Adaptation. (2002)

Director:

Spike Jonze

Writers (WGA):

Susan Orlean (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Charlie Kaufman writes the way he lives... With Great Difficulty. His Twin Brother Donald Lives the way he writes... with foolish abandon. Susan writes about life... But can't live it. John's life is a book... Waiting to be adapted. One story... Four Lives... A million ways it can end.

Plot:

A lovelorn screenwriter turns to his less talented twin brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere.

Plot Keywords:

Orchid | Book | Screenwriter | Thief | Twin

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 39 wins & 48 nominations

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
Tilda Swinton	...	Valerie Thomas
Meryl Streep	...	Susan Orlean
Chris Cooper	...	John Laroche
Jay Tavare	...	Matthew Osceola
Litefoot	...	Russell (as G. Paul Davis)
Roger Willie	...	Randy
Jim Beaver	...	Ranger Tony
Cara Seymour	...	Amelia Kavan
Doug Jones	...	Augustus Margary
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Ranger Steve Neely (scenes deleted)
Gary Farmer	...	Buster Baxley
Peter Jason	...	Defense Attorney
Gregory Itzin	...	Prosecutor
Curtis Hanson	...	Orlean's Husband

Also Known As:

The Orchid Thief (USA) (working title)
El ladrón de orquídeas (Argentina) (Chile) (Mexico) (Peru) [es]
Adaption. (Germany) (Switzerland: German title) [de]
Adaptáció (Hungary) [hu]
Adaptação (Brazil) [pt]
Adaptacija (Serbia) [sr]
Adaptacja (Poland) [pl]
Adaptation - minun versioni (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Adaptation. (France) [fr]
Adaptation. (Greece) [el]
Adaptation. El ladrón de orquídeas (Spain) [es]
Adaptation. Minun versioni (Finland) [fi]
Adaption - Der Orchideendieb (Austria) [de]
Il ladro di orchidee (Italy) [it]
Il ladro di orchidee - Adaptation. (Italy) [it]
Inadaptado (Portugal) [pt]
Kuidas kirjutada kassafilmi (Estonia) [et]
Orkidé-tyven (Denmark) [da]
Tersyüz (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images.

Runtime:

114 min | Turkey:81 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:L (video rating) | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (DVD rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Bern) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38094) | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Beverly Detroit

Trivia:

The credits include Donald Kaufman as the co-writer. He is also featured as a character in the movie, and the movie is dedicated "In loving memory" of Donald (at the end of the credits). But Donald is just a fictional character himself.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Charles and Donald talk about the serial killer in the script of "The 3" being a literature professor, Charles' hands are clasped. In the close shot of Donald with Charles in the foreground out of focus, his arms are folded.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Charlie Kaufman: [voiceover] Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier, my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked...

Movie Connections:

References Chun gwong cha sit (1997)

Soundtrack:

The Cat Came Back

Cage redeemed.

A brilliant, original film, hilariously funny almost all the way through, which is why the end seems disjointed and a bit out of sync with the rest of the film...until you consider McKee's advice to Kaufman, the success of Donald's cliched script, and the pressure on Charlie Kaufman (in the film) to finish the script. So it suddenly becomes a thriller, there's drama added to a genuinely moving story and characters, and it seems to rush towards its ending unprepared. But that's the whole postmodern element of the film - is it deliberately bad and pat (like the Player - a much lesser film that doesn't stand up after repeated viewing)?

Anyway, Cage is fantastic in this - really if the Oscars were about acting, he should have got it for articulating two characters brilliantly. After the mess of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, it's some achievement.

A must see - but you need to engage your brain for this!