ADAPTATION

ADAPTATION – 2003
Directed by: Spike Jonze

Your upcoming assignment is to try and capture the creative process or some aspect of it on film. The film you are about to watch, Adaptation, is dedicated to one particular aspect of that process: how difficult it is. Usually I talk about directors or sometimes actors in these handouts, but this handout (and this film) should be dedicated entirely to Charlie Kaufman, the writer. In the film, Kaufman agrees to write the screenplay for a best-selling novel called The Orchid Thief, an event that actually happened in real life. The only problem is that the more he becomes immersed in the novel, the more he comes to realize that it’s impossible to do the book justice. So what does he do next? He writes a film about his inability to write the screenplay, but it doesn’t stop there. Ultimately, the film becomes an exploration of creativity and how much liberty can be taken with the adaptation process itself. As you watch the film, pay attention to how Kaufman struggles to retain the essence of the narrative while trying to resist the lures and easy hooks of standard Hollywood thrillers. There’s the film that he wants to make and then there’s the film that gets made – the question is how far apart are these two?

In your journal I want you to focus on the difference between what he wants and what happens, but I also want you to write about this film as a commentary on the creative process. Remember that line from Heart of Darkness, “Exterminate all the brutes” – well, just like that line, this is a film that eats itself. Kaufman even talks about this in the film when he mentions Ouroboros – the snake that eats its own tail. But, this strange loop functions on two levels. There’s the level Kaufman identifies, i.e. the inclusion of himself in the film, and then there’s the other level of the film’s plot, which ultimately becomes what it sets out to destroy. Questions you should address include: What is the narrative structure Kaufman wants to avoid? To what extent does Kaufman appropriate the cinematic elements he so vehemently argues against? What is the final product? And, do Kaufman’s decisions ultimately make for a stronger or weaker film? Also, describe, in detail, two scenes you felt were shot or edited well and why.