Neat interview at indieWIRE with Charlie, in which he gives the lowdown on the making of Jackals & Fireflies, hiw internal monologue, the relationship between Jackals and Ending Things, and a potential screening of his ill-fated FX pilot How and Why.

Some bits:

“So much of it is about the experience of being anywhere, but specifically in New York, and we shot as much as we could all over the city,” Kaufman said. “Everybody involved in it became very sort of aware. We had people say things like, ‘I always walk around with earphones on or earbuds, and I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m starting to listen to people’s conversations that I’m passing on the street.’ I thought that the poem, and then consequently the movie, did a service in that regard, in that it reminded people to be in the world that they’re in.”

Kaufman and H.D. first met when they were completing artist residencies at MacDowell in New Hampshire (Kaufman was working on his novel, while H.D. was crafting a new poetry manuscript). Their connection was quick, and Kaufman says they remain “very close” to this day.

“[Jackals] is about a lone woman in the world; [Ending Things] is about a lone man,” Kaufman wrote. “Whereas the man’s experience is one of rural isolation, the woman’s is one of urban community. The male character in ‘ITOET’ wants to imbue the woman with idealized traits and the female character in ‘J&F’ accepts the world’s embrace, its multifarious and variegated forms. It is true that in general men become more isolated as they age and women form communities. Perhaps the two films reflect this.”

Kaufman hopes the IFC event will lead to other screenings of his work at the theater. He mentioned that his John Hawkes-starring FX pilot “How and Why.”

"I wrote a screenplay that Ryan Gosling might do, might act in, and we’re going to go out with it at some point, I guess, and see if we can get it set up. And I’m working on a second novel, and I’m fretting. And that’s my schedule.” (Source)