1 Born Adam Spiegel, heir to the catalog empire, he chucked the silver spoon and renamed himself after Spike Jones, the World War II--era bandleader famous for (All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth.
2 After years of making groundbreaking skate videos, he co-created MTV's sick, wrong and addictive Jackass.
3 He duped America when he went onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards disguised as Richard Koufay, the Torrance Community Dance Group leader he plays in Fatboy Slim's Praise You video.
4 He mind-fucks the press. Getting him to talk about himself is like getting Britney Spears to keep her clothes on. One reporter mistakenly wrote a profile of Koufay, complete with a photo of Jonze in disguise.
5 His wedding to Sofia Coppola took place at Francis Ford Coppola's Napa Valley vineyard. Tom Waits sang Here Comes the Bride.
6 His music video arsenal includes Weezer's Buddy Holly, Soundgarden's My Wave, Björk's It's Oh So Quiet and Puff Daddy's It's All About the Benjamins.
7 To get the underwater footage for the Beastie Boys' Sabotage video, Jonze--who lacked an underwater camera--put a regular camera in a clear trash bag. It didn't work.
8 Still, he commands $25,000 a day.
9 He worked as a photographer for Freestylin,' BMX Action and Homeboy before co-founding Dirt, brother publication to Sassy.
10 Jonze's short Eric Chaplin featured skater Eric Hopkins depicting what would happen if Charlie Chaplin found a skateboard. It was filmed for less than $500. Today, Jonze makes shorts for Atomfilms.com.
11 In the Levi's 501 spot that depicted a guy being dragged behind a van, Jonze insisted on playing the man himself.
12 He and Being John Malkovich scribe Charlie Kaufman waited years for Malkovich to read the script. Says Malkovich: "For a kid who seems like a goofball who skateboards and does tricks on his bicycle, he's very smart."
13 Before eclipsing Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney as redneck soldier Conrad Vig in Three Kings, he had bit parts in The Game and Mi Vida Loca. His next two acting gigs: Hannibal and Planet of the Apes.
