CANNES — “Her” director Spike Jonze said the secret to being good at what you do is being willing to get fired to stay true to your vision.
Jonze, speaking on stage at the Cannes Lions festival Monday, advised advertising executives to be brave.
“Be willing to get fired for a good idea. It’s about finding people who are not scared,” said Jonze, wearing a hipster outfit of a blue check shirt and a heavy beige jacket and sneakers.
Jonze directed Beastie Boys music videos before going on to make movies such as “Being Jon Malkovich,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” and “Her.”
“What I learned from the Beastie Boys was to be independent. They set up their own world separate from the label. They built their own studio,” said Jonze, who said the members did it so the band wouldn’t run out of time in order to get their music just right.
Jonze revealed the difficulties of dealing with studios and financial executives.
When he showed Warner Bros., “Where the Wild Things Are,” it wasn’t what they had expected because it wasn’t a traditional family film. “They wanted to put the kid on medication,” he joked.
The 44-year old director added that while he’s respectful of the people who are giving him money to make projects, sometimes he has to remove himself from their critiques in order to get the features made.
Jonze also discussed relationships and how the movie, “Her,” evolved.
The film maker, who was married to Sofia Coppola for four year — they divorced in 2003 — said: “There were questions I had, things I was anxious about. What makes a relationship succeed or fail. What creates or prevents intimacy?”
Jonze was trying to explain how his movies come about, and he added they often start with a grand vision more an effort to explore a feeling.