Podcast: Charlie talks Synecdoche, Malkovich, Ghosts, Later the War

Charlie's in remarkably good spirits in the latest episode of Hollywood Reporter's podcast, It Happened in Hollywood.

He's there mostly to revisit Synecdoche, New York with host Seth Abramovitch, but they cover a lot of other ground as well: Charlie's start in TV, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine, How To Shoot A Ghost, and from the horse's mouth we have some further info on what's up with Later the War.

Honorary BCKster u/pavingmomentum typed up a little transcript of the War part:

The interviewer asks about a film that he was shooting in Poland with Eddie Redmayne. Kaufman corrects him and says that it was in Belgrade, Serbia.

"We had some problems. We're trying to regroup now, see if we can get it made, but it hasn't happened yet."

The interviewer then asks: "Not to give away too much, but it has something to do with dreams and dream manufacturing, something like that?".

Kaufman: I mean, ostensibly. I mean, there's sort of a story within the story in the form of a film. The main character is a filmmaker who is very, very, very, very, very, very popular and very successful, and he's also a physical comedian and he stars in his films and he directs them and he's making an effort to be taken seriously.

Interviewer: Sounds like Jim Carrey.

Kaufman: It's not like Jim Carrey, not really. He’s not a comedian [in that sense]. I would say he’s more like Buster Keaton in terms of the physicality. Also, Jim’s not a director. This guy is a director, and he’s not based on any one person. I don’t think there is a person who fits that description. Certainly, I think about Jim when I think about physical comedy, and that’s been a big part of figuring out what the look of this comedian’s work is, because I want it to feel singular. Jim is so extraordinarily singular in what he's able to do. But I didn’t want it to be like Jim Carrey; I wanted it more like Buster Keaton I guess, more like a silent comedian. What I was talking about? I was telling you...

Interviewer: Well, I’d asked about the dream aspect.

Kaufman: Right. In this new iteration, he’s making serious movies, and there is one that sort of you see him making, and you see the movie throughout the story. You see a lot of his movies throughout the story and it's very fractured. It is, in itself, very dreamlike. The whole movie is very dreamlike in the way it's constructed. But there is a story about a dream factory that is the basis for a movie that he is making and starring in, if that makes any sense.

Interviewer: And the title of the film?

Kaufman: Later the War.

Interviewer: Well, I certainly hope I get to see that film. So best of luck with it.

Kaufman: I hope so too. I would love to see it as well. (Source)