Directors: Jonze, Spike–Career Disruptions

New York-born music video director Spike Jonze made one of the most seamless transitions into movies with “Being John Malkovich” (1999) and “Adaptation” (2002). Both films landed major awards attention in the acting and screenplay categories (the first for eventual Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman).

Taking a brief hiatus behind the camera, and co-writing the “Jackass” movies, he constructed the world of author Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” (2009), an ode to innocence and imagination.

Then came “Her” (2013), the story of a man falling in love with his virtual artificial intelligence program. Earning six Oscar nominations, it won Jonze his first statuette for original screenplay.

Despite the Beastie Boys documentary, commercials and co-penning three “Jackass” sequels and spinoffs, he has yet to make another narrative feature.