Blackburn + Sweetzer Has Moved

— Text and photos by Lilliam Rivera

On Sunday, I strolled over to the indie bookstore Family to catch Spike Jonze, director of Where the Wild Things Are, give a quick Q&A and sign his great behind-the-scenes book on the movie titled Heads On and We Shoot. At 4:30pm, I was expecting a madhouse but instead found a solid group of 20 fans lined up inside the quaint bookstore. By 5pm, the line spilled out the door.

“We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve been trying to figure out when I can do this,” Spike Jonze said, greeting the crowd of film enthusiasts. One fan even wore his Opening Ceremony WTWTA’s fuzzy jacket. Spike said he owned the full Max suit, but sadly he did not where it.

Words from Spike, the scene, and more!

“With a bigger budget came the pressure of having more people to contend with,” Spike said when asked about the difficulties of working on this his biggest budget ever. He told a cute tidbit about Max Records, the then nine-year old actor who played Max. Spike explained when Max was younger he had read a graphic novel book of Siddhartha and decided at that age to A) become a Buddhist B) a vegetarian. His parents were neither of these.

Spike also talked about taking a break from editing WTWTA in London to film a BBC pilot with actors Will Arnett and David Cross. “Basically, I dressed up in a corporate suit and met Will Arnett in a park and he screamed at me.”

Family also carries Dave Eggers ‘The Wild Things’ book

I left at 6pm and fans were still waiting outside to get in. Say what you will about the movie (I loved it!), the behind-the-scenes book is a great collector’s item. Head over to Family to pick up a copy and help support a very cool local bookstore.