Arcade Fire Short Film

[MacGuffin]

Exclusive: Spike Jonze Collaborating with Arcade Fire on New Film
Source: Slash Film

Today I learned that Spike Jonze (Where The Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich) was casting a secret film project in Austin Texas. Apparently Spike has been casting mostly late teen actors for the project, which is supposedly a story which involves "friends growing apart."

The only bits of information I've been able to uncover from official sources is that the project is another short film. It seems like Spike isn't off his short film kick just yet (if you haven't already, check out his robot love story I'm Here and We Were Once a Fairytale starring Kanye West). I also learned that the film is a collaboration with the band Arcade Fire. You might recall that Spike used Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," from their 2004 album Funeral, in the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are. No word on the length or what the official title might be.

[modage]

http://pitchfork.com/news/39622-arcade-fires-win-butler-talks-live-webcast-spike-jonze-short-film/

Pitchfork: I read that you guys worked with Spike Jonze recently, was that for a music video?

WB: It's not a video. It's a short film; we're still working on it. It's like a science-fiction B-movie companion piece for the record.

Basically, we played Spike some music from the album and the first images that came to his mind had the same feeling as this idea for a science fiction film I had when I was younger. My brother and I and Spike wrote it together, which was really fun-- it was like total amateur hour.

We shot it in Austin and a lot of kids are in the film, and it was great just hanging out with these 15-year-olds for a week and writing down all the funny things they said. It was cool to revert to being a 15-year-old for a little while.

Pitchfork: Do you know how long it will be?

WB: I don't. That would be good to know... we run a really tight ship here at Arcade Fire. [laughs]

Pitchfork: It's not bad how you can go from doing this free-form thing with Spike Jonze and then get Terry Gilliam to film a show at Madison Square Garden.

WB: It surprises us, too. Everything like is like, "Really? We get to do this? OK, well, we're gonna do it like this. Is that OK? It is? All right. Bye." [laughs]

[Champion Souza]

This will screen at this month's Berlin International Film Festival. via Pitchfork

[greenberryhill]

can´t wait to see this!!! :D

[Kellen]

So I guess you were able to watch this at some point last night.  It was up on MUBI, but now it's just the trailer.  Apparently it's been blocked for people living in these areas: USA, Canada, Australia, and Germany. 

http://mubi.com/films/scenes-from-the-suburbs

[Stefen]

This looks amazing. I'm Here was incredibly enjoyable. 

I thought Mubi was streaming it?

[Stefen]

Here it is if anyone wants to see it. I didn't care for it at all. Has some pretty slick editing and the music is fantastic of course, but overall it just didn't do much for me.

[polkablues]

I just finished watching it and was going to post that link, but you beat me to it.

Overall, first impression, I think it's the best thing Jonze has made.  It sort of culminates a lot of the thematic and stylistic elements that he's been developing throughout his career, and then pushes them to a new level.  It's almost a companion piece to Wild Things, where Wild Things tells the story of what being a ten-year-old boy is like, and Suburbs tells the story of what being a teenaged boy is like.  Both intertwine reality with a metaphorical reality in a way that seems very novel, something that's been pulled off quite rarely in film.  I would have loved to see this as a feature.

[Pozer]

I would have loved to see this as a feature.

with those same actors! the kids made this thing. wonder where Jonzey dug em up. a better short than i imagined it to be. and no robot peoples 

[RegularKarate]

Bah, it's down already.