We Love You So – Where The Wild Things Are – Spike Jonze

Here’s the official flier (lovingly illustrated by Stevenfiche) for tomorrow night’s Cinefamily event that we mentioned last week. The evening will consist of Maurice Sendak’s greatest animated adaptations, the sneak preview screening of Spike and Lance’s documentary about Maurice, and a few fun surprises! Tickets are on sale now.

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As if being an artistic genius weren’t enough, Maurice Sendak is an endlessly fascinating man. His candid, acerbic wit is underscored by a generous intimacy. The shocking jokes spilling out of his mouth come off as invitations to share in a special rapport. And as sharp as his fangs seem to be, most of his jabs are directed inward in hopelessly self-deprecating dismissals. When Sendak gets serious, it’s like listening to a wise sage. He’s verbose yet understated, naturally paring even his conversational speech down into economically worded insights.

Tell Them Anything You Want is Lance Bangs and Spike’s compelling personal document of Sendak’s life during the five years of Where the Wild Things Are’s production. The film airs October 14th on HBO. A special advanced screening will be held at Cinefamily in Los Angeles, this Wednesday, September 30th. Expect the unexpected!

A Tribute To Maurice Sendak

In 1963, with just 10 short sentences, a dark and dreamy emotional landscape of hairy monsters and tropical jungles, and one wannabe feral child, Maurice Sendak created one of the most critically acclaimed and popular childrens’ books of all time– “Where the Wild Things Are”. In this loving tribute to everyone’s first favorite author, the Cinefamily will show original animated adaptations (on 16mm!) of “Where the Wild Things Are” and “In the Night Kitchen”, along with new short films made by Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze while the new live action adaptation of “Wild Things…” was in production. Jonze had been friends with Maurice Sendak for more than five years before he began working on his feature film, and these new short films capture a sometimes melancholy but always wickedly funny Sendak as he reflects on his Depression-era childhood in the Brooklyn shtetl, a joyous day at the World’s Fair, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, his books “In The Night Kitchen” and “Higgledy Piggledy Pop!”, his two beloved Hermans (Melville, and his German shepherd namesake), and a long-buried secret. Lance Bangs, co-director of Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak will be in attendance!

Tickets - $12

There’s no doubt: Everything Is Terrible is the funniest and most depressing collection of found footage Cyberspace has ever seen. The group of video artists that contributes to the site keep it simple: each clip is a highlight reel of pure insanity usually culled from a single infomercial, self-improvement tape or edutainment special. Without straying too far from the source material, Everything is Terrible cuts through the filler to tastefully underscore the horror and hilarity of these all-but-forgotten bargain bin VHS marvels. While the dated, low-budget anonymity inherent in these clips makes it easy to feel distanced from the subjects of Everything Is Terrible’s playful scorn, the implicit message in all this admirable work seems to be: whenever it was made, no matter how professional it looks, just about anything can be awesomely awful– so learn to enjoy it!

The collective’s first feature-length DVD, Everything Is Terrible: The Movie, hits mailboxes tomorrow. To celebrate the release, the entire EIT gang is appearing in person tomorrow night for a special presentation at (where else?) The Silent Movie Theatre.