There are few directors who can create magical, heartfelt, and interesting worlds on screen, but Spike Jonze is certainly one of them. Beginning as a music video Director, Spike was originally contracted to come up with story lines and visual tales that mimicked the worlds being represented in artists’ songs, leading him to create original videos that featured had a touches of emotion mixed in with humor. In between directing successful music videos and cult skateboard film hits, like Girl skateboards’ “Yeah Right”, Jonze made his feature film debut with Being John Malkovich (1999), a strange metaphysical tale about a puppeteer who discovers a crawlspace in his office that allows him to embody John Malkovich’s consciousness. Sound strange? Well it is, but the film was  so captivating and well executed that it was nominated for three oscars including one for Best Director. It was at this moment that Jonze established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the Indie film world. Jonze followed up Being John Malkovich with Adaption (2002), a film starring Meryll Streep opposite Nicholas Cage about a struggling writer being driven insane by writer’s block. This sophomore effort from Jonze showed that he had a talent for telling adventurous tales, which is why seven years later he was commissioned to adapt the beloved children’s book Where The Wild Things are  by Maurice Sednak into a feature film.   Using cutting-edge CGI technology and a well written adapted script, Jonze breathed new life into Sednak’s classic tale and create a visually stunning world that captivated audiences and critics. With a strong narrative and an equally as strong soundtrack featuring Arcade Fire and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O Where The Wild Things Are was met with critical and commercial success and was considered to be Jonze’s greatest creative achievement to date. Mary Pols of Time Magazine described Jonze’s creative triumph best in an article in which she said, “Jonze unleashes his considerable creativity. The beasts are recognizable from Sendak’s pages, but Jonze gives them names and distinct personalities that connect to aspects of Max’s psyche and to the people he loves. Freud would adore this movie. They are vast, feathered, horned, clawed, beaked and definitely wild — irrational and dangerous, even when showing affection — and Jonze uses their threatening bulk as well as their capacity for cruelty to remind us that Max’s taming of them is only temporary. For any child, it is near impossible to stay king of anything, even in fantasy.”

After the success of Where The Wild Things Are Jonze returned to his Indie roots with Her (2013), a story about a lonely man that falls in love with his personal computer. The film was Jonze’s best casted effort to date with Joaquin Phoenix, Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johansen, and Amy Adam all starring and giving some of the best performances of their careers. Her was nominated for three oscars in 2013 and Jonze ended up taking home the academy award for Best Original Screenplay. This victory has given Indie Filmmakers hope that the Academy may begin considering more Independent features in the future, which is good news to all the Indie directors and writers whose efforts have gone unnoticed for years.

If you would like to see some of Jonze’s other works check out his ridiculous Sprite Ad from the 90s or be sure to see Her which comes out on DVD and VOD on May 13th.

Jake Johnson, better known as the manchild Nick from New Girl, has been killing it lately in the comedy world. You may remember Jake from 2012’s summer bromance hit “21 Jump Street” where he showed off his comedic skills as the lazy principal who expels Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, but since then he’s gone from being a minor actor to a major presence on screen. The first time I saw Johnson was in the critically acclaimed indie film “Safety Not Guaranteed”, a story about a man seeing a companion for time travel. I didn’t have too high of expectations since aside from the legendary Back to the Future trilogy, I’m not usually a fan of time travel stories, but Johnson’s deadpan humor, along with Aubrey Plaza hilarious performance, made this film into a gem. It wasn’t long after that I stumbled upon Johnson’s Fox hit show New Girl, where he plays a directionless 30 year old who is plagued with strange quirks that keeps the audience coming back for more. New Girl started as an amusing show to watch out of boredom but has since snowballed into one of the most well written and witty comedies on TV. The show is the perfect vehicle for Johnson to display his comedic chops and has made him into a star, but even with newfound fame Johnson hasn’t abandoned his indie roots. Last year Johnson starred into the indie mumblecore hit of the year “Drinking Buddies” alongside SNL Alum Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde and proved that he could take on a more serious role by playing a lovestruck brewery worker with a big heart and an ever bigger desire for beer. Every actor gave a great performance in this film but the on screen chemistry between Wilde and Johnson was what made it truly incredible. Johnson also has some great projects on the horizon like Seth Rogen comedy “Neighbors” coming out on May 9th and the buddy cop film “Let’s Be Cops” which is expected to hit theaters on August 13th, but if you want to check out some of his performances in the meantime be sure to watch episodes of New Girl on Fox’s Website or check out the trailer for Drinking Buddies.

You may know him as The Man on the Moon, Mr. Rager, or Kid Cudi, but the Cleveland born rapper is no longer just a musician: he’s developed into quite the talented actor as well. Kid Cudi has long been known among rap fans as a musician that has  combined rap narrative with space odyssey themed beats to create a unique sound that is a breath of fresh are to hip hop. He is a unique artist that has the ability to connect to fans through soulful music and visually stunning music videos by day and make those same fans laugh through his appearances on HBO’s  “How to Make it in America” and NBC’s hit cop show “Brooklyn nine-nine” by night. Many people may roll their eyes when they hear a rapper is pursuing an acting career and think they may be unqualified but Cudi doesn’t fit this mold: in fact his Television and recent “Need for Speed” performances have been so good that he’s just been cast as Ari Gold’s assistant in the upcoming and highly anticipated “Entourage” movie.  His ability to switch from stoic and serious to slapstick funny in the matter of seconds makes him a versatile actor whose performances mirror the breadth of human emotions featured in his music. Whether he is playing the carefree stoner Domingo on “How to Make it in America” or Aaron Paul’s partner in crime in “Need for Speed” Mescudi is able to bring his character’s to life in a refreshing way that leaves the audience wanting more, which is why even those who aren’t fans of his music can appreciate him as a multi-talented artist. If you want to see some of Scott’s performances be sure to check out his Brooklyn nine-nine cameo or spot him actually flying a helicopter in this “Need for Speed” clip.