Spike Jonze facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Spike Jonze
Jonze at the 2013 New York Film Festival
Born	Adam Spiegel (1969-10-22) October 22, 1969 (age 55) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Film director film producer screenwriter cinematographer film editor actor musician photographer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Sofia Coppola ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2003)​
Partner(s)	Allie Teilz (2019–present)
Children	3
Relatives	Sam Spiegel (brother) Arthur Spiegel (great-grandfather) Joseph Spiegel (great-great-grandfather)
Awards	Full list

Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. He has created many different types of projects. These include movies, TV shows, music videos, and even videos for skateboarding.

Spike Jonze started his career as a teenager. He took photos of BMX riders and skateboarders for magazines. He also helped start a magazine called Dirt. Later, he began making films about street skateboarding. One famous early film was Video Days (1991). In 1993, Jonze helped start a skateboard company called Girl Skateboards. His unique filmmaking style made him a popular director for music videos in the 1990s. He worked with many famous artists like Beastie Boys, Weezer, and Björk.

Jonze began directing feature films with Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002). Both were written by Charlie Kaufman. Being John Malkovich earned Jonze a nomination for Best Director. He also helped create and produce the MTV show Jackass. Later, Jonze directed movies based on his own stories. These include Where the Wild Things Are (2009) and Her (2013). For Her, he won an Academy Award for his writing.

He has also acted in movies and TV shows. He was in Three Kings (1999) and had small roles in Moneyball (2011) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). Jonze helped create Directors Label, a company for music video directors. He is currently the creative director for Vice Media, Inc. and its TV channel, Vice on TV.

Growing Up and Early Interests

Adam H. Spiegel was born in New York City in 1969. His parents were Arthur H. Spiegel III and Sandra L. Granzow. His father was a businessman, and his mother worked in public relations. When he was young, his parents divorced. Spike was raised by his mother in Bethesda, Maryland. He has a brother, Sam "Squeak E. Clean" Spiegel, who is a music producer.

While in high school, Jonze spent a lot of time at a local store. The owner, Mike Henderson, gave him the nickname "Spike Jonze." This name came from a funny bandleader named Spike Jones. In high school, Jonze became good friends with Jeff Tremaine. They both loved BMX biking.

Jonze was a very good BMX rider. At 16, he started working at a BMX store in Rockville, Maryland. Many professional BMX teams visited this store. Jonze began taking photos of their shows. He became friends with editors from Freestylin' Magazine. They liked his photos and offered him a job as a photographer. He then moved to California to work on his photography career. Jonze also helped create youth culture magazines like Homeboy and Dirt.

Starting His Career

Photography and Early Videos (1985–1993)

While taking photos for BMX magazines in California, Jonze met many professional skateboarders. He became good friends with Mark Gonzales, who owned Blind Skateboards. Jonze started taking photos of the young Blind team. He became a regular photographer for Transworld Skateboarding.

Later, he got a job at World Industries. He took photos for ads and made promotional videos. Jonze filmed and edited his first skateboarding video, Rubbish Heap, in 1989. His next video, Video Days (1991), was for Blind Skateboards. It became very important in the skateboarding world.

A copy of Video Days was shown to Kim Gordon from the band Sonic Youth. She was impressed and asked Jonze to direct a music video for their song "100%" (1992). This video featured skateboarder Jason Lee, who later became a successful actor. In 1993, Jonze also co-directed the music video for The Breeders' song "Cannonball".

In 1993, Jonze helped start the skateboard company Girl Skateboards. The next year, he directed the video for the Weezer song "Buddy Holly". This video showed the band playing inside clips from the TV show Happy Days. It became very popular on MTV. Rolling Stone magazine later called it one of the best music videos of the 1990s.

Also in 1994, Jonze directed videos for the Beastie Boys' songs "Sure Shot" and "Sabotage". The "Sabotage" video made fun of 1970s police shows. It was presented like the opening credits of a fake show. This video was also very popular and played constantly on MTV. Jonze also directed videos for other artists that year. He even had a small acting part in the movie Mi Vida Loca (1994).

