Being Spike Jonze: From Skate Photographer to Oscar-Winning Screenwriter
by Matthew Spence
Spike Jonze: photographer, writer, director, creative executive, and a part-time jackass. With a career spanning over three decades, Spike Jonze has gone from being a documenter of the skate community to garnering acclaim in the world of cinema. A visionary whose off-beat humor merges with his bizarre yet beautiful and intricate direction. He goes beyond labels, beyond being trapped in a box, he’s a creative who emphasizes that your creativity holds no boundaries, from putting Weezer into an episode of “Happy Days” to having Joaquin Phoenix developing feelings for his operating system in “Her”. Mr.Jonze (and me tell each other fairy tales, shoutout to the Counting Crows) career is an anomaly among others.
Spikes (who’s real name is Adam Spiegel, got the name Spike Jonze from the artist of the same after a co-worker nicknamed him that) love for the camera goes a long way back to his teen years. Around 1987, he began to work Rockwell BMX Store, and while there he was a photographer for BMX demos. Impressing editors of “Freestylin’ Magazine” with his camera work, he landed a paid job as a photographer for the company and soon moved to California. After the move, he co-founded two magazines “Homeboy” and “Dirt”, but on the other note, while working and doing several photo-shoots for BMX publications, Spike would be introduced to several professional skateboarders, eventually meeting and growing a strong bond with skater Mark Gonzales. As the tow garnered a friendship, Spike would do more work for celebrated skate magazine Thrasher, but soon he would take his joy of skating and started filming his own skate film videos.
His debut would be Rubbish Heep in 1989, but it would be his second skate video “Blind- Video Days” that would change his life and unknowingly become an influential piece of skating culture of the 90s. Featuring a young Jason Lee, who would go on to have a successful acting career, Mark Gonzales, Rudy Johnson, Guy Mariano, and Jordan Richter. A 20-minute video of friends driving around, having a blast skating and living in the moment. Capturing the essence of youth culture that many people connect with and enjoy, that applies to generations from past, present, and future. With shots that give feels of the “1979” video by the Smashing Pumpkins (which would be released 4 years later), a fisheye lens bonanza featuring some classic tracks to soundtrack the street skate sessions and footage you see. In an interview with the Nine Club from 2018, he discusses the behind the scenes and inspiration behind Video Days: “We were really just following Mark and his spirit, and now looking back on it, I had a little bi intention as a filmmaker but I wouldn’t have known at the time.” Further explained: “Rubbish Heep was trying to capture the world’s aesthetic, while Blind Video I was just trying to capture what it felt to be around Mark and the randomness and magic and sort of mystery”. Video Days would bring things full speed ahead, as Mark would see the Alternative Rock band “Sonic Youth” after their show and hand them a tape of Video Days. Instead of throwing it away and not even bother to watch it….
they were open enough and watched it on their tour bus. Appreciating the video, Kim Gordon (legendary Bassist of the band) made a few connections to get ahold of Spike and asked him to shoot skating scenes for their video for “100%”. “I got a call from Kim Gordon about doing this video. I was introduced to Tamara Davis…she said come hang out while I shoot this video and I just basically hung out with her every day and I learned what all these things were. I learned what location scouting is, casting…”
Soon after an inexperienced Spike would go on and start getting more work and directing more iconic videos for iconic records throughout the 90s. Starting with the Breeders 1993 hit “Cannonball’ which he shot with Kim Gordon, but in 1994 he would direct arguably his fan-favorite videos: Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” And “Undone-The Sweater Song”; Beastie Boys “Sabotage” and all of the videos for the Ill Communication singles. In 1995, another loved video from hip-hop fans, The Pharcyde’s “Drop”, which is famously shot in reverse. “I had this very vague idea because there’s this sample that’s in reverse so I had my production company make a tape of the track in reverse to see what it would sound like and it sounded like gibberish and I met them Delicious Vinyl and played them the tape and asked if they can learn to lip-sync this is in reverse and they all said they can do it.”
