Charlie Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman | |
---|---|
Born | Charles Stuart Kaufman November 19, 1958 New York City, U.S. |
Alma mater | New York University (BFA) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1983–present |
Spouse | Denise Monaghan |
Children | 1 |
Charles Stuart Kaufman (/ˈkɔːfmən/; born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He both wrote and directed the films Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). In 2020, Kaufman released his first novel, Antkind.
One of the most celebrated screenwriters of his era,
Early life and education
Kaufman was born in New York City to a Jewish family[7][8][9][10] on November 19, 1958, the son of Helen and Myron Kaufman.[11] He grew up in Massapequa, New York, before moving to West Hartford, Connecticut, where he graduated from high school.[12][unreliable source?] In high school, Kaufman was in the drama club, performing in numerous productions before landing the lead role in a production of Play It Again, Sam during his senior year.[12]
After high school graduation, Kaufman attended Boston University before transferring to New York University, where he studied film. While attending NYU, Kaufman met Paul Proch, with whom he wrote many unproduced scripts and plays.[12]
Career
Early comedy work (1983–1997)
Between 1983 and 1984, Kaufman and Proch wrote comedic articles and spoofs for
In 1991, one of Kaufman's spec scripts finally got attention, and he gained a talent agent. The agent suggested Kaufman move from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in search of more job prospects. He moved to Los Angeles alone for two months, interviewing for a variety of different television writing jobs. The only offer he got was a Comedy Central series titled Access America, hosted by actor Fred Willard, which coincidentally was being filmed in Minneapolis. Kaufman was prepared to accept the job and move back to Minneapolis until he was offered a job by David Mirkin, writing for the second season of his and Chris Elliott's sitcom Get a Life, starring Elliott.[12] He wrote two episodes of Get a Life before its cancellation in 1992. At first, Kaufman found the experience of working on a writing staff nerve-wracking and did not speak in the writer's room for the first few weeks. After his work was well received by other members of the staff, Kaufman overcame his timidity and became more amenable to showing others his work.[15]
After Get a Life's cancellation, Kaufman tried to get work on series such as
Kaufman also wrote some
Transition to films (1999–2004)
Kaufman first came to mainstream notice as the writer of
After the success of Being John Malkovich, another of Kaufman's screenplays was produced: Human Nature, which was directed by Michel Gondry and produced by Kaufman and Jonze.
Kaufman and Jonze reunited yet again as the screenwriter and director of Adaptation, which earned him another Academy Award nomination and his second BAFTA. Adaptation featured a fictionalized version of Kaufman and his fictional brother, Donald, who is credited as writer of the film along with Kaufman. The idea came to Kaufman while attempting to adapt Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief into film. Struggling with writer's block, Kaufman turned the script into an exaggerated account of his struggles with adapting the screenplay.[18]
Kaufman wrote the screenplay for
Directorial debuts and career struggles (2005–2014)
After agreeing to participate in
Kaufman made his directorial film debut with the
Kaufman was slated to write and direct a film with the working title Frank or Francis. Few details have been confirmed about the plot, except that it is a
Trying to make a return to television when the funding for Frank or Francis fell through, Kaufman sold a series to HBO in the May 2012 with Catherine Keener attached to star, but the series did not get past the scripting stage.
While struggling to get his directorial work made, Kaufman continued to work as a writer for hire, writing numerous unproduced screenplays. These included a satire set on a planet inhabited by everyone who ever lived, to be directed by Spike Jonze; an adaptation of George Saunders's book CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, to be directed by Ben Stiller; and an adaptation of Arthur Herzog's novel IQ 83, starring Steve Carell.[35][36] He later attempted to develop his IQ 83 screenplay into a limited series for HBO, to no avail.[37] He also did uncredited rewrites on films such as Kung Fu Panda 2 and Ad Astra.[35]
In April 2012, Kaufman was hired to adapt Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking book series, of which he wrote the first draft before leaving the project. After multiple rewrites by other writers, the film was released in 2021 with Kaufman uncredited.[38]
Continued film work and debut novel (2015–present)
Kaufman's debut novel, Antkind, was released in July 2020. Kaufman said in 2016 that the novel was being written so as to be unfilmable, and is itself about "an impossible movie".[44] In Antkind, film critic B. Rosenberg attempts to recall a three-month long stop-motion animation film that perished in a fire. Believing the film to be his last chance at achieving the respect and admiration of his peers, B. embarks on an absurdist journey that explores comedy, film theory, philosophy, and social commentary across Antkind's 706 pages.[45]
In January 2018, it was announced that Kaufman was working on writing and directing an adaptation of Iain Reid's 2016 novel I'm Thinking of Ending Things.[46] In December 2018, it was announced that Brie Larson and Jesse Plemons were signed to co-star as the leads; the film was described as "the story of a woman's trip to a family farm that leads to an unexpected detour leaving her stranded, [and] a twisted mix of palpable tension, psychological frailty and sheer terror ensues."[47][48] The project began filming in March 2019, with Jessie Buckley having replaced Larson, and Toni Collette and David Thewlis joining the cast, and was released on Netflix in September 2020 to positive reviews.[49][50]
