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“The End Is Built into the Beginning”: Charlie Kaufman and the Orderly Disorder of Neuroscience is an essay by Romén Reyes-Peschl that you can sink your brain into, if you have the cash. The abstract reads:

Filmmaker Charlie Kaufman’s evident concern with “mind” is amply demonstrated in two consecutive screenplay titles: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). But what of the mind’s supposed material seat, the brain? While Being John Malkovich (1999) leaves the mind/body relationship ambiguous, later works Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Anomalisa (2015) are more neurologically-inflected, subtly referring to rare brain conditions to comment on broader existential issues of the human condition in general. This essay asks why Kaufman repeatedly mines this cognitive/neuro scientific vein in particular; it approaches the question via “convolutions,” a metaphorical nexus of literature and neuroscience ultimately revelatory of one’s own human, writerly, brain-bound self. The essay further assesses how such convolutionary ideas invite empathic readings of Kaufman’s work, and thus how his oeuvre as much colours as it is coloured by considerations of neurological order and disorder. (Source)

It's a little out of my price range, but it sounds neat!

Thanks to Seedi!

From Uproxx:

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an extremely meta movie where Cage, playing famous actor Nicolas Cage, begrudgingly agrees to attend the birthday of a Mexican billionaire (for a cool $1 million), but “when things take a wild turn, the Oscar winner is forced to become a version of some of his most iconic and beloved characters in order to extricate himself from an increasingly dangerous situation.”

[...] “It’s a stylized version of me, and the fact I even have to refer to myself in the third person makes me extremely uncomfortable,” Cage told Empire. “There are many scenes in the movie where modern or contemporary – here we go – ‘Nic Cage’ and then young ‘Nic Cage’ are colliding and arguing and battling it out. It’s an acrobatic approach to acting.” (Source)

Tessa Thompson and Adam Scott will be performing a live read of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as part of Film Independent's live-read series. It'll be directed by Brett Haley, and takes place at 8 p.m., March 4, at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles. Kiersey Clemons, Kelly Marie Tran and Bridget Regan will also be playing roles.

Awesome!

“For our generation this is our romance,” said Haley, the “Hearts Beat Loud” director and self-described “hopeless romantic” who counts “Eternal Sunshine,” written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, among his favorite films. “This film was so brutal, and yet so beautiful … and the premise is genius.”

[...]

Chatting excitedly from New York, Haley teased a musical element he’s hoping to work into the performance, as well as the revelation that this “Eternal Sunshine” will be a rendition most fans of the film haven’t seen: It will include the character of Naomi, Joel’s previous ex, portrayed by a pre-"Grey’s Anatomy” Ellen Pompeo but cut from the film.

Haley even managed to get on the phone with Kaufman himself, and plans to share some insights from their chat with the live-read audience. (Source)

Tickets on sale here.

Good brief interview on the Irish Times website, including a couple of little nuggets I haven't heard before:

He talks movingly about how, years later, he realised that his late parents had worried when he drifted into creative fields.

“Yeah, but they never said anything. They lent me money when I needed it. But I later learned they believed it wasn’t going to work out.”

Did they live long enough to see his success?

“They did, yes.”

Here's the 'Kaufmanesque' bit:

“I don’t know what it means,” he says. “The stuff that comes out that invokes my name doesn’t feel like stuff I would do. Also, since I arrived on the scene, I have been sent material and people have said: ‘This is perfect for you.’ And it’s just this weird stuff that doesn’t appeal to me. I just don’t know what people mean by ‘Kaufmanesque’. Dreamy? Surreal? Weird?” (Source)

I find it funny (but fitting) that the first novel from the man who inspired the term "Kaufmanesque," has been described at Pynchonesque..

While he's in Ireland for DIFF, Charlie will be holding a Screenwriting Masterclass which is open to "industry professionals – Writers/Directors/Producers – with at least 3 years industry experience and a proven track record with at least 2 professional credits."

It takes place at Light House Cinema, Dublin, 5 March.

