At the moment SCRIPT has a short essay on Synecdoche, New York. Gary J. Shipley is taking a look at the film/script from a philosophical angle - references to E. M. Cioran, Martin Heidegger, Dasein and Paul Celan. If those names activate your mental light bulbs, this one's for you. Here's an excerpt:

There can be no resolution to Caden's play because there can be no resolution to Caden's life or, by extension, any life. In the film, resolution -- not even a fleeting approximation of itself -- is nothing more than nullification, nothing more than death. Whereas the filmscript curtails Caden's revelation with the accelerated blackening of a screen, the film makes the same curtailment with a gradual fade to white, Caden's death-cue being issued at the precise moment that he ceases to be visible. In both cases, though, Caden appears inseparable from the medium: he ends when they end. (Source)

Following up from the previous post: in her quest to cover the 500(ish) flicks in The Best DVDs You’ve Never Seen, Just Missed or Almost Forgotten, blogger Ofelia Legaspi has a write-up on Charlie's Adaptation:

Charlie Kaufman‘s film adaptation is a strata of adaptations. Laroche curiously adapts to the fleeting life of his passions with ease and with such discipline. New Yorker journalist Susan Orlean, who devours Laroche’s story as fodder for an article and, subsequently, a book, is in the cusp of change herself. There is something about Orlean waiting to happen. Meryl Streep saturates her character with such poetic desires that adaptation indeed seems like a very good thing. (Source)

Canadian blogger/journo Ofelia Legaspi is working her way through The Best DVDs You’ve Never Seen, Just Missed or Almost Forgotten, a book compiled by New York Times film critics. There are 500(ish) films in the book. That's a lot of sitting on your butt. Today Ofelia's tackling Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and contrasting it with Inception.

Kaufman’s characters fight, not in million-dollar action sequences, but inside intimate homes. The only place more intimate and alive than the reality of Clementine and Joel’s lives is when they go back deep in Joel’s repressed memories, through some low-tech brain damage procedure that takes place in a small clinic and in the depressive patient’s own dingy home.

Nolan’s, on the other hand, is a construct that detaches itself from poignant and well-developed emotions the way its inception scenes have the Earth detach from its core. These scenes invoke awe but they seem to serve no purpose other than to showcase the capabilities of a “dream architect” whose mind maze creation is actually more decorative than plot-driven. (Source)

I just repeats what I reads.

Borys Kit at Heat Vision reports that Charlie recently spent a couple of weeks polishing the script for...

... Kung Fu Panda 2.

Believe me, I know how that sounds. No sources are cited, and I can't find it mentioned anywhere else, but Borys is from Hollywood Reporter,which lends credibility. But still.

[Charlie] is coming off of less than two weeks worth of work on DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom,” the sequel to the fun 2008 movie that had the voice talent of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman.

His work on “Kaboom” falls under the polish category, and animated movies tend to be worked on by multiple writers, so it’s not fair to say this will be a Kaufman cartoon. But it will be interesting to see, when the movie is released in 2011, how much of the Kaufman stamp it will bear. (Source)

Ordinarily this would sound like complete BS to me. But the Hollywood Reporter thing... Talk about news out of left-field. Is this awesome or awful or just plain surprising?

Anyway. A while ago, Charlie did say he enjoyed the first Panda.

Thanks to Nathaniel and Alby!

Update: I don't have much faith in the IMDB's forums as a news source, but last month a member posted this message, which sounds kinda legit to me. I guess. (Emphasis added):

Today Charlie Kaufman was in Bologna, Italy, to receive the prize "Lancia - Celebration of Lives". He said he's working on a new script, "Tentative", about which he didn't revealed much. Does anyone know something?
And, about Kung Fu Panda 2: he said he worked on this script only about 2 weeks, stating that was like "writing a single episode for a tv series".

Sorry about my bad english. (Source)

I doubt Charlie's writing anything called "Tentative," though. Seems too simple for a CK title. Maybe something's been lost in translation. Like, "I'm tentatively working on a new script." Maybe.

Salon have a slideshow feature at the mo', titled "Beyond 'Inception': Best on-screen dreams" - and in news that will shock not many, there's a Kaufman film on the list. BUT WHICH ONE? And where in the list does it fall? THE SUSPENSE THE SUSPENSE.

Non-Kauf films in the list include pretty much the ones you'd expect: 8 1/2, Brazil, Jacob's Ladder, to name a few. Even Sopranos gets a look in.

Thanks to Carl for the heads up!

