Charlie Kaufman - Definition and Overview

Charles Stuart Kaufman (born November 1958) is an accomplished screenwriter, identified by Premiere magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

He got his start in television, writing two episodes for Chris Elliott's Get a Life, as well as a couple of dozen other episodes of shows like Ned and Stacy and The Dana Carvey Show.

He first came to national attention as the writer for Being John Malkovich, earning an Oscar nomination for his effort and a BAFTA. He also wrote Human Nature, which was directed by Michel Gondry and then worked with Spike Jonze again as the screenwriter for Adaptation, which earned him another Oscar nomination and his second BAFTA. He also penned Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a biopic of Chuck Barris, a gameshow host who believed he was a CIA hitman; this was directed by George Clooney in his directorial debut.

His most recent script and story is for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, his second film with director Michel Gondry, for which he received his third Oscar nomination.

Quote by Kaufman in an interview with William Arnold

• The usual thing for a writer is to deliver a script and then disappear. That's not for me. I want to be involved from beginning to end. And these directors [Gondry, Jonze] know that, and respect it.

External links

• Arnold, William and Kaufman, Charlie; interview (2004). "A moment with ... Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter." Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 19, 2004. (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/165373_Kaufman19.html)
• Being Charlie Kaufman (http://www.beingcharliekaufman.com/) - A thorough fan site