socialmedian: How to make a post-Charlie Kaufman US arthouse movie

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How to make a post-Charlie Kaufman US arthouse movie

Source: guardian.co.uk Film

Nov 07, 2009

Summary

The Guidelines: Random notes from pop culture

Sophie Barthes's engaging new comedy Cold Souls is the latest of a new breed of films that can be called "Kaufmanesque", with deference to the screenplays of Charlie Kaufman. In Kaufman's work, reality falls prey to meta-textual and metaphysical influences, usually with bittersweet, hilarious results. His shadow falls on Barthes's film, in which Paul Giamatti has his soul removed to enable him to function properly in an off-Broadway show that's sapping his creativity. So how might one go Kaufman? Here's how ...

Get an actor to play himself

Just as John Malkovich played John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich, so Paul Giamatti plays Paul Giamatti in Cold Souls. But if you're going to do this, remember to take liberties with the truth! In real life, John Malkovich is not best friends with Charlie Sheen, who does not call him "Malkatraz". Likewise, Paul Giamatti is not married to Emily Watson, just as there is no real-life soul storage facility in New York.

Remember: A-list stars love this stuff!

Although Charlie Kaufman

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