GIFF 2011: Charlie Kaufman master class 

an awkward, halting interview with odd camera work which is nevertheless completely mesmerizing. A perfect fit for Charlie Kaufman!

"If what you're doing does not have the possibility of failing then, by definition, you're not doing anything new." I think he says something really valuable at 25:00.

I like how the Q&A ended up just being a series of mini counseling sessions between Kaufman and people who are even more nervous than him.

You gave me the courage to major in screenwriting despite my parents discouraging me, Charlie Kaufman. Thank you for everything.

Kaufman´s writing is unique and so personal. He is showing through his scripts the person who he really is. And that makes him great.

For being someone who is basically shy in public, Kaufman has plenty to say that relates to a wide audience. Whether it is relevant or not, you are loved and admired by many Charlie, including myself.

He seems more confident with the beard

This man is one of my heroes. He is absolutely genius. This is an amazing interview. Thanks for uploading!

Charlie Kaufman - keeping the side up for awkward & uncomfortable in public writers everywhere!

when she asks what authors he reads, I was like: "hes gonna say kafka, hes gonna say Ionesco" and WHDDYA KNOW?! I love it

I adore Chalire Kaufman. Still waiting for him to write a cript that isn't about how much he hates himself though.

They both make eachother nervous.

Loved listening to his sweet, awkward, brilliance.. As he humbly discussed writing movies (Being John Malkovich/Adaptation/Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind/etc.) -- Such a wonderfully nerdy/sexy mixture of intelligence, imagination, & wit.. With a heavy serving of unabashed no-bullshit honesty, & 'balls of steel' vulnerability. (To write, & jst 'be', that open & raw & real.. Takes more guts than most folks got.) ♥

"If you know what it is that you're doing and/or you've seen it done before, you're not really doing anything."

love this guy

@ERoBB1 I think he was going to say that he didn't like Inception and it wasn't like his work for certain reasons. But he didn't want to publicly bash another movie. It's funny that they said Inception was like a Bond premise written by Kaufman...when in actuality I think it's a Kaufman premise written by a Bond writer. I mean it's totally opposite of the way he goes with things and does all the things he says he doesn't like in movies...super-good-looking clean people, perfect romance, etc.

I had goosebumps listening to that speech, it think ive listened to it 10 times+ since!

Sometimes I watch these interviews and look through the books once again and realize most of my inspiration really often comes from long walks and stimulating music. I often go back and forth between them and have to force myself to just write. Strange how writing something good never happens magically. But I do try to find the magic in letting my creativity and imagination flow without thinking too much. It's an unending loop. Fuck.

thank you so much to 'avenyproduction' for uploading this Charlie Kaufman interview. What I love about this talk is that it is mostly about the processes of writing and directing. Charlie Kaufman rarely gives interviews. So, it is wonderful that this one was filmed for posterity.

You can't over analyze everything. Some times creativity is just spoken and expressed with out really any reason. Even if and when it ends up having a very meaningful result.

The interview starts at 4:15 Kinda... Enjoy!

Everytime Charlie answers, I get the feeling it's going to end up like in "It's always sunny in Philadelphia" when Dee's standup is filled with micro-vomits.

I loved his BFI session it was inspiring and insightful everything he says resonates with me.

this is so meta, he's playing robert mckee in relation to his own screenwriting ideology(!)

i was just about to say that, kaufman's a genius.

he's an effin genious!!!!!!

That Yogi Bear story was the best, lol

movies are supposed to bring you into all sort of worlds...mainly those which are not that predictable - that's what he means I believe!

i want a nother movie with euphoric dream scenarios in stead of depressing scary night mare scenarios please thanks from your bigest fan

Even at 72 minutes, I wish this was longer :)

Great question Emma!

I'd love to see the amusement park ride.

I want to know what happened to these projects he mentions at 45 minutes

Agree. I love the way Charlie Kaufman stayed reticent about his own views on 'Inception' 1:07 I also found 'Inception' wildly over-rated and absurd.

At first I thought his shyness and his akwardness was a bit false, but my god he is very shy and socially akward. Must have been a real chalenge for him directin Synecdochte NY.

@LoveLuckCouture I think he means when a text displays some sort of objectivity about something that is going on in it, like how in Synecdoche Caden keeps having to change a play about his life in order to reflect his life as it continues outside of the play, i.e. Caden is perpetually trying to 'step outside' of his play, to see it objectively. Hope that makes sense (it was really hard to articulate).

That's probably my favorite RU-vid comment ever.

I was just thinking this. This is so meta.

great

genius

I want him to write a character study starring Charlie Sheen.

Check out the new stop-motion animated project from CHARLIE KAUFMAN, DAN HARMON, and DINO STAMATOPOULOS on Kickstarter: 'Anomalisa'

the mega dis-adapted genius of Charlie Kauffman ,second in negativity only to Harvey "the freak" Pecker from American Splendor, enlightens us with a monster class.Thanks for this video,really loved it

"You know"

dereck0093 years ago "He's definitely sweating. :)" Eh, maybe a little...

he is talking about the 'fourth wall' in filmmaking/screenplays and theater. Think about Purple Rose of Cairo, or when John Cusack talks directly to the audience in high fidelity, or Ferris Bueller does the same.

Probably, but he used many of the same actors that have been on his movies, and he used the same crew as on "Eternal Sunshine..." so that's at least some familiarity.

What the fuck was he going to say about Inception??? I can read a thousand things into that reaction.

Nice accent that woman has. And Charlie seems really funny. Good job, @avenyproduction. Thx!

As much as I love Charlie Kaufman, I don't get this bit bit 1:08 where he says he writes and directs movies because he has "a mortgage to pay". And he said it in a serious tone. Surely, he must have made enough money to not worry about stuff that unsettles most of us?

9:45 i've always wondered why that was, interesting explination

U' know

Pay attention. Between every answer and every question, listen to the wind in Göteborg.

He's definitely sweating. :)

he wrote inception. i know it. look at him when he hears the question. he doesnt want to rat out chis nolan

:L his anecdote of yogi bear

:)

This is a terrible audience. It's so serious. They're not reacting. The poor guy. They're really putting him through the grinder.

55:15 . man with overly american accent

@Supernovae04 i bet you're more socially awkward.

Lol awkward.

It's a part of everyday life. This man's job is to put himself in another person's shoes. It's hard to advocate Republican policies when you can conceptualize being somebody else like that.

Spectre had some bad romance. To be fair

I kinda disagree with mr. kaufman. aren't movies supposed to bring you into a different world? we have enough of reality bashing in our faces already with the news and everyday life. the point of a movie is to bring the audience out of there seats into this fantasy world for 2 hours and make them forget about their crummy lives