On saturday, charlie kaufman, the screenwriter behind eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and being john malkovich, came to new york to talk to us. Not content with being the undisputed king of music videos, hes set his sights on fulllengthfeaturefilms. Being john malkovich, the worlds first glimpse at charlie kaufman s brilliant and twisted mind, is an incredibly original and confident debut. He moved from massapequa, new york to west hartford, connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. We see that the sweat is being pumped from a special device chat the real craig controls. Charlie kaufman, the man behind malkovich kaufman speaks with indiewire about getting into the biz, breaking the rules, and retaining his. He made his directorial debut with screenplay synecdoche, new york 2008. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at boston university but soon transferred nyu to study film. His work is so uniquely his that you can tell you are reading a kaufman script within the first page. He wrote the films being john malkovich 1999, adaptation 2002, and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 2004. In order to earn a living he is forced to find himself a regular job, only it soon becomes apparent that regular it is not. Charlie kaufman, american screenwriter and director known for his offbeat films and ambitious narrative style.
In 1999, screenwriter charlie kaufman went practically overnight from being just another former television writer trying to break into features to one the industrys hottest talents, all thanks to one film. The philosophy of charlie kaufman book description. Read texts from being john malkovich and join the genius community of scholars to learn the meaning behind the words. He made his directorial debut with synecdoche, new york 2008, which film critic roger ebert called the best movie of the. As a screenwriter, he is best known for his two mindbending collaborations with director spike jonze, being. Here are, from worst to best, all the times charlie kaufman himself got creative, but in a very good way. From the academy awardwinning eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 2004 and academy awardnominated adaptation 2002 to the cult classic being john malkovich 1999, writer charlie kaufman is widely admired for his innovative, philosophically resonant films. Charlie kaufmans idea of being john malkovich originated simply as a story about a man who falls in love with someone who is not his wife and he kept adding. Being john malkovich, which stars john cusack, cameron diaz and, of course, john malkovich as himself, is charlie kaufman s screenwriting debut. He is known for many movies, such as being john malkovich, synecdoche, new york, and adaptation. Being john malkovich film by jonze 1999 britannica. Being john malkovich isnt just an endearingly inventive.
The show was mostly in the voice of its creators, chris elliott and adam resnick, whod worked on the david letterman show. It is, in other words, the work of charlie kaufman, 57, who wrote being john malkovich, adaptation, and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, who wrote and. Director spike jonze and screenwriter charlie kaufman talk being. When being john malkovich opened in 1999, nobody knew the name of its screenwriter, charlie kaufman, whod spent the previous 15 years. Being john malkovich 1999 the movie that was kaufmans debut and put him on the map has one of the most original screenplays ever written. The art of john balance collected bright lights and cats with no mouths. Catherine keener and john cusack in being john malkovich.
But for all of the comparisons i could make, this is unmistakably a charlie kaufman work. Avid reader charlie kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. If a lesser writer were to tackle the same exact premise of this film, the results would probably be disastrous and nonsensical. His breakout screenplay being john malkovich established him as a creative force in hollywood. Charlie kaufman i avid reader charlie kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student.
The singular director and oscarwinning writer of being john malkovich and anomalisa opens up about puppet sex, the tv shows he cant get made, and the future of humans as a species adam sternbergh. The surreal black comedy features john cusack as a nebbishy puppeteer who. My first writing job was on a tv show called get a life. Jonzes film, with a terrific original screenplay by charlie kaufman, is not the first to explore the prospect of being able to sneak into the mind of. Writerdirector charlie kaufman doesnt make things easy for his characters. I was working on a tv show waiting for hiring season. The trailer to adaptation 2002, written by charlie kaufman and directed by spike jonze. Right before being john malkovich writer charlie kaufman phoned me for this interview last week, a telemarketer with a stuck speed dial bombarded me with repeated calls about a free trip to the. Being john malkovich, jonzes devious debut feature, creates from our schizophrenic celebrity culture an original comedy that is as affecting as it. Charlie kaufman biography, movie highlights and photos. Being john malkovich is a fresh exciting stroke of genius. I think i wrote it in six months, which is pretty amazing for me. Download all of charlie kaufman screenplays indie film.
