Screenplays Books

What do you get when a down-on-his-heels puppeteer working as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a Manhattan office building discovers a secret portal into the brain of John Malkovich? Hilarity, drama, and perhaps the most unique film of the 90s. Being John Malkovich , which stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz and, of course, John Malkovich as himself, is Charlie Kaufman's screenwriting debut. The movie premiered to universal acclaim and is guaranteed to become a classic of modern cinema.

New in the acclaimed series—the clever, colorful new comedy from the Academy Award ® -nominated screenwriter of Being John Malkovich , the director of the award-winning Björk music videos, and the producers at Good Machine—coming from Fine Line Features in April 2002. Charlie Kaufman's unconventional worldview is once again in evidence in this powerful satirical exploration of a civilization that idealizes both nature and culture. A philosophical burlesque about an obsessive scientist, a female naturalist, and their discovery—a man raised in the wild. The cast includes Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins, Robert Forster, Rosie Perez, and Mary Kay Place. Approx. 40 photos, color and b/w.

One of the most talked about scripts of the year, Adaptation is the story of an orchid collector (Chris Cooper), a journalist (Meryl Streep, as author Susan Orlean), and the screenwriter (Charlie Kaufman, played by Nicolas Cage) who, in adapting Orlean's bestselling book The Orchid Thief , writes himself and his twin brother (also played by Cage) into the movie. In the foreword, written exclusively for this Newmarket edition, Orlean reveals her own struggle to tell the story of the orchid, and her delight that “strangely, marvelously, hilariously, Kaufman's screenplay has ended up not being a literal Adaptation of my book, but a spiritual one.” In a fascinating interview, Kaufman and Jonze take readers behind the scenes of Adaptation and their other films to speak about how they collaborate, where truth and fiction diverge, the challenges of balancing various storylines, why they do not like to comment on the meaning of their work, and Kaufman's approach to writing:"I try to write in the midst of confusion and be strong enough to stay there, rather than swim to the shore of some kind of conclusion." Finally, screenwriting guru Robert McKee's commentary attempts to analyze Kaufman's work, identifying many of his themes including "that grand twentieth-century preoccupation with the Self." In the acclaimed Newmarket Shooting Script series format, the book includes the complete screenplay, Orlean's foreword, the interview with Kaufman and Jonze, McKee's critical commentary, 24 black-and-white stills, and cast and crew credits.

In this illuminating script book, Charlie Kaufman, the Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation , shares the logistical challenges of writing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in a fascinating interview. Kaufman also provides commentary on stills from the movie, revealing remarkable details about the editing process, set construction, and shooting techniques that were used to tell this unconventional story. In the film, Joel ( Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure.As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel just can't get her out of his head.The movie stars Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst,Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, and Mark Ruffalo. In the acclaimed Newmarket Shooting Script® format, the book includes an introduction by director Michel Gondry ( Human Nature ), a facsimile of the script, a Q&A with Kaufman, a selection of black-and-white movie stills with commentary, and the complete cast and crew credits.

synecdoche [sih-NECK-doh-kee] , noun . A figure of speech inwhich a part is used for the whole, as in the screen for movies . From Charlie Kaufman, perhaps the most distinctive screenwritingvoice of our generation, comes a visual and philosophicadventure of epic proportions. Much as he did with hisgroundbreaking scripts for Being John Malkovich , Adaptation ,and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Kaufman twists andsubverts the form and language of film as he delves into themind of a man who, obsessed with his own mortality, sets outto construct a massive artistic enterprise that could give somemeaning to his life. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman,Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener,Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, HopeDavis, and Tom Noonan, and directed by Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York is an epic story of grand artistic ambitionsand creative madness. This Newmarket Shooting Script ® Book includes: Exclusive introduction by Charlie Kaufman Complete Shooting Script Exclusive Q&A Color photo section Complete cast and crew credits

The official companion to Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s award-winning film Anomalisa . From Academy Award–winner Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson comes Anomalisa , a stop-motion animated film about a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. Michael (voiced by David Thewlis), a motivational speaker, hears everyone having, quite literally, the same voice and having the same face. From the passengers on the airplane to the employees at the hotel to his ex-girlfriend, each of the characters (all voiced by Tom Noonan) have the same voices and faces. And then there’s Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a woman who sounds and looks different from everyone else in the world. The film is a meditation on life, love, wants, needs, and perceptions of self and others. Scenes of Anomalisa contains an abridged script, as well as behind-the-scenes images and film stills. It adapts the feeling and nuance of the film into a package that will appeal not only to fans of Kaufman and Johnson, but to cinephiles and animation fans as well.