Bringing a kid lit classic to the screen sounds like a slam-dunk proposition, but Warner Bros.’ $80 million adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is having trouble just getting onto the court. Speaking to The Los Angeles Times, studio chief Alan Horn offers some explanations as to why the movie keeps getting pushed back to the point where it has slipped off of Warner’s release schedule altogether.
Avant-garde filmmaker Spike Jonez (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich) was hired to retell the story of Max, a boy who is sent to bed without dinner and dreams up a fantasy world inhabited by large, furry creatures that are afraid of him. The Jim Henson Creature Shop was initially tapped to create creature costumes and animatronic puppets that would feature animated faces, but Jonez and the film’s producers decided to instead go with fully computer-generated beasties.
There have also been rumors that Max Records, the child actor hired to play Max, turned in an unlikable portrayal of the story’s main character, and that early test screenings of footage had kids more scared than delighted. Sendak’s book masterfully straddles the line between whimsy and weirdness, and striking that balance on film has clearly been challenging for Jonez, who is not accustomed to catering to children.
Horn confirms that Jonez is still on the project, telling The Los Angeles Times, “We’ve given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film. We’d like to find a common ground that represents Spike’s vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we’re just trying to get it right.”
Wild Things was originally scheduled to hit theaters this October, but was pushed back to 2009. Now it appears that an even later release window will be chosen as the film is further re-tooled.
