DP/30: Synecdoche, New York, writer/director Charlie Kaufman

[@johnjacobjingleheimerschmi2895]

Very intriguing that they were able to access Charlie for this interview. He generally does not do a lot of press.

[@hydropanic75]

WOW! This is so rare. He never does press!

[@MantasticHams]

XD i think you might really offend him if he reads this somehow lol

[@hydropanic75]

@@MantasticHams I think he'd get the joke. But, maybe not. His new (first) novel "Antkind" is brilliant!

[@MantasticHams]

@@hydropanic75 I keep forgetting that existed thanks! I was hoping you were joking but my internet humor receptor is always on the fritz XD.

[@BMRCR]

😂

[@nightrainbows1032]

@@hydropanic75 indeed it is. I devoured the first 160 pages in one “preview the book” sitting and now I’m going nuts waiting for it to become available.

[@_mellosine]

"I try to do what I can to put something in the world that is not garbage." - He just earned even more of my respect.

[@dp30]

Charlie is always, in my experience, honest. He doesn't always talk about everything. But on camera or off, an honest man.

[@CrazyMonkeyMinecraft]

he looks like a cross between simon and garfunkel

[@aidanfilms702]

He does 😂😂😂

[@anavonrebeur6121]

Damn, you are frivolous AND OLD!

[@CrazyMonkeyMinecraft]

@@anavonrebeur6121 what does that mean?

[@scromtrulescent]

Synechdoche was probably one of the few examples of where an amazing cast delivered on a truly bold/innovative script with a first-time director. The final product was probably the best film of the 2000's decade. And Kaufman is justified that the failure of the film journalism community to recognize it, appreciate it, and promote it was what ultimately doomed its reception.

[@itsallgoodman4108]

Movie shattered me psychically. Felt like i need to call off work just to process it. Hoffman went profoundly deep

[@enneff]

At least Ebert loved it and gave it the high praise it deserved. That was gratifying to see.

[@itsallgoodman4108]

It captures the disturbingly fast yet monotonous nature of time so earily perfectly. Creation and entropy

[@Souljaxl]

Adds to it imo, writes a film about a guy trying to create his lifes masterpiece and only to be outshone by a 4 year old. Like you say a truly bold and innovative script like filling a warehouse in new york with actors, making the most brutal play ever. Like it's in some way a biography and so beatifully meta, he got this chance to make a massive work of art and he tried to capture so much in it "but he didn't have an audience".

[@flavourlessjosephus2910]

To the people who think he's being standoffish: anxiety often appears like that.

[@AntonQvarfordt]

To be fair, anxiety often makes you standoffish

[@ReddoFreddo]

Well he's self aware about it and honest. Plenty of people have these thoughts but don't speak them out loud. Not that that's good or bad, nothing matters.

[@GlobinHD]

This is alot like how his character in adaptation behaves, though obviously more exaggerated there.

[@jokebookrally]

Love how Charlie will just straight up defend his movie like it’s his child. Like heck yeah, it’s cool and good to believe in your artwork and I freaking respect it.

[@TheReal7Bit]

He is exactly like in Adaptation.

[@joetennis]

great background of my favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman movie...Charlie Kaufman is sincere, honest, and definitely not a Hollywood phony...

[@videogamesTSH]

Thank you holden caulfield for your input

[@Josh-lx6si]

@@videogamesTSH😭😭

[@priwncess]

Charlie is just human, like everyone else. That's why I love him so dearly.

[@UtwoOneMaster]

He's so fuckin human. This guy is honest with his movies. Respect.

[@MinamuTV]

28:06-28:25 (on negative reception): "I'm very serious about what I've done here. I've really tried to do something - and again, I don't care, if you don't like it, that's fine…I mean, I welcome it […] but you've got an hour to spend; spend it sincerely."

[@fabiobonetta5454]

Best thing to happen to cinema in the past 30 years

[@uphillracer]

I love Charlie. He just refuses to lie

[@bened22]

This might be the most honest and interesting movie-promotional interview I have ever seen.

[@PeterZeeke]

Interviewer works hard to bring him back on side!

