Spike Jonze

The Profile

Spike Jonze (born Adam Spiegel) is an American filmmaker who emerged from skate culture and 1990s music videos to direct acclaimed features including Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are, and Her—winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Her. He has also directed documentaries and seminal skate films.

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Her (2013); co-creator of Jackass; frequent collaborator with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman; directed notable music videos for artists including Beastie Boys and The Chemical Brothers.

Reviews celebrate Spike Jonze’s jump from skate and music videos to inventive, genre-bending cinema. Her is praised as intimate, high-concept sci‑fi; Adaptation as a witty deconstruction of storytelling; Where the Wild Things Are as a tender, psychological fable. His skate films (Video Days, Yeah Right!) and the Beastie Boys Story doc spotlight his pop-cultural instincts. Overall tone: admiring and enthusiastic.