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TA-DA:

Clicky clicky. What does this mean? How firm is this October 3 date? (My guess: probably not firm. Possibly even Charlie is reading this thinking OHMYGOD  WTF OCTOBER, I SHOULD GET STARTED ON THAT. But I'm usually wrong about things.) Is the title of the novel actually Untitled Charlie Kaufman? Because that would be Kaufmanly. It's not likely, I know.

The book isn't listed on Amazon or the other usual places, but I'll be sure to make an excited post when it is.

Big thanks to Patrick on our FB page!

This is good. Says Mashable:

John Malkovich was disturbed to find upon a recent visit to johnmalkovich.com that someone was already being John Malkovich.

The actor, who moonlights as a fashion designer, had wanted to use that address to promote his new eponymous clothing line.

But it turned out someone had beaten him to the punch and the domain was home to a knock-off fashion brand illegally using his name and likeness.     

Despite the ongoing legal headache that ensued, Malkovich volunteered to spoof the ordeal in a new pre-game Super Bowl ad for the website-building company Squarespace.

[...]

In a bizarrely meta twist, Malkovich actually had to seek legal blessing from the rights holders of Charlie Kaufman's Being John Malkovich for the ad itself, which makes implicit reference to the famously weird film.

"If you think about it, it's kind of crazy, kind of outrageous," Malkovich said. "I have no problem [with the film, in which he appeared], but I also understand what it means to have one's name under the control of other people and, in some cases, being used for purposes that I might not be so supportive of." (Source)

Charlie is among 74 winners of a MacDowell Fellowship, which was granted to artists across 7 disciplines by the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire

The fellows will take part in residencies at the artist colony.

[...] They will join colleagues in the fields of architecture, music composition, film and video, poetry, fiction and non-fiction writing, and visual and interdisciplinary arts.

The fellowships, each with an average value of $10,000, were awarded from among a pool of 732 applications received between July and September 2016. A panel of professionals in each discipline picked Fellows based solely on their talent, and Fellows are provided a private studio for a period of up to eight weeks, accommodations, and three meals a day. (Source)

You can read more about the Fellowship and its winners at the link.

Today BCK turns 15. HOORAY. I'd say it feels like I built the site only yesterday, but that would be lying. It feels more like 20 years ago. I am old.

Here's an inadvertent birthday/Christmas pressie from Charlie: a new interview with the UK Guardian, who incidentally ranked Anomalisa as their #1 film of 2016. HOORAY AGAIN.

Mostly the interview is about politics and how badly the world sucks at the moment. HOORAY.

As Michael asks in the film: what is it to be human, to ache?

I don’t know. It’s hard to be human. I get angry at being human and at humans and I wish there was more kindness and I could be more kind and other people could be more kind. I get very rattled just in traffic. On the road, a certain combination of selfishness and aggression exists. I think it’s analogous to look at people in cars and people online because it is an anonymous situation where you get to act on these impulses without repercussions - unless you’re in an accident - and just to be mean. I just find it so upsetting.

I was driving last night on this quiet road and this person was driving towards me and had their lights on. I flashed them to let him know, not in a rude way, that I couldn’t see. And he or she turned her brights off immediately and then turned them right back on. It was like: ‘Screw you. Don’t tell me what to do. Fuck you.’ I can’t really figure out any other version that makes sense. It just puts all of my cortisol or some sort of adrenalin nightmare stuff coursing through my veins.

The converse is true too. When I see something that’s just kind, I find it the most incredibly moving thing. It just makes me relax and tear up. When someone looks at you warmly for a second as you pass them on the street – rather than just an obligatory nod – it gives you some sort of renewed faith. (Source)

HOORAY.

Charlie also name-checks Charlie Brooker and Black Mirror in this interview. He's done that a few times this year. Black Mirror is a great show--you ought to check it out if you haven't already. And on that note, HOLY COW, CHARLIE K NEEDS TO WRITE A BLACK MIRROR. That would be a great pairing.

And thanks to Gareth for the link.

I'm a little wary of posting scripts these days, particularly of films (or pilots) that haven't been produced. But Anomalisa's been and gone, so... Merry Christmas! Here's what seems to be the final shooting version of the script. Need to entertain the family over holidays? Bring out some socks with button eyes and recreate the film!

Anomalisa (Shooting draft revised, 4 October 2015).pdf

Musician Davide Dileo (Boosta from italian band Subsonica) recreates scenes from Eternal Sunshine in this video for his song "1993."

Big thanks to Andrea, who adds: "Lyrics say: 'time changed us a little, the only thing that never change (is) the war among us'."

It's really cool.

Adult Swim's new show Dream Corp. LLC. looks more than a little Eternal Sunshiney, judging by this trailer. I haven't seen a full episode, but the show started on October 23.

From creator Daniel Stessen and executive producers John Krasinski and Stephen Merchant, Dream Corp LLC takes place in a “neglected dream therapy institution” where “experimental researchers meddle in their patients’ dreams.”

[...] Dream Corp LLC stars Merchant, Jon Gries, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Nick Rutherford, Stephanie Allynne and Stephnie Weir. (Source)

They claim to cure all sorts of medical problems—including the impotence tackled in the premiere—by sending patients into their most disturbing dreams to trace the psychological roots of these physical conditions. (Source)

Each episode is 11 minutes long and airs at 11:45 p.m. Eastern on Sundays.

Thanks to Laurel!

From Flavorwire, referencing this interview with indieWIRE:

[...] Kaufman had noted how frequently his name becomes an adjective — “Kaufman-esque” — because so many lesser films seem to be inspired by his sensibilities. “Why do they get to make Charlie Kaufman movies and I don’t? I think about that all the time,” he said.

[...] It’s telling, then, that the one Kaufman project that we might see now is not even a Kaufman project at all, but rather someone else using Kaufman’s film as a vessel through which to get people interested through familiarity/nostalgia — and it all oddly speaks to the validities of the concerns about the industry, and artistry in general. It’s at once completely frustrating… yet speaks to the artistic value and weight and cyclical telepathy of his work. If you wanted proof of how prescient Charlie Kaufman’s films are, the potential of a TV-fied version of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind being made — while the past decade of his new material goes largely ignored — would certainly fulfill concerns at the heart of so much of his output. (Source)

This news comes from Hollywood Reporter, but as we've come to learn: news of a Kaufman-related project doesn't always turn into a Thing We Mortals Will Ever See. Also: Charlie won't be involved in the TV series. So it will be somewhat ironic, and Charlie will pull his hair out, if this gets picked up.

Anonymous Content's Steve Golin, who produced the original film, is remaking the romantic drama into a TV series with studio Universal Cable Productions attached. The project is in its early stages and has not yet been taken out. Zev Borow (Forever, Chuck) is near a deal to pen the script for the drama. UCP declined comment.

[...] Golin and Kaufman are not involved in the potential series. Anonymous Content will produce the project alongside True Detective executive producer Richard Brown. 

For Anonymous Content, this becomes the company behind hits including True Detective and Mr. Robot's latest foray into TV. The production and management company also has Netflix's Brit Marling series The OA and Selena Gomez's 13 Reasons Why upcoming as well as TNT's The Alienist. (Source)