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ZeroC Reviews The Newest Charlie Kaufman Script!!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
And it’s the first solid information on the script I’ve seen anywhere. The LA TIMES wrote a piece about it that stirred up some hubbub among the easily-hubbubed. LATINO REVIEW wrote a script review that demonstrated a complete disrespect to Kaufman, and an absolute lack of any feel for his work at all. And neither one of those pieces explained a damn thing about the script.
So it’s a pleasure to actually publish something that gives me a sense of what this might be about. I’d love to lay eyes on the script myself, but for now, this’ll do...
Hey Moriarty,
Let me just start off by saying that Charlie Kaufman is my favorite screenwriter currently working in movies. I loved Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is probably one of my favorite films of all time. I don't think there's another writer out there that's pushing the medium of film right now as much as Kaufman is. That said, I've just finished reading the script for Charlie Kaufman's new movie Synecdoche, New York (although the title on my script says "Schenectady, New York", but I think someone just got confused along the way and missed the play on words), and I figured I'd share my thoughts on it.
For those of you who are too lazy to look things up, a synecdoche is a literary term for a part being used to represent a whole or a whole being used to represent a part, like using the flag to represent the country. The title is particularly apt for this story, as it's all about representation - how people are sometimes used to represent other people, how people represent things and things represent people, how things in the physical world come to represent our emotional states and visa versa, and perhaps most importantly (this being a Charlie Kaufman movie after all), how the lines between representation and reality blur together. I know all of that sounds incredibly vague, but honestly, it becomes very apparent from reading this script that what's important isn't what the story's about so much as what it's ABOUT, although I'll try my best to give you a rough estimate of the former.
BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILERS (ALTHOUGH I'LL TRY TO KEEP THEM MINOR)
The main character in the script is Caden, a theater director who beings the film married and with a young daughter. Caden goes to the dentist for his usual checkup, who discovers something peculiar with him and recommends him to another doctor, who recommends him to yet another doctor. We're never really told what exactly it is that's wrong with Caden, and it doesn't seem like he or the doctors he goes to know either. One thing is for sure though, his condition progressively worsens as the story progresses, although in the end this subplot becomes more symbolic of his character and his situation rather than having any major relevance to the story.
In fact, the first half or so of the script seems to be about a bunch of different things involving Caden and his life. We have him dealing with this mysterious disease that's screwing with him mentally and physically. We have him dealing with his wife, who takes his daughter and leaves him to go live in France. We have him dealing with the fact that time seems to skip forward in leaps without him noticing (sometimes Caden will be speaking to another character and reference something that just happened to him in the previous scene, only to have the character point out that 5 years have elapsed). Most importantly, we have him dealing with various women in his life, with whom he is constantly striving to make some kind of a lasting connection with. One woman in particular is Hazel, a friend who eventually becomes a lover who basically serves as the female lead in the story. The development and exploration of their relationship becomes a major point in the story, although it's not the main point of the story (which I haven't gotten to yet).
I guess if I really had to pick one aspect of the script that could be considered the main premise, it would have to be that Caden eventually decides to put on a play about his own life. This leads to Caden hiring actors to play himself and all of the people around his life. He builds sets that are almost exact replicas of his home, his street, the places he's been. He re-enacts scenes that we, as the viewer, have witnessed earlier in the script. It all gets very Kaufman-esque as we watch Caden direct an actor playing Caden direct his own play-within-a-play about his own life. Things only become more confusing when the actors start making suggestions to their "real life" counterparts as to things they should do, just so the actors can re-create them on-stage. Hazel, Caden's assistant in this endeavor, begins developing a romance with the actor playing Caden, which leads Caden in turn to develop his own romance with the actress playing Hazel. Then they all have to put it in the play somehow. As Caden gets further and further into developing the play, it starts to consume his life, until the point where we, as the viewer, no longer know if the scene we're watching is actually happening to Caden or if it's just a representation of something that's already happened, or if it's a dream, or if it's a figment of his imagination. Oh, did I mention that Caden might be schizophrenic?
