How Spike Jonze Went from Dweeby Skater to Four-time Oscar-Nominated Director

Our friends at Grolsch Film Works have a website where you can find out what they've been up to and read/watch interesting stuff about films. Every once in a while we'll be plucking the highlights. This is that.

SPIKE JONZE: THE EARLY YEARS

Just how did Spike Jonze go from a dweeby skater with a funny voice, to a critically adored four-time Oscar-nominated director who regularly brushes shoulders with A-listers at ostentatious awards ceremonies (still with a funny voice)? Simple. The dude knows people and has more talent than he can cram into his pockets.

In celebration of Jonze's extraordinarily thought-provoking sci-fi love story, Her, we've decided it's about time we charted the early years of the feted indie auteur, if only to shed a little light on his flawless journey thus far. Future filmmakers, take note: this is the exemplary career trajectory of Spike Jonze.

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THIS HORRIBLE ORANGE/TEAL AESTHETIC HAS GOT TO STOP

Shockingly, this is still a thing. I realise I'm not the first to vent my spleen about this disgusting orange/teal look that's discernable in just about everything from superhero capers to critically adored indies – but the pervasive aesthetic is still pretty much inescapable for us cinemagoers. Which is why, no matter what you think about him, Wes Anderson's films and their meticulously selected colour palettes are some of the most singular around today.

Now, take a moment to glance above your screen. Take a good look around you and count the colours you see. I bet there are more hues than you can count on one hand, right? So why is it that there are just two colours that prevail in today's movies? What is it about those sickening shades of orange and teal that appeals to today's filmmakers and their DPs? The industry is currently drowning in an odious cesspool of teal and orange, and it has got to stop.

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FRIENDS: THE ONE WHERE THEY TRIED MOVIES

I'll be there for you (When the rain starts to pour)

I'll be there for you (Like I've been there before)

I'll be there for you ('Cause you're there for me too)

LIES. ALL OF THEM. LIES. It's been ten years now since our Friends abandoned us to the harsh cruelties of the world. No more Central Perk, no more Smelly Cat, no more Ugly Naked Guy. Now we have to hang with those irksome nerds from The Big Bang Theory. And it's not that we want to, it's just that they always seem to be there when we're too lazy to find the remote.

Come on, I can't be the only one who feels a Courtney Cox or Matthew Perry-shaped hole in my heart? What happened to these guys? You'd think the biggest TV stars of the 90s would have no trouble cracking the movie business. But time, and many failed sequels, have proved so very differently. I hope you're emotionally ready for this because it ain't going to be pretty and you will be left desperately yearning for the years of high-waisted suit pants and sleeveless denim vests.

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TEN DIRECTORS WITH BIZARRE JOBS YOU WOULD NEVER EXPECT

Steven Soderbergh handled cinematography as "Peter Andrews" for 18 of his own films – and nine of those he edited with the pseudonym "Mary Ann Bernard". When shown a preview of Paul Schrader's The Canyons, Soderbergh offered to edit it within 72 hours. He proved that speediness by taking 24 hours to cut Spike Jonze's Her from 150 to 90 minutes. (The final version is 106 minutes, with Jonze calling the suggestions "a really good kind of pain".)

It might be Soderbergh retired from directing because he really, really loves editing other people's work – like how some rich people buy yachts or play golf. Through his production company, Section Eight, Soderbergh handled final cut for Todd Hayne's Far From Heaven, Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton and Christopher Nolan's Insomnia. After all, this is a guy who filmed second unit on The Hunger Games because he thought it would be fun. Now, anytime you see a credits sequence, be aware that any of those names could be Soderbergh in disguise.

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Keep your peepers peeled for more Grolsch Film Works updates next week. Go to grolschfilmworks.com to see what's happening right now.