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Clinica Estetico
Columbia Pictures
Good Machine
Intermedia
Not part of a collection.
From the creator of Being John Malkovich, comes the story about the creator of Being John Malkovich.
Charlie Kaufman is 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 and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.
CinemaSerf
Apr 18, 2022 · via TMDB
When you watch some of Nicolas Cage's more recent stuff you do wonder how on earth he ever became a star in the first place. Well, this is one of the films that reminds us why. He is a struggling screenwriter ("Charlie") charged with adapting a novel about orchids written by "Susan Orlean" (Meryl Streep). Mental block would be putting it mildly - he simply has no idea how to make it work for "Valerie" (easily one of the less abstruse roles played by Tilda Swinton). Moreover, he is constantly hassled by his twin brother "Donald" who is writing his own story - one that his sibling thinks is riddled with flaws and inconsistencies. The book he must adapt centres around the activities of "Laroche" (Chris Cooper) who had a habit of going with his Seminole pals to remove rare plants from a nature reserve. Illegal? Well not if you know your way around the Floridian penal code, and the ensuing court case is what entices "New Yorker" reporter "Orlean" to write his story. Initially sceptical of her rather uncouth subject matter - not helped by his missing front teeth, she discovers there is much more to the man and his provision of a green powder soon helps her to relax! What now ensues nicely marries the threads of the storylines as both Cage characters, an excellently enigmatic Cooper, and the unfulfilled Miss Streep find themselves gradually drawn together for an admittedly pretty far-fetched denouement (pronounce denooeymont). Cage plays the two characters with considerable skill; he juggles his characters' frustrations with his writing, his love life, his brother and his own reluctance to meet the author engagingly and at times he can make you squirm in your seat a bit. There is plenty of humour, and the all but two hours just flies by. If nothing else, it does make you appreciate just how difficult is is to turn a novel into a film - and might explain why so few people are actually any good at it!
Gimly
Jul 26, 2020 · via TMDB
I'm reacting the way the world does to movies about making movies about making movies. I mean come on, Charlie Kaufman, some of us have work in the morning, damn. _Final rating:★★½ - Not quite for me, but I definitely get the appeal._
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Nicolas Cage
Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
Meryl Streep
Susan Orlean
Chris Cooper
John Laroche
Tilda Swinton
Valerie Thomas
Jay Tavare
Matthew Osceola
Litefoot
Russell
Roger Willie
Randy
Jim Beaver
Ranger Tony
Cara Seymour
Amelia Kavan
Doug Jones
Augustus Margary
Gary Farmer
Buster Baxley
Peter Jason
Defense Attorney
Gregory Itzin
Prosecutor
Curtis Hanson
Orlean's Husband
Lisa Love
Orlean Dinner Guest
David O. Russell
Orlean Dinner Guest
Judy Greer
Alice the Waitress
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Caroline Cunningham
Bob Stephenson
David
Bob Yerkes
Charles Darwin
Sandra Lee Gimpel
Laroche’s Mom
Ron Livingston
Marty Bowen
Brian Cox
Robert McKee
Nancy Lenehan
Kaufman’s Mother
John Cusack
John Cusack (uncredited)
Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener (uncredited)
John Malkovich
John Malkovich (uncredited)
Curt Clendenin
Restaurant Customer (uncredited)
Donald Dowd
Cafe Customer (uncredited)
K.K. Barrett
Production Design
Gene Serdena
Set Decoration
Lance Acord
Director of Photography
Joel Harlow
Makeup Department Head
Ann Roth
Wardrobe Designer
Julie Janney
Stand In
Marco Kyris
Stand In
Dan Bradley
Stunt Coordinator
Chris Carnel
Stunts
Darrin Prescott
Stunts
Eddie Yansick
Stunts
Norb Phillips
Stunts
Rick Barker
Stunts
Scott Rogers
Stunts
Spike Jonze
Director
Dan Bradley
Second Unit Director
Charlie Kaufman
Executive Producer
Edward Saxon
Producer
Jonathan Demme
Producer
Vincent Landay
Producer
Carter Burwell
Original Music Composer
Lora Hirschberg
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Susan Orlean
Novel
Charlie Kaufman
Screenplay
Dec 3, 2002
Los Angeles, California
Dec 6, 2002
Jun 17, 2004
Nantucket Film Festival
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Power Moves
1995
Deconstructivist Architects
1990
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
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