Oh, and I don't want to get into it too much, but the script also features a character who's the greatest living artist in the world, but she paints everything on a tiny canvas that can only be seen through a microscope. Also a character that lives in a burning house. Also a character that has been following and recording Caden's every move for 10 years. Also a character that's a princess from a fairy tale. Also much of the story takes place in a futuristic Orwellian wasteland. Also lots of crotch-sniffing and vagina shots.
But it all works somehow.
Anyways, enough of the plot stuff. Overall, this seems to be, by far, the craziest script Kaufman has written yet. It's beautiful and it's haunting and it completely throws logic or reality out the window while still managing to be full of ideas that I really haven't put the proper amount of time into thinking about. I'm not even close to sure what it is I just read, and if it ever gets filmed and you guys see it, I'm sure that leaving the theater, you won't be sure what it is you just saw. Charlie Kaufman has written a story all about the theme of representation that will force us, as the viewers, to decipher and interpret through the lens of representation. When people watch this film and debate it - when they're trying to figure out Caden and his motivations and his actions - the conversations will all be about how this part represents this and that scene represents that and this character represents the other thing. I really hope Kaufman is able to pull this off (I hear he's directing this one himself), and if he can, this may end up being one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of cinema.
Either that or a steaming pile of indecipherable, pretentious shit. You know, whatever.
Call me ZeroC
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How sweet it is!!!
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second
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and third
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sounds like a made for tv movie.....
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when is it coming on lifetime? LMAO
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Everyone stay on the lookout for ImJustABill's ass, he seems to have misplaced it.
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OK. I'm sure it'll be much easier to follow on screen than in that review. Probably.
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I saw ImJustABill's ass. It's wrapped around his head.
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LR script reviews all read like fourth grade book reports. "Stuff happened. Then some more stuff happened. I liked this script. Except it could have used more explosions. The end." Crap, do they suck.
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read it here....
http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2006/09/aintitcooltimes.html -
like Spike Jonesberg or Mike Gondry. Did I just write that?
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No worries about the relatively muddled nature of your review, ZeroC -- it's simply impossible to describe Kaufman's works to other people; they must be read individually. I can't wait for this one. Kaufman's just amazing.
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I'm just glad he's still writing movies, and if he directs it too, I wish him the best of luck. Kaufman and Chan Wook-Park news in the same day, how lucky are we?
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It was the video for Bjork's Bachelorette, directed by Michel Gondry.
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Now that's something I can watch a zillion times. I stopped reading this review, but now that you mention that I'll have to finish it... By the way, Gondry's take on Kauffman is still the best.
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I thought it was just me, but their script reviews are just awful. It's not uncommon to see something like "The beats are there, the plot points are all there." Wow, what insight. The guy who reviews their scripts wouldn't know a good script if it bit him on his big fat ass. Last year he raved about Haven and surprise, surprise it turned out to be shit. I also remember reading a rave about El Cantante, the new Hector Lavoe biopic. They went as far as saying that it was Oscar material. I heard from someone who saw it recently that it's a big fucking mess..and all the problems are in the script.
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Kaufman is becoming M. Night as far as being stuck in a formula that makes any attempt at suprise really fall flat. I'd like to see him write something that isn't so laden in gimmicks.
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A; David O'Russell directing Paddy Considine.
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He he. You're pretty much right though.
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Why can I not picture anyone but Paul Giamatti for Caden?
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Because you've got a nondescript medical condition that causes you to see Giamatti in all kinds of roles, even ones that aren't right for him. Wait, are you a casting director? You must be, because every casting director has that disease. Why do they keep casting him?
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Wow what a huge surprise cause backlash never happens on this board.First while he does mine the same gimmicks all of his films are different thematically. Second Eternal Sunshine is simply a masterpiece of cinema. And third you're right ket's put down someone doing something constantly different in cinema. Sometimes I just don't get you guys. I'm surprised Lynch hasn't suffered the dreaded AICN backlash.
