Adaptation.
From the creator of Being John Malkovich, comes the story about the creator of Being John Malkovich.
Country
Production
Budget
$19 000 000
Box office
$32 801 173
Director
Actors
Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Jay Tavare, Litefoot, Roger Willie, Jim Beaver, Cara Seymour, Doug Jones
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
K.K. Barrett
Audition
Justine Arteta, Kim Davis-Wagner
Editing
Eric Zumbrunnen, Andrew J. Sacks
Whole Team (102)
Whole Team (102)
Short description
Nicolas Cage is Charlie Kaufman, a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman, Orlean's book, become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the others'.
What's left behind the scenes
- Meryl Streep was interested in the role of Susan even before the auditions and even agreed to a pay cut to help the film's budget get approved.
- Tom Hanks was initially considered for the dual role of the Kaufman brothers.
- The film tells the story of Charlie Kaufman's efforts to adapt Susan Orlean's bestseller 'The Orchid Thief' for the screen. For a number of reasons, Kaufman decided to write a screenplay about his own struggle to adapt the book, exaggerating certain plot elements and characters and inventing new storylines and personas (for example, Donald Kaufman, a twin who does not exist in real life). Knowing that producers would reject the idea, he only proposed it to them once he had a finished script. Spike Jonze liked the idea, but Kaufman believed it would end his entire career (which, fortunately, did not happen).
- In one scene, Charlie comes home and checks his mail. He stands in front of a mirror while his brother Donald speaks to him from behind. Donald's reflection in the mirror is the real Charlie Kaufman (the film's screenwriter).
- John Cusack, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Lance Eekord, and Spike Jonze are uncredited; they played cameos of themselves in the filming episode of the movie 'Being John Malkovich'.
- Donald Kaufman is credited as a co-writer of the screenplay in the credits. He also appears in the film as one of the characters, and the film is dedicated «to his bright memory». In reality, Donald is a fictional character.
- During filming, Nicolas Cage had to wear artificial prosthetics to appear overweight.
- Albert Finney, Terence Stamp, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer were all considered for the role of Robert McKee.
- Charlie Kaufman worked on the screenplay without even knowing Susan Orlean. They only met a year after filming had begun, when she visited the set and was introduced to him by Nicolas Cage. Their next face-to-face meeting didn't happen for another year.
- Joaquin Phoenix auditioned for the role that eventually went to Chris Cooper. According to Spike Jonze, during one of their final meetings, Phoenix stated himself that the role was not right for him and suggested that Spike look for someone else.
- Preparing for filming, Chris Cooper grew long hair and lost weight. He used dentures to create the illusion of a toothless mouth. In choosing the exact image of his character, Cooper, with the permission of director Spike Jonze, repeatedly played numerous takes of the same scenes.
- John Cusack, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Lance Acord, and Spike Jonze are uncredited; they made cameo appearances as themselves in a scene depicting the filming of the movie 'Being John Malkovich'.
- In the original screenplay, Chris Cooper's character is killed by a cryptid called the Swamp Monkey (a cryptid is an animal or plant whose existence is denied by academic science but considered possible by proponents of pseudosciences such as cryptozoology or cryptobotany). Robert McKee (played in the film by Brian Cox) asked for the cryptid to be removed from the script, stating: "I am willing to be a character in a movie, but I am not willing to be a character in a bad movie."
- Robert McKee personally suggested to the producers that Brian Cox play him in the film.
- Initially, Laroche was supposed to be played by John Turturro. Chris Cooper considered the role too challenging, but agreed to take it on after persuasion from his wife.
- Tom Hanks was initially planned to play the dual role of the Kaufman brothers.
- During filming, Nicolas Cage had to wear fat suits to look overweight.
- According to Nicolas Cage, while working on this film, he ignored his own acting intuition and played Charlie Kaufman exactly as director Spike Jonze instructed him.
- The film is based on Susan Orlean's novel «The Orchid Thief» (1998).
- In preparation for the shoot, Chris Cooper grew his hair long and lost weight, using prosthetics to create the illusion of a toothless mouth. While refining the exact image of his character, Cooper—with the permission of director Spike Jonze—repeatedly performed numerous takes of the same scenes.
- Meryl Streep was interested in the role of Susan even before auditions and even agreed to a salary reduction to get the film's budget approved.
- Albert Finney, Terence Stamp, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer all auditioned for the role of Robert McKee.
- In the original script, the character played by Chris Cooper was killed by a cryptid called the Bog Creature (a cryptid is an animal or plant whose existence is denied by mainstream science, but which is considered possible by proponents of pseudosciences such as cryptozoology or cryptobotany). Robert McKee (played by Brian Cox in the film) asked to have the cryptid removed from the script. He said the following: “I agree to become a character in the film, but I do not agree to become a character in a bad film.”
- John Turturro was originally intended to play Laroche. Chris Cooper felt the role was too challenging, but agreed to take it on after being persuaded by his wife.
- The costume used to visually bulk up Nicolas Cage's character was stuffed with lentil seeds and beads. Cage sweated so much in it that the seeds actually began to sprout.
- Donald, as an example of a film about flowers, mentions «Flowers for Algernon». Charlie replies to him: «It’s not about flowers; besides, it's not a movie». In fact, there are two adaptations of this book – the film «Charly» (1968) and the television film «Flowers for Algernon» (2000).
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Auditions in India
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