Becoming a Top Video Director and First Feature Film (1995–1999)

Jonze worked with Björk on her 1995 music video "It's Oh So Quiet". In this video, Björk dances and sings like in a musical. He also directed a funny commercial for Nike called "Guerrilla Tennis." It showed tennis players Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras playing in the middle of a street.

In 1996, Jonze directed The Pharcyde's "Drop" video, which was filmed backwards. In 1997, he made a short film called How They Get There. He also worked with Daft Punk on the video for "Da Funk". This video showed a "man-dog" walking around New York City. His video for The Chemical Brothers' "Elektrobank" (1997) starred his future wife, Sofia Coppola, as a gymnast. Jonze also had a small acting role as a paramedic in the film The Game (1997).

John Malkovich (left), the star of Being John Malkovich, and the film's writer Charlie Kaufman.

In 1997, Jonze made a short documentary called Amarillo by Morning. It was about two boys in Texas who wanted to be bull riders. He also helped film the documentary Free Tibet. Jonze created a funny character named Richard Koufey. This character was the leader of a dance group that performed in public places. Jonze filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slim's "The Rockafeller Skank" as Koufey.

He then gathered dancers to perform to Slim's "Praise You" outside a movie theater. The video was a huge hit! "Koufey" and his group were invited to perform at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video won several awards, and Jonze accepted them while still in character. He even made a short mockumentary about it called Torrance Rises (1999).

Jonze's first feature film as a director was Being John Malkovich in 1999. It starred John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener. John Malkovich played himself. The story was about a puppeteer who finds a secret door into John Malkovich's mind. The film received excellent reviews. Many critics called it very original and exciting. At the 72nd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Jonze also acted in the war comedy Three Kings (1999). He played a character named Conrad Vig, a sweet but not-so-smart soldier. This role was written just for him.

Adaptation, Jackass, and More Videos (2000–2008)

In 2000, Jonze directed the music video for "Wonderboy" by the comedy group Tenacious D. He also helped create and produce the TV show Jackass with Johnny Knoxville and his childhood friend Jeff Tremaine. The show was on MTV and featured people doing dangerous stunts and pranks. Jonze sometimes appeared in the show.

In 2001, he worked with Fatboy Slim again on the video for "Weapon of Choice". This video starred actor Christopher Walken dancing in an empty hotel lobby. It won many awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

Jonze's second film was the comedy-drama Adaptation (2002). It was based on a book and written by Charlie Kaufman. The movie starred Nicolas Cage playing two roles: Kaufman and his fictional twin brother. It was praised by critics for being original, funny, and thought-provoking.

Jonze holding a producer credit for The 1 Second Film in 2004

Jackass: The Movie, a film based on the TV show, came out in 2002. Jonze helped produce it and appeared in it. He also directed a 60-second commercial for IKEA called "Lamp" (2002). This commercial won a big award in advertising. In 2003, Jonze co-directed the Girl Skateboards video Yeah Right!, which used many special effects.

In 2003, Jonze helped start Directors Label, a series of DVDs about music video directors. His own DVD, The Work of Director Spike Jonze, came out in October. It included his videos, photos, and interviews.

He directed a commercial for Adidas called "Hello Tomorrow" in 2005. It featured music by his brother Sam Spiegel. Jonze worked with Björk for a third time on the music video for "Triumph of a Heart" (2005). In this playful video, her husband was played by a housecat.

The second Jackass movie, Jackass Number Two, was released in 2006. In 2007, Jonze became the creative director of VBS.tv, an online TV network. He also directed ads for GAP and Levi's. In 2008, Jonze directed the music video for Kanye West's "Flashing Lights". This slow-motion video showed West being stabbed in the desert. Jonze also produced Charlie Kaufman's first film as a director, Synecdoche, New York (2008).