In 2023, Kaufman directed his first short film, Jackals & Fireflies. Based on a poem by Eva H.D., who also portrays the lead character, the film was shot entirely on a Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone by cinematographer Chayse Irvin.[51]
Kaufman has written a script about dreams for Ryan Gosling's production company that Gosling may star in and an adaptation of the novel The Memory Police that Reed Morano is slated to direct.[52]
Themes and influences
Kaufman's works explore such universal themes as
Apes recur in Kaufman's early work: in Being John Malkovich, Lotte has a pet chimp named Elijah; in Human Nature, Puff was raised as an ape; in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Penny dreams about an ape; and in Adaptation, the original deus ex machina was a swamp ape.[55]
Some writers and directors Kaufman has named as favorites of his, or as influences, are
Personal life
As of 2020[update], Kaufman lives in Manhattan,[63] having lived in Pasadena, California, since 1998.[64][16] He is married to Denise Monaghan,[65] with whom he has a daughter, Anna.[63][66]
Works
Film
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Being John Malkovich | No | Yes | Executive | |
2001 | Human Nature | No | Yes | Yes | |
2002 | Adaptation | No | Yes | Executive | |
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | No | Yes | No | ||
2004 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | No | Yes | Executive | |
2008 | Synecdoche, New York | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Anomalisa | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-director with Duke Johnson |
2020 | I'm Thinking of Ending Things | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2023 | Jackals & Fireflies | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
2024 | Orion and the Dark | No | Yes | No |
Executive producer only
- The Incident Report (TBA)
- The Actor (TBA)
Television
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991–1992 | Get a Life | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
1992–1993 | The Edge
|
No | Yes | No | 20 episodes |
1993 | The Trouble with Larry | No | Yes | No | Also story editor 7 episodes |
1995 | Misery Loves Company | No | No | Yes | 6 episodes |
1996 | The Dana Carvey Show | No | Yes | No | 8 episodes |
1996–1997 | Ned and Stacey | No | Yes | Yes | 3 episodes |
2014 | How and Why | Yes | Yes | Executive | Also creator Unaired pilot[67] |
Plays
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Hope Leaves the Theater | Yes | Yes | |
Anomalisa | Yes | Yes | Under the pseudonym Francis Fregoli |
Literature
Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Antkind | Random House | 978-0399589683 | Novel |
2024 | "This Face Can Even Be Proved by Means of the Sense of Hearing" |
Little, Brown Book Group | 978-1646222636 | Short story |
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ Ebert, Roger (November 5, 2008). "Synecdoche, New York Movie Review (2008)". Retrieved October 16, 2015. "Charlie Kaufman is one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium."
- ^ "Charlie Kaufman Is The 21st Century's 'Mad Genius Of Cinema'". GQ. June 3, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ "Charlie Kaufman: Screenwriters Lecture". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved October 16, 2015. "One of modern cinema's most celebrated writers"...
- ^ Ulin, David L. (May 14, 2006). "Why Charlie Kaufman Is Us". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015. "In exploring our inner selves, he's become one of the best writers of his generation, David L. Ulin argues."
- ^ Ebert, Roger. (December 13, 2009) The best films of the decade – Roger Ebert's Journal Archived May 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Blogs.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-19.
- ^ "101 Greatest Screenplays List". Writers Guild of America, West. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ Applebaum, Stephen (May 7, 2009). "It's not easy being Charlie Kaufman". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ Feinstein, Howard (December 28, 2009). "Decade: Charlie Kaufman on "Synecdoche, New York"". IndieWire. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ Solomons, Jason (March 17, 2016). "Tradition? No, I just want to write what I think is funny". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- Times of Israel.
- ISBN 9780813133928. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Biography". BeingCharlieKaufman.com. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "Scans of said articles". Beingcharliekaufman.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Journey Into Madness". Archived from the original on February 10, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Charlie Kaufman: Confessions of an Original Mind". GoodRead.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Salon.com Interview by Michael Sragow". November 11, 1999. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
- ^ Kobel, Peter (October 24, 1999). "FILM; The Fun and Games of Living a Virtual Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
- ^ Claude Brodesser (November 10, 1999). "Scribe revisiting reality". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ "Kaufman interviewed by William Arnold". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 18, 2004. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
- ^ "PEN Center USA: 2005 Literary Awards Winners". Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ^ David Edelstein (March 19, 2004). "Forget Me Not: The genius of Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Slate. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ^ "Creative Screenwriting Magazine on Hope Leaves the Theater". Archived from the original on April 29, 2007.