[@KeithWhalen11]

Out of the blue, this beautiful movie crossed my mind again. I view Kaufman as a storyteller with Joycean chops; illusions and allusions for the mind, truth and beauty for the soul.

[@scuipnfatsae2382]

I love synecdoche New York Movie Thank you for your Art Genius

[@SavvyDork]

Genus*

[@mohammad4110]

@@SavvyDork Nice reference

[@chelseapoet3664]

A genius. I loved this film almost as much as my absolute favourite of his, Eternal Sunshine. Adaptation is brilliant too. I'm so glad he exists.

[@fartquaviasdingle7876]

I love how despite his gripes he deals with it in an actually funny way. I didn't expect him to be so concise let alone funny. It's hard to do both.

[@Giftoftruth]

He's so edgy in this interview lol. I love it.

[@veranimus4302]

Charlie Kaufman's work has such depth and his personality is so unbelievably "real" that when I try to reconcile how such a person exists in an environment which is so unbelievably "fake" I am forced to ask myself: "Are we all living in Charlie Kaufman's mind? Is this reality some sort of 22nd century artistic medium that 140 year old Charlie Kaufman is generating in quantum cloud servers?" I've never seen an artist peer so deep into the modern human soul... I wish he would write and direct another movie... which has no connection to comic books or comic book universes.

[@abyzzwalker]

His works are more human than the great mayority, yes.

[@davedune3121]

cool comment; v much enjoyed reading it

[@Septeemberpain]

Thanks for sharing ❤

[@imfa-cinema257]

This was highly premature with regards to criticism of The Dark Knight ... no critic was truly ready for what that film would become. Both Synecdoche, New York and The Dark Knight are masterpieces and for completely different reasons. Synecdoche is a deeply-layered, complex experience that brought existential, postmodern depth to the arthouse crowd. The Dark Knight brought a highly-compelling crime story inspired, realistic gravitas with themes of justice and morality to mainstream crowds. They may have negated eachother in 2008, where the economy took a hit, deep cinema like Synecdoche took a hit and The Dark Knight literally started the superhero craze that would dominate the 2010s, but they both appreciated not only admirably, but also ascended to being some of the greatest cinematic works in history. They both form a tapestry of cinema's perfection - Synecdoche demonstrates the complexity, the honesty, and the existential depth cinema can truly reach - The Dark Knight demonstrates that meditations on morality, justice, and heroism IS something wide audiences really want to see. Look no further than modern masterpieces like Everything Everywhere All At Once - which ventures into deep deconstructive filmmaking with existential themes while also being capable of well earned entertainment. Its an evolution. And its success yet again demonstrates that audiences really want cinema like that.

[@dominic9983]

People always compare this to 8 1/2 and I never get it, I feel like surely Adaption is a far better comparison. The themes in this film are dramatically different.

[@wmascolin]

That's kinda funny, I just watched Synecdoche for the first time and it's replaced 8 1/2 as my favorite movie. It's like if 8 1/2 was more modern. More specifically it's like The casting scene in 8 1/2 made into a whole movie.

[@BlackPhoebe7]

Absolutely agree that this film (Synedoche ny) is the most comfortable film/the film that i have felt genuinely connected with. WOWWWWWW

'Synecdoche, New York' feels like a Woody Allen film combined with the enigma of David Lynch. Yet, the humor, charisma, and complexity of Kaufman's characters are all his own.

[@ThoughtTheif]

George Johnson Yes!!!!

[@HotPocketsBoy]

damn he looked pissed in the beginning lol

[@DevyanshBahri]

I like how his self awareness shows when he mentions the same thing at 2:35 about him just being a pissy little guy at the moment which will pass but unfortunately it’s been committed to video tape

[@moreapropos]

This is hard to watch. He seems irritated and annoyed. Frequently asking "What do you mean?" or "I don't know what that means." Interviewer screwed up right from the gate and for me, never recovered from that.

[@AnoNymous-dh2sv]

To be fair, Charlie is kinda in the wrong here. Yes, people aren't perfect but neither are you. e.g. he starts by complaining people don't notice his Press impact. Maybe it's partly you?

