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Spike Jonze (born Adam Spiegel on October 22, 1969), is an American director of offbeat music videos and commercials, and an Academy Award-nominated director and producer in film and television, most notably the 1999 black comedy film Being John Malkovich and the 2002 film Adaptation. (both written by Charlie Kaufman).
Career In 2006 he was nominated by the Director's Guild of America for "Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005". He was nominated for a body of work that included "Hello Tomorrow" for Adidas, "Penguin" for Miller Beer, and "Pardon Our Dust" for The Gap. He was a producer and co-creator of the Jackass television series on MTV and of Jackass: The Movie, and also directed some of the segments. Jonze has acted in some videos and films; his most prominent role was in Three Kings as the sweet but dimwitted Conrad, in which he was directed by friend David O. Russell. Jonze was also a co-founder and editor of Dirt magazine, as well as an editor for Grand Royal Magazine. In the past, Jonze shot skateboard videos, most notably Blind skateboard company's Video Days in 1991, and he is co-owner of Girl Skateboards. Jonze has many alter egos, which have included Richard Koufey (alternately spelled Coufey or Couffe), the leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group, an urban troupe that performs in public spaces. The Koufey persona appeared when Jonze, in character, filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slim's Rockafella Skank as it played on a boombox in a public area. Spike showed the video to Slim, who loved it. Jonze then assembled a group of dancers to perform to Slim's "Praise You", which was taped outside a Westwood, California movie theater. The resulting clip was a huge success, and 'Koufey' and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform the song for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video received awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography, which Jonze accepted, still in character. Jonze made a mockumentary about the experience called Torrance Rises. He also has a speaking part along with Dave Eggers in a Beck song entitled The Horrible Fanfare / Landslide / Exoskeleton from his new album, The Information. He appears in the "Exoskeleton" bit. Personal life Jonze was born to a Jewish family in Rockville, Maryland, and raised in Bethesda, Maryland. His father was Arthur Spiegel III, of the Spiegel mail catalog fame, who would go on to found APM Management Consultants. His mother, Sandra Granzow, is a writer (Our Dream: A World Free of Poverty, Oxford University Press and the World Bank); communications consultant in developing countries; and artist (MFA candidate, School of Visual Arts, 2007). His brother Sam (aka Squeak E. Clean) is a producer and DJ. Jonze attended Walt Whitman High School. Jonze fronted Club Homeboy, an international BMX club, with Mark "Lew" Lewman in the 80's. He was featured in an early 1990's "Spike-Needs-A-Girlfriend" contest in Christina Kelly's 'What Now' column in Sassy Magazine. His requirements for a girlfriend were: "short hair, clear skin, and good teeth". Jonze worked at the Sunshine House surf shop in Ocean City, Maryland for a couple of years. The shop has since closed, but a collage of photos from the era, which include images of Jonze, are on display at Chauncey's Surf Shop which is also in Ocean City. On June 26, 1999, Jonze married director Sofia Coppola, whom he had known for nearly ten years. On December 5, 2003, the couple filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". The character of John, a career-driven photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) in Coppola's Lost In Translation (2003), is rumored to be based on Jonze though Coppola has vehemently denied this. Jonze has since dated Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O but the two apparently split in late September/early October 2005. In popular culture "Spike" may also refer to American film director Spike Lee–and magazine writer Chris Nieratko poked fun at this in a 1999 Interview chat with Jonze, his friend. A related joke is also made near the end of the skit "Cousins?" in Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes, after British actor Steve Coogan discovers Alfred Molina is a friend of Jonze's. Recent Documentaries From the May 2005 coverage of "Dave Eggers and friends" * held at Stanford University: Two short documentaries were presented, both filmed and directed by Spike Jonze. The first of the two videos played was a 10-15 minute documentary on Al Gore, filmed shortly before the 2000 election. Eggers insisted that if the video, which portrayed a day in the life of Al Gore and his family, had aired during the Democratic National Convention as it was supposed to, there would have been different results in the 2000 presidential election. As of January 2006, Untitled Al Gore Documentary*film online has been finally made available to the public. The second video was another politically themed documentary by friend and director David O. Russell. The video's subject matter was the occurrence of soldiers in Iraq raiding houses and stealing money or goods they found inside. The soldiers, who were arrested, wanted to give a full confession and Jonze was given the opportunity to create a short film about the subject. Music videos Video Film Television Skate videos Reference | ||||||||
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