Charlie Kaufman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlie Kaufman
Kaufman at the 2015 Fantastic Fest
Born	Charles Stuart Kaufman (1958-11-19) November 19, 1958 (age 66) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University (BFA)
Occupation	Screenwriter producer director novelist
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Denise Monaghan
Children	1

Charles Stuart Kaufman (born November 19, 1958) is an American writer and director. He is famous for creating unique and imaginative movies. Some of his best-known films include Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He also directed films like Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Anomalisa (2015).

Charlie Kaufman has won many important awards for his work. These include an Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) and three BAFTA Awards. A famous film critic named Roger Ebert even called Synecdoche, New York "the best movie of the decade" in 2009. His screenplays are often listed among the greatest ever written.

About Charlie Kaufman

Early Life and Education

Charlie Kaufman was born in New York City on November 19, 1958. He grew up in Massapequa, New York, and later moved to West Hartford, Connecticut. In high school, Charlie loved being part of the drama club. He acted in many school plays.

After high school, he studied film at New York University. This is where he met Paul Proch, and they started writing scripts together.

Starting His Career in Comedy

In the 1980s, Charlie Kaufman and Paul Proch wrote funny articles and tried to get their screenplays made. They sent their ideas to many people in the film world. To support himself, Charlie worked different jobs, like in customer service.

In 1991, one of his scripts finally got noticed. He found an agent and moved to Los Angeles to find more writing jobs. He started writing for TV shows like Get a Life and The Dana Carvey Show. He often found it hard to get his unusual ideas produced.

Becoming a Film Writer

Charlie Kaufman became widely known for writing Being John Malkovich in 1999. He wrote this script in 1994, but many studios turned it down at first. Eventually, it reached director Spike Jonze, who decided to make it. The film earned Kaufman an Academy Award nomination.

After this success, another of his screenplays, Human Nature, was made into a film. He then reunited with Spike Jonze for Adaptation (2002). This film was very unique because it was about Charlie Kaufman himself trying to write the movie! He even created a fictional brother, Donald, who was also credited as a writer.

In 2004, Kaufman wrote Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This movie was directed by Michel Gondry. It was a big success and won Charlie Kaufman his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Directing His Own Films

Charlie Kaufman decided to direct his own movies. His first film as a director was Synecdoche, New York in 2008. This movie starred Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was a very deep film about life and time. While some critics loved it, it didn't do well at the box office. This made it harder for him to get funding for his next directing projects.

He also wrote and directed an animated film called Anomalisa in 2015. This movie was made using stop-motion animation. It was funded partly by fans through a website called Kickstarter. Anomalisa was praised by critics and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

In 2020, he directed I'm Thinking of Ending Things for Netflix. It was based on a book and received positive reviews.

Writing a Novel

In 2020, Charlie Kaufman released his first novel, called Antkind. He said he wrote it to be "unfilmable," meaning it would be too difficult to turn into a movie. The book is about a film critic trying to remember a lost movie.

Recent Work

In 2023, Charlie Kaufman directed a short film called Jackals & Fireflies. He even shot it using a Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone! He continues to work on new scripts for films and TV shows.

What His Work Is About

Charlie Kaufman's films and stories often explore big questions. He looks at ideas like:

• Who are we really? (identity)
• What does it mean to be alive? (meaning of life)
• What happens when we die? (mortality)

He often uses a style called metafiction. This means his stories sometimes talk about themselves or include fictional facts about his own life. For example, in Adaptation, he plays a fictional version of himself. His work is often described as surrealist, which means it has dream-like or very unusual elements.

Some of his favorite writers and directors who have influenced him include Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, and Philip K. Dick.

Personal Life

Charlie Kaufman lives in Manhattan, New York. He is married to Denise Monaghan, and they have a daughter named Anna.

Works

Film

Executive producer only

• Darkest Miriam (2024)
• The Actor (TBA)

Television

Plays

Literature

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

• 

  Kaufman (left) and Duke Johnson accepting an award for Anomalisa in 2015.

• 

  Kaufman at the 2020 Dublin International Film Festival.

See also

In Spanish: Charlie Kaufman para niños