[@poboysix4]

Ano Nymous i disagree as a interviewer he should know Charlie’s and how accessible he’s been / not been regarding the film.

[@natanielcostard]

if the problem had been THIS interviewer, maybe you would be right. But as Kaufman himself points out, everyone asked him the same...

[@SuperiFox]

Honestly he's getting a lot of great insight out of Charlie. The whole bit where Charlie breaks down the mythology of how Synecdoche fared at Cannes and the untangling of what it was and the context is fascinating to hear, and we wouldn't get that from any other interviewer. DP30's legit.

[@vincentros84]

25:00 I completely agree that you have a real ethical responsibility as a film journalist to do your homework before you write something about a film

[@PodyTheCirate]

Phillip Seymour Hoffman being in 202/204 scene in the movie is genuinely insane. Sounds exhausting

[@benjaminlivingston9706]

Even though not all of his work completely works for me, I still feel bad for Kaufman. You can tell that he is really considerate about his craft.

[@tomkhat5607]

Kaufman is pissed as fuck, damn son.

[@DevyanshBahri]

I like how his self awareness shows when he mentions this same thing at 2:35 about him just being a pissy little guy at the moment which will pass but unfortunately it’s been committed to video tape

[@MinamuTV]

His words about story vs. structure (past the 11-minute mark) are interesting.

[@notthere83]

And I have to say... I know exactly what he meant when he talked about that moment at the train station. It hasn't happened to me in quite a long time but still... whenever a person tells me that I have helped them in a profound manner, it is one of the best feelings in the world. I just wish I would find a way that I could help people more often in such a manner.

[@placeholder4038]

You helped me get the job I wanted today through this comment giving me courage. This sounds like a joke but it’s not.

[@FreerMasons]

this movie seems really relevant in 2022.

[@Bapuji42]

Kaufman: "I don't have actors in mind when I write." Malkovich: "Say whaaaaa?!"

[@bconigliaro]

DP/30 (the interviewer) has improved a lot from his absolutely grating earlier interviews. Gone is the incessant forced-chuckling at things that aren't remotely funny. He's even actually asking questions.

[@davedune3121]

24:05 for anyone "perplexed" by this film: stop avoiding your own humanity, get out of your own ass and be fine with the confusion and intense emotions that come with apparently existing as a single unit of consciousness; it's actually pretty fun out here.

[@MAFion]

What access. He rarely does press. thx for uploading.

[@ckyrico]

Wow, David Poland firing shots at TDK at the end. People still talk about that movie four years later, broseph. And this whole interview is like the inspiration for Frank or Francis - a director feuding with the internet film blogging culture.

[@AleksandarBloom]

depends whose using him,if its Lynch or Herzog,then Cage is great

[@CarlsCozyCorner]

This fucking GENIUS only needed 47 days???? Huh?????

[@Hlompi]

True Artist

[@imfa-cinema257]

I'm going to defend Charlie since he is my cousin. He is very honest. And with that honesty, he says things honestly and acts honestly, even if others don't like it. So here he is honest.

[@dp30]

To be clear, I love Charlie.

[@imfa-cinema257]

@@dp30 I am Charlie.

[@europa_bambaataa]

I know it's been 12 years, but if you could activate Auto captions for this that would be great

[@SCUDGEj0ckey]

"Synecdoche*." End interview like a master.

[@yaaro4471]

He is my most favourite screenplay writer ; His voice sounds like a Sam Harris ...

[@souljacem]

I don‘t think his voice sounds like Sam Harris, but the way he pronounces words and heightens/lowers his voice with specific words

[@debocrema]

I love how honest Kaufman is here.

[@yakovolivarria]

hahaha everything that is said in the last minute and a half of this interview is hilarious.

[@michaelkupfer3723]

The jab at The Dark Knight is unfair! I love Synecdoche NY, it's one of the few films where I had the feeling of seeing something real, real emotions and real human feelings about pain, age and death, and yet The Dark Knight is great as well. Say about Nolan what you want, but he manages to put serious themes into Popcorn-fare. And did it stirr my soul? Maybe not as much as Synecdoche, but for the rest of my life I will remember that image of The Joker putting his head out of that speeding car

[@chillwinston8961]

Even if the dark knight didn’t have themes it would still be extremely important film to so many people. It’s like you said it’s the way scenes resonate with you on an emotional level that are important.