Full disclosure: I haven't actually read this article, but it seems like a lengthy analysis of Synecdoche, New York. (As opposed to a review, or an interview, or a retelling of the story using only origami puppets.) Here's how it opens:

As one of the few Hollywood screenwriters of the last decade to achieve the status of auteur, Charlie Kaufman has built his artistic reputation on bizarre and baroque narratives. And yet the last line of dialogue from his Synecdoche, New York is one of aggressive, devastating, succinct finality, a solitary word and plosive that at once enacts a protagonist’s inevitable demise, announces it, and fulfills a brutal, film-long program of unsolicited ego-surrender. “Die,” says Dianne Wiest’s enigmatic Millicent Weems, the actress who switches roles with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s slowly disintegrating theater maestro Caden Cotard, the recipient and performer of this most definitive of stage directions. That Kaufman chooses such a harsh word to conclude his directorial debut is less significant than the manner in which he has chosen to communicate it. Because for someone who has also built his screenwriting reputation on literary, concept-heavy wit, Kaufman demonstrates with the execution of this single word—and all that leads up to it—a mastery of dialogue as sound, and sound as delivered through the cinema-specific device of voiceover narration. (Source)

If that grabs you by the grey cells, there's plenty more at the link, yo.

It's a rule now: any film that includes brain-bendy weirdness (especially if the mind is actually part of the plot) has to be compared to Charlie K's work. (On a related note, every sci-fi film has to be declared a rip-off of Philip K Dick at some point, usually on an internet message board.)

Says Empire, reviewing Christopher Nolan's Inception:

[It's] Like The Matrix mated with Synecdoche, New York — or a Charlie Kaufman 007. To paraphrase Casino Royale’s Vesper Lynd, it’s a meaningful pursuit in a summer of disposable entertainments. With physics-defying, thunderous action, heart-wringing emotion and an astonishing performance from DiCaprio, Nolan delivers another true original: welcome to an undiscovered country. (Source)

I want to see this. The Batman films were good but not entirely my thing; Memento's an all-time favourite, though, so I'm there for anything Nolan wants to do. Not sure about the Synecdoche comparison - I haven't heard much about Inception that made me think of SNY.

That excerpt is Empire's entire mini-review, but a longer review from them is here. They give it 5 stars. More importantly: Charlie Kaufman as 007! Times like this, I wish I could create decent fan art.

I don't know what the hell I'm saying. But it's the title of an article at Obvious Mag, and it's about the Kauf, so it's bound to be aces! Here's an excerpt for our Portuguese readers:

Charlie Kaufman é roteirista e, como muitos descrevem, uma mente brilhante e conturbada. Assinou filmes polêmicos para o padrão hollywoodiano de cinema e impressiona com suas alucinações cinematográficas. Fato é que analisá-lo é uma tarefa dolorosa, pois corremos um grande risco em diminuí-lo, assim como diminuir sua obra, que pode conter inúmeras interpretações.

Um aspecto geral, muito importante e marcante, com o qual Kaufman conseguiu um espaço respeitável nas produções americanas, é o talento de nos deixar intrigados com um filme, que em primeira mão nos pareceria impossível de interpretar mas, com olhos analíticos podemos perceber uma certa dose de filosofia, autobiografia e antropofagia. Assim, por questões paralelas, vou deixar aqui um olhar, talvez um tanto raso, de dois filmes importantíssimos: Quero Ser John Malkovich e Synecdoche, NY. (Source)

RIGHT ON!

Update: Renan has translated the article for us unilingual English-speaking types! Cool!

Charlie Kaufman: Confessions of an Original Mind is the title of a new CK biography, written by Doreen Alexander Child and published by ABC-CLIO. I'll bet you Charlie's ecstatic about it. Here's some back-cover spielage:

This revealing study looks at the influences and creative impulses that shape one of today’s most progressive, thoughtful filmmakers.

[...]

This exhaustive study of Kaufman's life and work is organized chronologically to cover his early influences as well as his most-recent ventures. Highlights include explorations of Kaufman's collaboration with Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze—who stood him up for their first meeting—and the writer's conflict with George Clooney (about whom Kaufman says, "I can tell you that George Clooney is my least favorite person"). There are analyses of Human Nature, Adaptation, and the hauntingly beautiful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which led to an Academy Award. The book also studies Kaufman's sound plays for Theatre of the New Ear and his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York.

And a little about the publisher:

ABC-CLIO is an award-winning publisher of reference works, academic and general interest books, digital resources, and professional development publications and programs for librarians and educators.

With a 50+ year legacy of excellence and innovation, the company’s well-respected publishing imprints include ABC-CLIO/Greenwood, providing students, teachers, and scholars in history, humanities and language arts disciplines an award-winning lineup of databases, print reference and resource books, and eBooks.

More info at the link above!

Max Dedulle is studying English linguistics and literature at Ghent University, Belgium, and he wrote a thesis on Charlie's work:  Change is not a Choice, An analysis of the poetics of Charlie Kaufman, based on ‘Being John Malkovich’, ‘Adaptation.’ and ‘Synecdoche, New York.’ SNAZZY. It's interesting reading, very in-depth (83 pages, with tons of citations), but not dry like many other college papers.

