Spike Jonze

:For the musician and bandleader, see Spike Jones.

Alter egos

Spike Jonze also has several alter-egos, including Richard Koufey, Richard Coufey, Richard Couffe, and Spike Jones. The first name Spike has more commonly been used when referring to movie director Spike Lee, sometimes resulting in confusion.

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Richard Koufey is leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group, an urban dance group that performs in the malls and streets of Torrance, California. Koufey was allegedly spotted by music video director Spike Jonze performing Fatboy Slim's hit single Rockafella Skank with a boombox on the street. Spike filmed him and showed the video to Fatboy, who loved it. Jonze filmed Koufey and his dance group performing Fatboy's next song Praise You outside a movie theater for "Praise You's" music video. The resulting video was a huge success and Koufey and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform it for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The movie received the awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography. Koufey made a documentary about the experience, entitled Torrance Rises.

Related Topics:
Torrance Community Dance Group - Torrance, California - Spike Jonze - Fatboy Slim - Rockafella Skank - Praise You - New York City - 1999 - MTV Video Music Awards - Torrance Rises

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