[@NajaCrudah]

Could the director film one interview were he answers every conceivable question that an interviewer might ask, burn a disc and send it out with instructions for the interviewers to shoot the reverse (questions) for the "answers" that they select?

[@Tundraswan]

Anyone have a link for the Indiewire review that Charlie mentions?

[@__________________2450]

No

[@PANDAPILCH]

I don't understand why there wasn't a mic on Poland.....I can barely hear his questions.

[@PodyTheCirate]

Would’ve been nice* to know what the interviewer was actually asking. Audio quality is terrible and of course there’s no captions. Edit*

[@rilesroo1]

I think the reason Charlie is annoyed people said this film was confusing, is because so many people were confused by it.

[@lesryglrhfohser]

Idk what’s confusing about it, it’s just life, like if you experience life then the movie should make sense

[@cinephilebrain2300]

Seriously... I wish more people understood that you don't have to bash one work of art to praise another. The Dark Knight was a flawless film. Just because it didn't do what Synecdoche, New York did, doesn't matter. It wasn't trying to do anything like that. It's like telling people that Star Wars isn't one of the greatest, because movies like Annie Hall will have a bigger impact on your life. Not all movies are trying to accomplish the same thing.

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

true..many people get stuck in duality, the need to oppose something else to embrace another thing. I see it all the time with almost everything in life. Ironically this movie is all about the opposite.

[@mollyf5679]

Likewise, you don't have to resort to hyperbole to offset bashing. "flawless" is a strong word, and of all the films I can think of using that word on, The Dark Knight certainly is not one of them. By far. Effective? Yes. Extraordinarily effective? Yes. Flawless? Not by a mile.

[@sonmi2246]

gowo You're so wrong. You're completely ignoring the distinction between art and entertainment, and the notion that film can be entertaining without necessarily being a work of art, and vice versa. There is value in both things; both art and entertainment. I wouldnt consider Dark Knight to be a work of art, but a movie that is enjoyable for many as entertainment, whereas a film like Synecdoche, New York has value as something that confronts various concepts and human dilemmas and causes the viewer to reflect on such ideas; which fits within my understanding of what art is and should be (something that, mind you, there is no clear definition of as it is still heavily debated to this day). Even if one considers both films to be artwork, that does not necessarily imply a cognitive dissonance, it simply means that that individual's definition of art is different or more inclusive than yours or mine.

[@valcriston]

i love this guy, LOL, he's completely pissed in the beginning about not doing a lot of press

[@sd02231]

valcriston He was pissed because he was doing plenty of press for his films and the asshole reporters keep saying that he isn't. You should try listening once in a while, it might help.

[@brownbear152]

he reminds me somewhat of michael cera.

[@valja4902]

Lo amo.

[@KnivesMonroe]

The best there is. The best there was. The best there ever will be. Charlie.

That's not 'pissed', that's the extremely well-deserved pretension of a great filmmaker.

[@AnoNymous-dh2sv]

Bullshit. Being good at something doesn't stop him being shit at Press (at that point in time at least).

[@meg2231]

A great movie.

[@azumiaya]

i'm just a pissy lil guy

[@lesryglrhfohser]

Was it the funeral speech that wasn’t in the original script? That’s my guess

[@RHCPfan458]

Maybe it felt rushed to portray the idea that death catches up to you very quickly?

[@DevyanshBahri]

You mean to say showing that concept felt rushed? Well isn’t that part of it then. If it felt like it came out of nowhere in the movie, then that is just how it feels in real life.

[@bloamy8498]

"Death comes sooner than you think" - early line in the movie

[@user-ke8te3ti6v]

is he related to michael cera

[@jeffdawson2786]

He could’ve been just as successful as a standup comedian.

[@MrJosephMorris]

Is he talking about the funeral scene @16:20 ?

