With it being 13 long years since Spike Jonze last directed a narrative film and no feature projects in sight, his creative output has mostly been music videos, stand-up specials, ads, and shepherding the Jackass franchise. His latest directorial work has now arrived in the form of the surrealist three-minute video Shape of Dreams starring Zendaya, created for the Swiss sportswear brand On.
“It’s been so much fun to collaborate with Law and the On team on these essentials,” Zendaya said in a statement. “We wanted to create pieces that feel versatile and easy to wear – styles that move with you across different moments. We started with the idea of making people feel confident and effortless, and we built everything out from there. Working with Spike brought that vision to life in a really special way – the world he created gave it a whole new dimension.”
As for Zendaya’s latest big screen role in The Drama, Jourdain Searles said in our review, “Zendaya delivers one of her best performances, externalizing the film’s racial politics by being a perfectly normal, loving partner marginalized by the narrative constructed around her. It’s clear from the beginning that Emma is no villain and has no violent impulses––at least not anymore. We are treated to many flashbacks of Emma as an awkward teenager (played by Jordyn Curet) with glasses, frizzy hair, and no social skills to speak of. We learn that Emma was a military brat who moved around a lot and struggled to make friends in school when her family settled in Louisiana. She has a white mom who we rarely see onscreen and a Black military father (Damon Gupton) who later gives the only good speech at the wedding. Though The Drama never discusses Emma’s biracial identity or the fact that she’s entering into an interracial marriage, her reveal exposes Charlie’s anxiety about marrying a Black woman.”
Watch below.