Where the Wild Things Are and Her (2009–2019)

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) was a movie directed by Jonze. It was based on Maurice Sendak's famous children's book. Jonze and Dave Eggers wrote the screenplay, making the short book into a full movie. Sendak himself gave advice to Jonze.

The movie starred Max Records as Max, a lonely boy who runs away and finds an island of creatures called "Wild Things." The Wild Things were played by actors in costumes, with computer effects for their faces. Famous actors like James Gandolfini and Forest Whitaker provided their voices. The film's music was by Karen O and Carter Burwell. Where the Wild Things Are received good reviews, but some people wondered if it was for kids or adults because of its serious tone. Jonze said he wanted to make a movie about childhood.

Jonze also wrote and directed a short film called We Were Once a Fairytale (2009), starring Kanye West. In 2010, he wrote and directed the science fiction short film I'm Here. It was about a robot who falls in love. He also directed the video for Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" (2010), which was a shorter version of his film Scenes from the Suburbs.

A third Jackass film, Jackass 3D, came out in 2010. Jonze also acted in the comedy series The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. He continued working with the Beastie Boys, directing their music video for "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" (2011), where the band members were action figures. He also directed the video for Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Otis" (2011).

In 2011, Jonze co-directed a stop-motion animated short film called Mourir Auprès De Toi. He also had a small role in the sports movie Moneyball (2011), playing the husband of Robin Wright's character. In 2012, Jonze co-directed the skateboarding film Pretty Sweet.

Jonze in 2013

Jonze's fourth feature film was the romantic science fiction drama Her, released in 2013. This was his first movie that he wrote all by himself. It starred Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, and Scarlett Johansson. The film is about a man who falls in love with an advanced computer operating system named "Samantha" (voiced by Johansson).

Her received excellent reviews from critics. Many praised Jonze for exploring themes of love and connection in a new and interesting way. At the 86th Academy Awards, Jonze won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Her. He was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song.

Jonze co-wrote and appeared in Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013). He played the wife of Johnny Knoxville's character, though most of his scenes were cut. He was also the creative director for the YouTube Music Awards in 2013. Jonze had a small role in Martin Scorsese's 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. He played a stockbroker who teaches Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) about penny stocks.

In 2015, Jonze directed the video for Kanye West's "Only One", filmed on an iPhone. He also directed a short commercial film called Kenzo World (2016) to promote a perfume. It starred Margaret Qualley dancing wildly in a mansion. Jonze is the creative director of the TV channel Viceland.

In 2017, Jonze directed Frank Ocean's summer concert tour. He also produced and designed the stage for the concerts. Jonze wrote and directed a stage show called Changers: A Dance Story (2017). In 2018, he directed a commercial for Apple's HomePod devices called Welcome Home, starring FKA Twigs dancing. In 2019, Jonze directed a commercial and short film for Squarespace. He also filmed Aziz Ansari's stand-up comedy special Right Now.

Recent Work (2020–present)

Jonze directed the stage show Beastie Boys Story: As Told by Michael Diamond & Adam Horovitz. This show featured the two surviving members of the Beastie Boys telling their band's story. A full-length documentary, Beastie Boys Story, was also directed by Jonze. It was released on Apple TV+ in 2020 and received positive reviews.

He returned to acting in the 2022 film Babylon. In early 2023, it was reported that Jonze was working on a TV series for Netflix with Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix. However, he later left the project.

Personal Life

Jonze with President Bill Clinton and then-wife Sofia Coppola at Three Kings screening on October 14, 1999.

On June 26, 1999, Spike Jonze married director Sofia Coppola. They had met in 1992 while working on a music video. They divorced on December 5, 2003.

Jonze has been in relationships with other artists. He dated singer Karen O in 2005. He also dated actresses Drew Barrymore and Michelle Williams. From 2010 to 2011, he dated Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi.

Since 2019, Jonze has been in a relationship with artist Allie Teilz. They have three sons, including twins born in 2023 and another son born in 2024.

Movies Directed

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Spike Jonze para niños