[@crowdrugan6977]

That's exactly what I thought.

[@lesryglrhfohser]

Ya for sure

[@chelseapoet3664]

"I always say" the interviewer says more than once. Bro, we don't care what you always say.

[@notthere83]

Haha... "now that we have DVDs". Really? You couldn't watch a movie a couple of times on VHS? I mean, I know the quality wasn't exactly great but come on... ;)

[@Palletresearch]

Why did that interviewer shit on The Dark Knight like that lmao

[@davidpoland7404]

Oops. Sorry.

[@lesryglrhfohser]

@@davidpoland7404that was you? Do you feel like a dumbass now?

[@matan054123]

fix the sound!!

[@april3945]

It's hilarious to me that the dark knight is the movie the interviewer used as an example of something people wouldn't care about in 6 months. Say what you will about the film (I'm not particularly crazy about it), but it's certainly endured and is "soul-stirring" for a lot of people.

[@yazanasad7811]

Improv on the set - make it alive. Shouldnt be the same as screenwriting imagined in mind because collaborative experience

[@contecrayononpaper]

Maybe if he did more press, he'd know how to handle press.

[@caterpillakilla]

watch La Jette and tell me about movies

[@johnnyw525]

I feel frustrated for him. Jeez! “Let’s move the tripod”

[@glaucofernando9154]

I want to be Charlie Kaufman!!!

[@reedwindsor1744]

this interviewer is so terrible i'm sorry charlie i love u

[@suttree3233]

Nah he's pretty good. Charlie just seems a bit irritable here, probably a byproduct of sleep deprivation due to a busy press tour, but the interviewer is working hard on each question to edge him toward a more affable comportment and deserves credit for doing so.

[@JosephPerrotta-db9xp]

😢

[@Pimp-Master]

His big creative breakthroughs were started in 1998 and ended in 2008. After that, the market went to shit and the internet became the creative hub, except you can't get paid there. He had to self finance, (Kickstarter no less along with the first year film school kids), and still serious indy films get less exposure than just ten years ago. But he's not staving b/c he has a good agent who sends him guild-rules rewrites, drafts, and quick polishes. It's not sad--it's just the decay of the western world.

[@friendlypup5650]

powergirl901 he’s got a new Netflix movie coming this year (hopefully). Netflix seems to be a great fit of him.

[@RED01SEA]

Dude he did anomalisa and am thinking of ending thing , the dude is still going way past 2008

[@ubermacher]

Kaufman is burnt out. Feel sorry for the interviewer.

[@jonathanneil5901]

I know people find this kind of disposition endearing in creative people. I just find it so rude.

[@MANZANOADRIAN]

I always enjoyed his film. It was a pleasure to see his vision pure and uncut. I can see it being challenging for the regular movie going masses. I saw similarities to 8 1/2. My only gripe would be the ending. Felt rushed.

[@richardadesmond]

30 seconds in.....CUT!!!! lmfao 1:18 it's not funny!

[@kubilayg3200]

This is the worst interview ever. It's natural that Kaufman is a bit harsh. No microphones, we can barely hear the interviewer even though the sound is obviously boosted because you can hear a loud white noise in the background, camera poorly changing angles, predictable and cliche questions, even the interviewer has no idea what he's talking about, also not confident when asking them... it goes on and on! I don't even know why he gave an interview to such a poor production, to be honest... I mean look at their youtube logo, why are you guys even doing this? and how the hell did you get him back for the Anomalisa interview?

[@aidan6083]

“Why are you guys even doing this?” The interview is ten years old. Cut them some slack.

[@diegomorales8616]

I think Kaufman has said that all truth is subjective, so why is he upset by the subjective truth that he never does press? There is no objective truth, right?

[@AntonQvarfordt]

Hey, guy!! Put that goddam human-ness away, you're in public! - I don't want to see that shit It's gross!

[@jasonisjasondoes]

At the time, I thought it was alright. Now, I find its a horrible depressing movie, and it got a lot worse after the latest agenda (and I do realise, BJM had similar themes). Lol at the Dark Knight shade at the end, compared with the "torrential downfall" of DC today.