Lance Acord (gray), KK Barrett (blue) and Eric Zumbrunnen (not pictured) like their Vans

I can’t recall the last time Spike Jonze and his entire creative team–Vince Landay (producer), Lance Acord (cinematographer), KK Barrett (production designer) and Eric Zumbrunnen (editor)–got together for a public two hour talk. But tonight it happened. The evening was courtesy of Film Independent’s Directors Series 2008 at The Landmark theater in Los Angeles and it was nothing short of special. Moderated by Jose Rivera, screenwriter of The Motorcycle Diaries, the evening’s topic focused on how Jonze and his team execute their vision.

The traditionally reticent Jonze was articulate, formidable and funny as he answered questions, shared clips of his work and interacted with the audience. It was a rare treat indeed! And yes, his new film Where the Wild Things Are did come up in conversation but you just had to be there. More on that later….

Thank you Natalie and Russell for the invite