Being john malkovichs surreal comic vision seemed to suggest an imagination that appeared practically out of nowhere, and in many ways that isnt far from the. In september, i had the opportunity to sit down with charlie kaufman, the screenwriter behind being john malkovich, adaptation, eternal sunshine and his directorial debut synecdoche, new york. John cusack is craig schwartz, an unemployed puppeteer looser guy. Charlie kaufman received a second oscar nomination for his work on the film the first was for being john malkovich and he was ascendant on hollywoods alist. Charlie kaufman became one of hollywoods hottest screenwriters by penning daring stories featuring a socially inept and often rather slovenly male protagonist struggling to make his way in the world on his own terms. Being john malkovich isnt just an endearingly inventive film it. Being john malkovich isnt just an endearingly inventive film it foretold our celebrityobsessed, genderfluid age. Twenty years ago, the strange, wonderful movie debut of director spike jonze and writer charlie kaufman was released.
Being john malkovich is a 1999 american fantasy comedy film directed by spike jonze and written by charlie kaufman, both making their feature film debut. His ability to draw on things that have actually happened in his own life helps him when it comes to following characters into a story and creating worlds that are richly drawn. The cult screenwriter relives his big breakthrough and offers a few writing tips. Charlie kaufman answers big questions the boston globe. Charlie kaufman on anomalisa and why its so hard to get.
Being john malkovich 1999 the criterion collection. But then the formula seems somewhat antithetical to what charlie kaufman does. I was very interested to see the movie turn out almost completely different than charlie kaufmans version. Charlie kaufman, the author of being john malkovich, one of the strangest and most original screenplays in years, was standing near his table at. We are still in the process of growing as a database, but you can help us by editing, or creating a new page. Kaufman waited several years to make being john malkovich with director spike. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind being john malkovich synecdoche, new york adaptation anomalisa. Being john malkovich, which stars john cusack, cameron diaz and, of course, john malkovich as himself, is charlie hilarity, drama, and perhaps the most unique film of the 90s. Then director spike jonze and writer charlie kaufman have. All 7 charlie kaufman films ranked from worst to best.
A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star john malkovich. While his latest movie being john malkovich 1999 is in production, screenwriter charlie kaufman is hired by. Being john malkovich is a quirky story with tons of comedic sidecars. Being john malkovich a screenplay by charlie kaufman x5iw\ receive aug 4. We spoke to charlie kaufman and duke johnson about their new film, anomalisa.
The madness of creativity charlie kaufman on facing your. As a screenwriter and director, charlie kaufman is responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed and remarkable movies of. One might imagine that the often surreal, always innovative humour of his short music promos might not transfer across to a much longer production like hell. Spike lee, tom mccarthy, ramin bahrani, paul feig, charlie kaufman and much more. Charlie kaufmans idea of being john malkovich originated simply as a story about a man who falls in love with someone who is not his wife and he kept adding further elements to.
Some of them are controlled by girlfriends and boyfriends being john malkovich or painful memories eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. Some of them are sealed in a glass box human nature or coerced by the government confessions of a dangerous mind. Charlie kaufman was nominated for an oscar for his being john malkovich. Charlie kaufmans films include eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, being john malkovich, adaptation. John malkovich for fifteen minutes, before being spat out on the side of the new jersey turnpike.
There are hypnotists and neil armstrong and buzz aldrin and charlie rose all of it, somehow, remains tied together in a meandering, dreamlike, yet essentially coherent story. All 7 charlie kaufman films ranked from worst to best all 7 charlie kaufman films ranked from worst to best. Kaufman created a wild plot with interesting characters. The definitive, unofficial charlie kaufman information resource.
Being john malkovich is a dense piece of work, as if kaufman needed his own malkovichian vessel to serve as a clearing house for ideas that built up over 15 years in the screenwriting wilderness. Allegedly, the script development to adaptation dates back to 1994. Fans of being john malkovich, kaufmans previous collaboration with jonze, will already know about the jonzekaufman version of originality. He wrote the screenplays for such notable movies as being john malkovich 1999, adaptation 2002, and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind 2004.
But i wrote being john malkovich in a very short period of time. Charlie kaufman celebrity profile check out the latest charlie kaufman photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Kaufman explains why there have been so few kaufman movies. In true malkovich style, we get literally inside the head of a certain president.
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