Biography for
Spike Jonze More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

22 October 1969, Rockville, Maryland, USA

Birth Name

Adam Spiegel

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

Spike Jonze made up one-third (along with Andy Jenkins and Mark Lewman) of the triumvirate of genius minds behind Dirt Magazine, the brother publication of the much lamented ground-breaking Sassy Magazine. These three uncommon characters were all editors for Grand Royal Magazine as well, under the direction of Mike D and Adam Horovitz and Adam Yauch before the sad demise of Grand Royal Records. Jonze was also responsible for directing the famous Beastie Boys: Sabotage (1994) (V) short film as well as numerous other music videos for various artists.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Robb Hand

Spouse

Sofia Coppola

(26 June 1999 - 9 December 2003) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Frequent collaborators: cinematographer Lance Acord, writer Charlie Kaufman, actor Chris Cooper.

[Off-beat] His films/music videos are off-beat in their visual storytelling, particularly their mix of live-action, animation, and puppetry.

Seamless integration of special effects into live-action photography (Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation. (2002), Where the Wild Things Are (2009)).

Frequently casts Catherine Keener

Trivia

In 2001, at the age of 32, he directed the video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice." This video contains 32 cuts.

Brother of Sam Spiegel.

Was a member of Propaganda Films.

Continues to shoot some of the finest films in the skateboarding scene, among these is Blind's 1991 magnum opus "VideoDays" and Girl's 2003 "Yeah Right!".

He is co-owner of the Girl skateboard company.

Was offered the opportunity to direct the movie The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), but declined. He suggested small British production company "Hammer and Tongs", instead.

Contrary to popular belief is not an heir to the Spiegel catalog fortune, although he is a distant relative of those that are.

Featured in a "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". [early 1990s]

One of the most renowned directors for music videos, he has received numerous awards and recognition from MTV for his outstanding work in the medium.

Started as a magazine editor and contributor before moving into film.

Was originally offered the chance to direct Human Nature (2001) after the success of Being John Malkovich (1999). He considered it, but declined, recommending fellow music video director Michel Gondry for the project.

Considered directing Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) but was already in pre-production on Where the Wild Things Are (2009), a pet project of his.

Is not to be confused with famous novelty musician and band leader Spike Jones.

While filming Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Jonze kept in contact with the book's original writer Maurice Sendak, to mix Sendak's ideas with his own.

Jonze was an avid BMX freestyle rider in his youth.

Was originally going to direct Synecdoche, New York (2008), but took the role as producer instead, to finish Where the Wild Things Are (2009).

Told Nicolas Cage to ignore all of his acting instincts, for his role in Adaptation. (2002). Cage later received a Oscar Nomination for his acting in that movie.

Before George Lucas decided to make the movie himself, Spike was in talks to direct Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002).

Has directed two actors and two actresses to a Oscar Nomination - Catherine Keener (Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Being John Malkovich (1999)), Chris Cooper (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Adaptation. (2002), Meryl Streep (Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Adaptation. (2002)) and Nicolas Cage (Best Actor in a Leading Role, Adaptation. (2002). Cooper won the Oscar for his role in Adaptation. (2002).

Good friends with musician Kanye West and director David Fincher.

Was set to direct The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) back in 2001, with a release in late 2002 but backed out to work on Adaptation. (2002).

Former son-in-law of Francis Ford Coppola.

Cousin of Gabriel Cowan.

Personal Quotes

As a feature film director you got to be a guarding dog of the whole production. You got to be able to hold 100 script pages in the head at the same time. If you miss a detail it's wasted. I don't know how the music video generation can affect the movie business, but I'm curious what feature films the English Chris Cunningham and the Swedish guy Jonas Åkerlund are going to make.