For more in-depth knowledge of the videos, you should watch his interview with The Nine Club (it’s worth it). As he was directing videos in the 90sm his run of videos helped flip the idea of what videos should and could be, just like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in the previous decade. Beastie Boys running around in the cop outfits in the vein of Starsky and Hutch, to a man running while on fire in slow motion for an entire video, to Christopher Walken to dancing to Fatboy Slim (something we didn’t know we needed until we got it). His videos showcase individuality and go beyond convention for directorial style. Ideas that aren’t necessarily professional but ideas a high schooler would come up with friends. Fun, attention-grabbing, and dare I say…” quirky”. In essence, his video represents the counterculture of the time by not scumming to the cliches of music video making. While also solidifying bands to certain lengths with his work with them, making him the desired director to work with. Spike elaborated on how he developed the sense of following his own ideas and creativity and stop trying to emulate others. After showing an idea he felt that was “embarrassing” and got it approved: “I remember that being a turning point where I just started writing treatments that were more of my sensibility as oppose to trying to make things that were like music videos, here’s a band performing and here’s them looking cool…”. “…I just started writing treatments on what would’ve been fun to do or what I want to make.” Which is the advice he’d take into everything he does after that.
Taking on scripts that are peculiar for the mainstream media but still grasps the film buffs into wanting more. Case in point, his debut as a film director, 1999s Being John Malkovich, written by Charlie Kaufman (which also his debut as a writer). Starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and the one and only John Malkovich, which tells the story of a Craig (Played by John) finding a portal that leads into the mind of actor John Malkovich. Going from video shoots to making a feature-length film, Spike made a huge but fitting leap into a different ball game. In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine from 1999, he explains: “That was hard. To make a video, you can start and finish in a month. But the movie business is much more challenging. To take a script and stay focused on it through the whole process…”, soon explains, “…Physically that part is hard but creatively it was exciting. You’re feeding off the script which is really good.” His passion for creating has garnered him critical acclaim throughout the years.
If Spike was a rap artist, he’d be a Beastie Boy (which is fitting since he’s good friends and has worked with frequently over the years and recently directed their documentary). They both came from different backgrounds (Spike from skate/BMX culture and Beasties from the punk scene) seamlessly transitioning into their future passions without necessarily losing touch with their roots but still expanding and breaking grounds of what they’re capable of. Spike may have gone on to direct but lose touch with skate culture and continued to direct skate films in the 2000s and work his friends Jeff Tremaine and Johnny Knoxville to create the MTV hit show “Jackass” and it’s successful movies.
Throughout the 2000s, he continued to add to his name directing more videos, commercials, movies, and producing films; including the “Adaption” and “Where the Wild Things Are”. But going into the 2010s, he would begin some new adventures for the renowned filmmaker, as he kept swimming int he ocean of creativity, he directed the Jay-Z and Kanye West video for “Otis” in 2011 and a minor role in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf Of Wall Street” (which isn’t his first acting role) in 2013. 2013 wasn’t just a good because he worked the legendary director, the same year saw the release of his own film, written and directed by Spike, called “Her”. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, which garnered praise from film-goers and critics. Soon the following year, he would take home an Academy Award for “Best Screenplay” (it’s interesting to say the Jackass crew has an Oscar, talk about a dichotomy).
From a BMX shop to Winning an Oscar, Spike Jonze’s career and legacy is something to appreciate, to say the least. In fact, this article itself may have not even scratched the surface of each field Spike has dipped his toe in. From creating the channel Vice, from directing Frank Oceans concerts with Brad Pitt in live-action, from Broadway plays. His portfolio goes beyond adjectives, admirable, and amazing is an understatement. Spike is a Hollywood elite that can inspire many to step outside of the box and embrace their creativity that truly captures their passion for whatever it is they are doing. It may not be the biggest rags to riches story, but it doesn’t take away inspiration he has had on so many others and light the drive for those to stay and persist to create what they want and love.