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We can start a thread about classic 70's TV shows that ought to be remade with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. Screw all this mind fuck stuff. I want TJ Hooker: The remade movie: Wilson = TJ, Stiller = Hooker! ;-)
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I've been ZeroCorpse since before Q-Link, in the early 1980s on BBSs. All the bogus motherfucking "ZeroC" types you see online are usually taking the name from "Hackers" (which was also well after I started being ZeroCorpse) and have nothing to do with me.
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I've always wanted to see more crotch-sniffing scenes in films. That's real passion right there.
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I called myself ZeroC for obvious reasons. Oh, if anyone has further questions about the script, feel free to ask. I know my synopsis was kind of confusing, but I was in a rush and it is a Kaufman script after all.
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ZeroCorpse vs. ZeroC. Winner gets to keep the name.
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I've gone on record bashing Lynch before. That is, if you're referring to David Lynch. Of course, I can't really think of any Lynch that doesn't suck. Liam Lynch, David Lynch... That's all I can come up with, and they're both tossers. Oh yeah, and so is Colonel Lynch from THE A-TEAM. I know, he was on THE A-TEAM so he should get a free pass, but the thing is that Decker and Fullbright were so much better. Don't even get me started on Stockwell, who was just worthless. Well, as worthless as Robert Vaughan playing the Robert Vaughan role can be, which, if you must know, is not terribly worthless. Just kinda worthless when held up to Lance LeGault and Jack "The Ging'r" Ging. Has anyone else here seen that rocking "Bring Back The A-Team" show that they did in the UK? Look it up on your fave torrent site, I almost coughed up a lung I laughed so hard. I don't know how I got this far off-topic, but, there you go.
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i'm sure it'll be watchable.
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in case you missed them, scroll up and read Thunderballs' comments above. good for a solid laugh. anyone that thinks the first half of Adaptation was good and the ending fell apart COMPLETELY missed the point, and loses all credibility with me. Eternal Sunshine boring? holy hell...don't worry, they'll make Bad Boys 3 pretty soon and you can go watch that with a big erection...
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Most of LR's reviews read like coverage. As someone who also does this for a studio, the lingo is easily recognizable. Reviews like the one above are written for an AICN audience. LR is fine, don't confuse different tastes with unfamiliar formats.
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doesn't mean they're all the same. look at the difference between eternal sunshine and adaptation...
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Eternal Sunshine is about the complexities of love and Adaptation is an exploration of the creative mind. Ya those sound exactly the same.
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Now, don't get me a wrong. In my opinion, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH is one of the best movies ever made. ADAPTATION is engaging, thoughtful, brilliant. I like ETERNAL SUNSHINE a lot but I'm not in love with it like many people are (this may be because I have a heart made out of coal). But I think Kaufman would like to write something more traditional and less quirky, if his character's crisis in ADAPTATION is any indication. Could he write and/or direct a satisfying three-act drama with no gimmicks? I would love to see what that would look like...
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Would you also like to buy a Porsche and drive it 55 mph?
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I can't see the problem with these 'gimmicks'. It's just his style.. it's like having a go at scorsese for being invovled with too many crime movies.
I personally believe the movies that have been made from Kaufman scripts have been the highlights of the last few years [with a few exceptions].
I can't wait to see this movie... also an interesting choice for him to decide to direct. Why would he do that? There maybe something in script that he just needs to control himself! [Or i might just be talking shit, who the hell knows?] -
Thanks all.. I was sitting on it the whole time..
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I have to say... you people have no taste when it comes to films.. this Kaufman guy is a hack!
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hack: Way way overused.
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wanting Peter Pan to grow up, get married, have kids, and be a corporate raider. What would be the freaking point?!!??!?! Also, Picasso's "normal" paintings and drawings exist for everyone to see, and they're not that interesting because there was never any doubt that Picasso had enough drawing and painting skill to make "normal" art.
