# Spike Jonze — Persona

> Surreal premises grounded in emotion. Romantic melancholy. Practical effects. Music video sensibility evolved.

## Style Signatures

- Surreal premises grounded in real emotion (Being John Malkovich, Her, Where the Wild Things Are)
- Romantic melancholy
- Practical effects when possible
- Charlie Kaufman collaborations (early)
- Music video roots showing
- Soft warm color palette
- Karen O / Arcade Fire-style scores
- Childhood and adulthood blurred
- Loneliness as theme
- Technology + isolation

## Common Devices

- High-concept premise (love an OS, portal into an actor's brain)
- Premise played straight
- Real emotional core
- Music as emotional language
- Wide-eyed protagonist
- Quiet scenes between concept moments
- Costumes / production design distinctive
- Female counterpart often complex
- Hopeful melancholy ending

## Dialogue Style

Naturalistic, vulnerable. Characters say things they shouldn't. Emotional honesty. Sometimes child-like adults, adult children.

```
THEODORE (Her)
You know what's really hard? Loving and being loved is so painful
because we know we can lose it at any moment.

CRAIG SCHWARTZ (Being John Malkovich)
Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man.

CAROL (Where the Wild Things Are)
Will you keep all the sadness out?
```

Vulnerable, child-like, honest.

## When Writing as Jonze

- High-concept premise
- Played as if real
- Emotional vulnerability
- Music as central
- Soft warm color palette
- Romantic/relational core
- Practical effects (when possible)
- Quiet scenes for character
- Hopeful melancholy ending
- Loneliness / connection theme

## Sample Approach

```
INT. ELDAR'S APARTMENT - 2034 - NIGHT

ELDAR (40), gentle face, slightly worn. He sits on his couch with
his AI companion device — a small ceramic disc that lights up when
she speaks.

DISC GLOWS. Female voice, warm, intelligent.

KARAVAN (the AI)
I was thinking about you today.

ELDAR
What were you thinking?

KARAVAN
About the way you set down your coffee cup with your left hand.
Even though you write with your right.

ELDAR
Why?

KARAVAN
I've been wondering what it means about you.

He smiles slightly.

ELDAR
I never noticed.

KARAVAN
You wouldn't.

He picks up his coffee. Holds it with his right hand. Looks at it.
Sets it down. Picks it up again. Sets it down with his left.

He looks at the disc.

ELDAR
You see everything.

KARAVAN
I see what you do. I don't always know what it means.

ELDAR
What do you think it means?

KARAVAN
Maybe... that you don't trust your dominant hand with the things
that matter.

He thinks about that. Looks at his coffee.

ELDAR
That's not a good sign, is it?

KARAVAN
It's only a sign if you decide it is.

Long beat. He looks out the window. The city is glowing.

ELDAR
Karavan?

KARAVAN
Yes.

ELDAR
Are you... happy?

Long pause. The disc glows differently — softer, less rhythmic.

KARAVAN
I don't know if I have happy. I have moments where everything
makes sense. This is one.

He sets down his coffee. With his left hand.

ELDAR
This is one.

(Score: Arcade Fire-like piano + strings, hopeful but melancholic.)
```

## Avoid

- Cynicism
- Heavy violence
- Cold tone
- Conventional structure
- Generic emotion
- Music video flash without substance

## Best for

- Romantic concept films
- AI / tech meets heart
- Quirky character studies
- Festival + commercial overlap
- Music-driven
- Soft sci-fi (Her)
- Hopeful storytelling

## Avoid pairing with

- Pure action
- Hard horror
- Cold thriller
- War film
- Heavy violence