Do check out the file if you're of an academic bent.

Here's an excerpt:

I chose to write my MA thesis on this screenwriter after watching Adaptation  as part of Roger Ebert‟s „Great Movies‟ list, which I am using to fill the ever so many gaps in my film culture. I was immediately fascinated by the game Kaufman plays with fiction and reality, and decided to dive a little deeper into his work. I had already seen Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but it was  Synecdoche, New York  that really puzzled, frustrated but ultimately fascinated me. After seeing the film twice, I felt as if I had still not really mastered  it, but I was sure of its ambition, grasp and significance as a work of art. In my opinion, Synecdoche is a crucial yet undeservedly often overlooked film in Kaufman‟s oeuvre. It was this film that really pulled me into Kaufman‟s strain of thought and made me decide to write my MA thesis on this author.

Here's something new. In a fit of might-as-well-try-it, I've created an official Facebook page for BCK. I know. I'm crazy and this will probably end in tears for all of us.

So if you have an FB account and "Like" the BCK page, all updates that appear on BCK's News page will appear in BCK's FB news feed as well. Or an excerpt will, anyway. IT'S MAGIC. You'll get BCK's updates delivered directly to your Facebook home page. Or that's the idea. Consider this strictly beta; we're testing it out and crossing our fingers.

One other thing I'm looking at adding, at a later date: right now you can create your own User account at BCK, which enables you to use your own avatar when you post a comment here, and you can populate your own profile with biographical information and stuff. This is nothing new; we've had it for over a year. But I'm looking at adding a plugin to BCK, which will integrate your Facebook account with BCK. (So if you log in here with your FB account email/password, your FB avatar and account details will also appear on BCK. EXCITING.) Sounds cool to me, but we'll see.

I'm gonna give BCK an upgrade over the next few days; I've disabled the commenting and new user signups until the upgrade's done, otherwise it'll bugger up the database and I'll have a fit and have to kill you all. The site won't look different once it's upgraded, but it'll be more secure and I'll be able to add a few new bits and pieces here and there further down the line.

If you're subscribed to any of BCK's RSS feeds, you'll need to subscribe again once the upgrade's done. I know, the agony -- you'll have to actually visit the site! I'll make another post just before we're ready to roll.

UPDATE: I'm done with the upgrading and I don't appear to have broken the internet. GOOD JOB TEAM. Minor bits of housekeeping still to be done, so you might come across a dead link or an odd-looking page; let me know if you encounter something you think I ought to know about. If you were subscribed to the old feeds, you can subscribe to the new ones now.

Did I mention how nerve-wracking it is, giving BCK major maintenance? VERY. THAT IS HOW MUCH.

I'll be launching the upgraded BCK shortly. Which is to say, this is probably the last update 'til we're fully upgraded - and once we are upgraded, the feeds will be coming through a different link, the old feeds won't work, and you'll be missing out. So maybe check the site in a week and re-subscribe to the feeds.

I'll make an update when we're all set.

Of all the phrases I've written or copy-pasted here since the end of 2001 (yes, BCK's been online THAT LONG -- I NEED A LIFE), one of my favourites has to be "she started loving the horse more than Jesus." I don't know why. I guess it resonates with me. Or it's just funny. Or I need a psyhologist. It comes from a 2006 interview with Dino Stamatopoulos (comedy writer, creator of the animated series Moral Orel, and an old friend of Charlie's):

Dino S.: Charlie Kaufman actually had a great idea for one [episode] but he’s very busy. I might write it and bounce it off him a little bit…. [The idea] was based on his wife buying a horse from this woman. This woman sold it to Charlie’s wife only because she started loving the horse more than Jesus. I wanted to do a show where Orel has a pet of some kind because I wanted to bring his mother into the whole episode. I have this idea that his mother hates animals and wants them around only for eating. So I always liked the idea of Orel owning a dog. Right now it is still a germ but it’s going to be about Orel having this puppy that he loves more than Jesus and what he goes through because of that. (Source - link possibly NSFW)

Every so often, someone will email me and ask if it ever became an episode - or they'll email me and let me know that it did become an episode. And I forget to mention on BCK that it became an episode. And I figure maybe I ought to do that now, because I'm procrastinating and waiting for a pot to boil. So:

It did become an episode, #202, entitled "Love." (Scroll down a little once you get there, assuming you click.) I've never seen an episode of the show. Steve tells me:

Orel became a great series in its second & third seasons (before being cancelled by Adult Swim for having too much pathos & not enough pee jokes)... I’d strongly recommend seeking out the second & third seasons if you can find them - I think you can view the episode “Love” on the Adult Swim website or on the second disc of Moral Orel - Volume 1.

And now I've told you guys. And I'm still waiting for that pot to boil.