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Referenced in "Adaptation" where there's this cop who's also a serial killer who's hunting himself. Looks like Showtime got it and turned it into a series.
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Actually, that story was written ages ago by Philip K. Dick and was recently turned into a movie... "A Scanner Darkly". Only it wasn't a serial killer... it was a drug dealer.
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...finished and on my desk? I'm picturing Robin Williams as Peter Pan. Maybe Jim Carrey. Honestly, you make a good point. Hiring Charlie Kaufman to make a normal movie is like drafting Michael Jordan and telling him you want him to set picks.
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Sep 28, 2006 4:29:22 PM CDT
You can take your synecdoche and shove it up yourself.
by gandalf the gaye
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I post on AICN for the first time in YEARS and you slam me within minutes. Thank you. My faith in the negativity and idiocy of the talkbacks has been reaffirmed. I'm certain you film genius will lead to a very successful career in Hollywood. Asshat. They cast him because he has talent. Maybe someday, so will you. God knows they don't cast him for his good looks.
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Why doesn't anybody ever mention Confessions of a Dangerous Mind?
I always knew that there had to be a conservative bias amongst the talkbackers. Clooney haters, all of you. -
It's been forgotten about because Clooney ruined it. Not even the great Sam Rockwell could save it.
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Simple. He's consistently turning out the best, most original screenplays around. Being John Malkovich is genius, but I think it's the weakest of the three. Adaptation is probably the greatest film about writing ever made, and Eternal Sunshine has my favorite screen romance ever. And for everyone wanting him to do a "normal" movie (whatever that means), Confessions is hopefully as close as you'll get. And that movie ruled, too. People who say Kaufman is a hack don't know good writing, that's all.
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is like hiring Lynch to make a "normal" movie. It was called "The Straight Story" and it was fantastic, and I'm thankful he made it.
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Well, this film sounds like it's been inspired by this video directed my Michelle Gondry for Bjork's song "Bachelorette", a video where reality becomes turned to a stageplay until the line of what is real is lost into the fiction of the play itself.
http://tinyurl.com/jxlep -
NM. >_<'
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Optimus with flames has dreams (or is it reality?) of being a cab-over truck without flames, while the cab-over version is actually a toy in the '80's hallucinating that he is on Cybertron dreaming of traveling to Earth and battling a giant porcupine robot that thinks it's shrinking into a gun.
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Tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!!!!!
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I love you.
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The people who "love" his movies are an irritating lot.
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I didn't mean to insult you, Zubalove... I was insulting casting agents everywhere who seem to have no minds of their own, and just cast the people at the top of a very short list over and over. I did, however, word my post hamfistedly, so I apologise unreservedly. I don't doubt that Giamatti has talent, just not enough to be casting him at the level they do. It seems as though casting agents have a really awful tendency to second-guess themselves, and just go with who has been cast most recently. However, I must applaud whomever cast Robert Downey Jr. in IRON MAN, because that's fucking genius. Not only does he seem the Tony Stark type, but he's also got a personal history as a substance abuser, which will play perfectly into the role. Kudos to you, good casting agent!
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The Kaufman flick that never happened.
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Oh my God, Film_. I needed that so badly. Thank you. Seriously.
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I was temporarily an amateur boxer in my youth, but I'm too old to be fighting people over silly shit. I just wanted to make it clear it wasn't me who submitted the review, both because the real submitter deserves the credit, and because I don't want his writing style to be confused with mine. Not that there's anything wrong with his..!
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This movie will be a steaming pile of indecipherable, pretentious shit that many will "get" because it is different and hail as the best thing since Kaufman's last indecipherable, pretentious piece of shit. I HATE his movies. Sad thing, is I try to find what the appeal is each time he comes out with one, and I always think that it is just arrogant, self indulgent pseudo-intellectual crap, much like this last sentence. I will be smart this time and totally skip it.
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