The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

Director Spike Jonze discusses the making of ‘Her’

Cinema+studies+teacher+Ted+Walch+listens+to+director+Spike+Jonze+and+editor+Eric+Zumbrunnen+discuss+the+making+of+their+movie+Her+during+Cinema+Sundays.+Credit%3A+Danielle+Spitz%2FChronicle
Cinema studies teacher Ted Walch listens to director Spike Jonze and editor Eric Zumbrunnen discuss the making of their movie “Her” during Cinema Sundays. Credit: Danielle Spitz/Chronicle

Writer and director Spike Jonze and editor Eric Zumbrunnen spoke about the thought process of making their 2013 film “Her” after a screening of the movie at this year’s second Cinema Sunday Jan. 17 hosted by performing arts and cinema studies teacher Ted Walch.

Jonze spoke about his intentions behind the making of the film, for which he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2014.

“I was thinking a lot about relationships and how sometimes two people are together at a moment in time and then you grow apart,” Jonze said. “As much as I was making a science-fiction film, I was always trying to make a relationship movie. I wasn’t really trying to make a movie about technology as much as I was making a movie about relationships and our desire for intimacy, our need for intimacy, and yet our fears inside ourselves that prevent intimacy.”

Zumbrunnen discussed the editing process for not only this movie, but all of the projects the two have worked on together.

“The combined time we’ve spent editing together probably adds up to years,” Zumbrunnen said.

Watch invited students, parents and faculty to watch the award-winning film in Ahmanson Lecture Hall followed by a question and answer session with Jonze and Zumbrunnen.

“The most interesting part was getting to hear the little tricks and behind-the-scene secrets of being a filmmaker,” Nicole Bahar ’18 said.

Walch said the event went “brilliantly” and was pleased with the turnout.

“[Jonze] is an extremely articulate man, and he’s as eloquent with his words as he is with his visuals and his filmmaking,” Walch said. “The film has a lot of heart, and he has a lot of heart.”

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Director Spike Jonze discusses the making of ‘Her’