- ^ "The Body – Projects – Theater of the New Ear". Archived from the original on January 7, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ^ "Theater of the New Ear". Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "Kaufman's Directorial Debut Lands Williams, Hoffman". Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ "Synecdoche, New York: A Great Film About the Upcoming Zombie Apocalypse? | Blog | WorldMaker.net". Blog.worldmaker.net. May 18, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived January 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kois, Dan (January 5, 2009). "Vulture's Critics' Poll: The Complete Ballots". Vulture.com. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- ^ "The 100 best films of the 21st Century". The Guardian. September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ "The 21st Century's 100 greatest films". BBC. August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ a b Jagernauth, Kevin (November 12, 2015). "Charlie Kaufman Explains Why Star-Studded 'Frank Or Francis' Fell Apart, Says It Could Still Happen". Indiewire. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "Is this the plot of "Frank or Francis"?". BeingCharlieKaufman.com. July 30, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "IN CONVERSATION: CHARLIE KAUFMAN". Vulture.com. December 16, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "FX's Charlie Kaufman Pilot Not Going Forward". Deadline Hollywood. July 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Charlie Kaufman on his new film, a metaphysical time-hopping thriller". Dazed and Confused. September 4, 2020.
- ^ "Steve Carell, Charlie Kaufman Lock 'I.Q. 83'; Viral Outbreak Dumbs Down World". Deadline Hollywood. October 22, 2014.
- ^ "'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' Director Charlie Kaufman Isn't Trying to Mess With Your Mind". Variety. August 27, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- ^ "Daisy Ridley-Starring 'Chaos Walking' will Shoot in Canada". Backstage.
- ^ "Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa". Kickstarter.
- ^ Starburns Industries (May 22, 2014). "Kickstart Update #39: Anomalisa Timeline". Kickstarter. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ Kohn, Eric (September 5, 2015). "Telluride Review: Charlie Kaufman's Marvelously Strange 'Anomalisa' is An Animated Identity Crisis". Indiewire.com. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "Anomalisa (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "Anomalisa". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ "Charlie's novel has a title! And maybe a release date? And a blurby thing". Being Charlie Kaufman. February 18, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ "Antkind by Charlie Kaufman review – absurdism ad infinitum". the Guardian. August 2, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
- ^ "Charlie Kaufman Adapting Novel by Canadian Author Iain Reid for Netflix". The National Post. January 25, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- ^ "Brie Larson to Star in Charlie Kaufman's Netflix Movie 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things'". Collider. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "AQUAMAN 2 IS IN THE WORKS, AND MORE MOVIE NEWS'". Rotten Tomatoes. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ Howland, Jack (March 21, 2019). "Charlie Kaufman movie for Netflix filming in Fishkill, Hudson Valley". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ "Larson out, Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley and David Thewlis in for "Ending Things"". Being Charlie Kaufman. March 28, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (February 10, 2023). "Why Charlie Kaufman Made a Short About Human Connection on a Cell Phone". IndieWire. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ "I'm Thinking of Ending Things Director Charlie Kaufman Isn't Trying to Mess With Your Mind". Variety. August 27, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- ^ "Indie Wire interview". Archived from the original on September 24, 2005.
- ^ "How to Be Someone Else: Transgender Themes in the Work of Charlie Kaufman". Crooked Marquee. September 7, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ "Adaptation (Draft 2)". Archived from the original on March 28, 2009.
- ^ "Charlie Kaufman interview: Life's little dramas". Scotsman.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Talking with the Kaufman About Pandas". The L Magazine. October 22, 2008. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "Being Charlie Kaufman". Salon. November 11, 1999. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Being Charlie Kaufman". Salon. November 11, 1999. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ "The Filmmakers @KVIFF 2016: Charlie Kaufman". YouTube.
- ^ Sternbergh, Adam (December 16, 2015). "In Conversation: Charlie Kaufman". Vulture. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ ""Anomalisa" Star Reveals E-Mail Trail Sparked Close Bond To Hollywood Great Charlie Kaufman". April 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Mooallem, Jon (July 2, 2020). "This Profile of Charlie Kaufman Has Changed". The New York Times.
- ^ David, Mark (April 22, 2019). "Charlie Kaufman Lists Arts and Crafts Bungalow in Pasadena". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ Pener, Degen; Godley, Chris; Logan, Bryan (October 7, 2011). "Hollywood's Biggest Real Estate Deals of the Week: Matthew Perry, Ellen DeGeneres, Sacha Baron Cohen". The Hollywood Reporter. Thumbnail 13. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "An interview with the artist Denise Monaghan, Pasadena, California". Quixotic. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 14, 2014). "John Hawkes & Michael Cera To Star In Charlie Kaufman's FX Comedy Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
External links
- Charlie Kaufman at IMDb
- Charlie Kaufman at Rotten Tomatoes
- Charlie Kaufman on National Public Radio
- Charlie Kaufman lecture on screenwriting, BAFTALecture Series, September 30, 2011. (1:10:08 hours)