This is a fantastic opportunity for screenwriters and filmmakers to gain an insight into how Kaufman successfully navigated the film industry, how he developed such a recognisable and distinctive writing style, as well as how Kaufman's screenwriting career influenced his later directorial work.

This masterclass will focus on Kaufman's unique approach to screenwriting and delve into the various elements that are integral to the delivery of quality work. The overall aim of the class is to help screenwriters and filmmakers hone a distinct voice in their own creative work. (Source)

It'll include a Q&A with Irish screenwriter Mark O'Halloran (Adam and Paul, Garage, Rialto). More info at the link.

I was kind of hoping to get a review up before most of the major trade publications, but I'm only halfway through an ARC of Antkind and Kirkus has beaten me to it. BASTARDS. The good news is, they love the book.

Always centrifugal screenwriter Kaufman delivers a terrific debut novel that makes Gravity’s Rainbow read like a Dr. Seuss story.

You know you’re in for strange times when a young fast-food cashier cites an anecdote about Jean Cocteau (“They once asked him what he would take from a burning house”) while offhandedly observing that the vehicle you’re driving is on fire.

[...]

It’s a splendid, spectacular mess, much like Kaufman’s Being John Malkovich, commanding attention from start to finish for its ingenuity and narrative dazzle.

Film, speculative fiction, and outright eccentricity collide in a wonderfully inventive yarn—and a masterwork of postmodern storytelling. (Source)

Full review at the link.

I'm at the 300-page mark (of 700) and can confirm that, so far, it really is worthy of the Pynchon comparison. Charlie's not a screenwriter. He's a writer, period. If the next 400 pages live up to the first 300, I'd be totally on board should he ever feel like scaling back the movie-making and publishing a few more books instead. (If they do not, well, FORGET I SAID ANYTHING.)

New interview! Charlie will be attending the Dublin International Film Festival next month (info and tickets to Charlie Kaufman in Conversation here!), and to promote the appearance he spoke to Dave Fanning on RTE2FM.

The discussion is mostly about I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Antkind gets a mention in the final minute--just that it's complete and soon to be released. Charlie mentions the May release dates, so I assume this was recorded before the date was pushed back?

Thanks to Anon!

Orson Bean, who played Dr. Lester in Being John Malkovich, has died at age 91, after being struck by two cars in Los Angeles. Goddamn, imagine making it to 91, and then that happens?

Says Variety:

Orson Bean, the prolific character actor known for his work in “Being John Malkovich,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and a host of TV shows, died Friday after being hit by twice by cars while walking in Los Angeles. He was 91.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office told the Associated Press that Bean’s death was under investigation as a traffic-related fatality. The industry veteran was walking in the Venice area on Friday night when he was hit by a car and fell, after which he was hit by a second car, according to the AP. Bean’s survivors include his wife, actor Alley Mills, who he married in 1993.

Bean was a co-founder of the non-profit actors collective Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, where he also lived. Bean’s official bio on the theater’s website concludes with the observation: “He is one lucky son of a bitch.”

Bean was well-liked in the industry as a raconteur and versatile performer who was as comfortable on a game show set as he was in an arthouse movie such as Spike Jonze’s 1999 absurdist fantasy “Being John Malkovich,” in which he played Dr. Lester, the mastermind of a plot to prolong his life by inhabiting the body of the titular star. (Source)

Thanks to Doreen for the link.

BCKster Jeff sent this image through to me. Charlie's talk at the Sydney Goldstein Theater has been pushed back to July 13, "Due to the publication delay of his forthcoming novel, Antkind."

Charlie's American publishers' website lists July 7 as the new pub. date.

Charlie's Aussie publisher has it at May 18, but I expect that'll change, too.

If you're in San Francisco May 14, you can catch Charlie at the Sydney Goldstein Theater, where he'll be discussing his novel Antkind. YAY. Get in quick, though.

Says City Arts & Lectures: "Orchestra Tickets ($45) come with a copy of Kaufman’s new novel, Antkind."

UPDATE: This event has been rescheduled for July 13.