming “NCIS” spinoff. USA has struck a deal with CBS to air the two “NCIS” episodes from this past season that set the stage for this fall’s newcomer “NCIS: Los Angeles.” USA already carries reruns of “NCIS,” currently the top-rated off-net series on cable.

Vampire-themed campaigns push ‘Blood’
Faux ads feature major brands
But for the second-season launch of “True Blood,” HBO enlisted eight major marketers to create vampire-themed campaigns in major newspapers and magazines, on billboards and across the Web. It’s a push any marketing maven would die for. The Mini car brand touts a blood-red convertible with the tagline “Feel the wind in your fangs” while Geico claims it can save vampires 15% on auto insurance. Monster.com offers “thousands of night shifts,” and a new fragrance from Marc Ecko promises to “attract a human,” accompanied by a titillating shot of a vamp about to snack on a model.

ËœPacific’ Trailer Online
The same filmmakers (Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks) that brought you Band of Brothers have decided to bring the Pacific version to the television screen. The first ever look at The Pacific trailer as shown on HBO on June 21st. Here it is:

Alexander Skarsgard is out for TRUE BLOOD
Alexander Skarsgard talked about how fans will be getting to see much more of him as Eric Northman, the 1,000-year-old Viking vampire who is also the owner of the local vampire bar, Fangtasia, on the acclaimed HBO television series True Blood, in Season 2.

Michelle Forbes Wants TRUE BLOOD
Best known for her work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide: Life on the Street, 24, Battlestar Galactica, In Treatment and Prison Break, Michelle Forbes promises that Maryann’s motives will be revealed, as the season progresses. In this interview, Michelle Forbes talked about working with the talented cast of True Blood, and the devotion and dedication of sci-fi genre fans.

VIRTUALITY Interview with Ron Moore
Writer/executive producer Ron Moore has become one of the premiere voices in television’s sci-fi genre, with his work on such series as Battlestar Galactica, Carnivale, Good vs. Evil, Roswell, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation. While promoting the two-hour Virtuality, Moore talked about how he developed this captivating original feature.

WAREHOUSE 13 Interview with Eddie McClintock
In this exclusive interview, series star Eddie McClintock spoke about how getting to do comedy, drama, action and thriller, all in one, makes Warehouse 13 his dream job.

David Cross Creates UK Television Comedy With Spike Jonze and Will Arnett
Cross has written a pilot for a UK comedy show called The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. His co-writer is Shaun Pye, an actor who had a recurring role in Extras. Alongside Cross, the stars of the show are Will Arnett and, in his first big acting gig since Three Kings, Spike Jonze. The plot follows a US exec who is mistakenly sent to run his company’s UK arm, he knows nothing about British culture and nothing about sales. This is further complicated when he lies continuously to cover his ignorance and spectacularly fails to impress Alice the first beautiful girl he meets. Dave his British co-worker, soon takes full advantage of Todd’s situation and chaos ensues. Cross stars as exec Todd Margaret, with Jonze, Arnett and Russell Tovey supporting.

ËœReaper’ TV Series Could Live On As Comic Book, Says Tyler Labine
Bret [Harrison] told me a comic book is definitely in the works, Labine said. That’s a green light. I think ËœReaper’ would make a great comic book. I would read that one.

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

from Wikipedia

The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home, “making mischief” in a wolf costume by chasing the dog with a fork and growling at his mom. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest grows out of his imagination, and Max journeys to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them “by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking once,” and he is made “the King of all Wild Things.” However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick, and he returns home to his bedroom, where he finds his supper waiting for him, still hot.

The book is much loved and has been adapted into a number of different formats; an animated film in 1973, an opera, a lively Musical play, and at one point in 1983 Disney was even attempting a CGI version of the story (yes 1983!!! as a follow up to TRON!). Now director Spike Jonze shows us for the first time what a live action version looks like.

It looks to incorporate a secondary plot about Max’s family and his life away form the “Wild Things” but at it’s heart it looks really sweet and playful. The film was shot around Melbourne and i’m sure aussies will recognize the gum trees and the somewhat distinctive look of the australian bush. How well it will translate from a story 10 sentences long i don’t know, but it gave me the “Warm Fuzzies” just watching it. What do you think? Will it stretch to a feature length? Chime in!