Results tagged “charliekaufman”

Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut; the ambitious, surreal and expansive Synecdoche, New York, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a regional theater director who moves to NYC from Schenectady after his wife Adele (Catherine Keener) leaves him. Using money from a MacArthur fellowship, Caden rents a huge warehouse and spends the next decades directing a never-finished theatrical epic based on his life. Manohla Dargis at the Times loved it (ditto Gothamist): "It’s extravagantly conceptual but also tethered to the here and now, which is why, for all its flights of fancy, worlds within worlds and agonies upon agonies, it comes down hard for living in the world with real, breathing, embracing bodies pressed against other bodies." And here's our interview with Kaufman.

Don't feel bad about mangling the pronunciation of Charlie Kaufman's new film, Synecdoche, New York; page three of the press kit is solely dedicated to the title's pronunciation [Sih-NECK-doh-kee] and various meanings, such as "A Part is used for the Whole, as in The Screen for Movies." Though Kaufman wrote such gems as Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this is his directorial debut, and he certainly picked an ambitious project to cut his teeth with. The haunting, surreal story spans almost the entire adult life of Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a regional theater director who moves to NYC from Schenectady after his wife Adele (Catherine Keener) leaves him.

Filmmaker Ethan Coen has left his big brother behind and written three short plays all by himself. Called Almost an Evening, the triptych will be produced by the Atlantic Theater Company with a terrific cast that includes Elizabeth Marvel, who was riveting in Ivo van Hove’s unforgettable revival of Hedda Gabler, and Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham. The plays “unsuccessfully tackle important questions. In Waiting, someone waits somewhere for quite some time. In Four...

New York mid-December always smells vaguely of pine and peppermint, despite our recent springtime temperatures. Bring that cozy holiday feeling with you into the cineplex for a couple of new feel-good holiday movies.

And The Aviator crew: What is it they say about the sum of the parts? You bore us with your "prestige picture with ensemble cast" glow. All the nominations bore us. Sure, there are interesting bits (the strong showing for Hotel Rwanda and Vera Drake; a screenplay nomination for Brad Bird and the Incredibles, Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the Before Sunset team, though who knew that Ethan Hawke would ever get two, let alone one, nominations; nominations for Born Into Brothels and Super Size Me in the documentary category), but overall, meh. Where's Peter Sarsgaard for Kinsey?

The enigmatic Charlie Kaufman could be one of our most exciting American screenwriters working today, especially in regards to his collaborations with directors Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry. His nebbish charm and wit to spare surely must impress in person, as they do on screen and in interviews. Though knowing Charlie as Gothamist feels we do from his mocking self-portrayals, he'd probably hate to have that much attention and expectation honed in on him by the public.

Rachel Johnson, Filmmaker

So far, the work of Charlie Kaufman has only been adapted by two directors: Spike Jonze, with Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, and Michel Gondry, whose Human Nature was tepidly received but has directed the eagerly awaited 2004 release, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Eternal Sunshine stars Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, and Mark Ruffalo, with Carrey as a man trying to erase memories of ex-girlfriend Winslet from his mind. And by the looks of the trailer, it looks like vintage Kaufman AND Gondry, with tiny human bodies in normal size enviroments.

">Bridget Jones' Diary, ostensibly inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, was truly sparked by Davies' seminal adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for the BBC, which launched Colin Firth as a sex symbol and gave him the opportunity to play Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones the film, a character inspired by Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in P&P...wait, this is Charlie Kaufman territory.

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar.

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis:

When Terrance Brennan, chef of Picholine and Artisanal, opened Terrance Brennan's Seafood and Chophouse, he started to receive cease and desist letters from Louisianna. From the Brennans of Brennan's in New Orleans. Much like something out of a Charlie Kaufman script, or a David E. Kelley legal drama, the Times reports "that expert witnesses were grilled about the differences between the Creole cuisine of Brennan's in New Orleans and the 'straightforward American food' of Brennan's in New York." Gothamist would have liked to have been in the courtroom. Perhaps William Grimes testified? Or Jeffrey Steingarten? Ruth Reichl maybe? A foodie can dream...

Finally, an article on the convergence of blogging and Hollywood: Salon.com Technology: Hollyblog. It seems that studios want to control information about a film, to circumvent the Harry Knowles posse from ruining a film (five words: Batman and Robin, Joel Schumacher). Hmm, seems like studios and publicity firms alike will need to be even more guerilla tactics, going beyond plotting stars relationships and goings on - as silly as America's Sweethearts, there is truth to it. This should be interesting, to see what kind of model the Hollywood-blog takes on, as well as what the audience for them will be like. Jason Kottke maintains a sort-of blog for the film Adaptation, which is based on the book his client, Susan Orlean, wrote, and the Adaptation blog, is a great twist, because it's off her site, but he's blogging....if you've seen the movie, you'll get it...if not, just know that it cleverly mirrors the meta-ness of Adaptation screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's take on the traditional adapted screenplay and go see Adaptation soon.