Monday, April 09, 2007

Kaufman's Players and Their Busy Schedules

Every movie that Charlie Kaufman has ever produced and written has earned him an academy award nomination and nominations for part of the acting crew, except for his film Human Nature.

Granted, that only leaves three films Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But all three of these films produced and written by Kaufman have their own modern day classic appeal. Nominated Actors/Actresses from these films include: Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper, Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Kate Winslet.

So what's going to happen when the ever creative Kaufman takes the director seat for his film Synecdoche, New York.

The film which reminds me of Superman Returns meets the Science of Sleep deals with a theatrical director trying to create a life size replica of New York City inside of a warehouse.

The strength of Kaufman's cast is tremendous, and you've got to wonder which of these people will walk away with a nomination from this picture.

The film stars:
  • Academy Award winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman
  • Academy Award 2-time nominee Catherine Keener (incidental once for a Kaufman film and once co-staring with Hoffman...could this be an ideal work environment for Keener)
  • Academy Award 2-time nominee Samantha Morton (Sweet and Lowdown, In America)
  • Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams (I still sometimes have a hard time believing this Dawson's creeker has that type of notoriety)
  • And the not yet nominated, but critically praised Tilda Swinton
In this list, it's hard to figure out who automatically might shine in the film and who will be noticed. But each of these actors have other critical projects this year to, so I expect to see some double sited critics awards for some of these stars.

  • Hoffman is also in three other major projects this year (Charlie Wilson's War, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, and The Savages)
  • Catherine Keener is also in the bio-pic An American Crime and Sean Penn's directorial film Into the Wild
  • Samantha Morton also plays Mary Queen of Scots in the Golden Age and in the film Control (as well as the romantic comedy about a meter maid called Expired).
  • Michelle Williams appears as the title character in Bronte, as well as has a role in I'm Not There, and the action-thriller The Tourist.
  • Tilda Swinton has five other projects scheduled for 2005 (most notably appearing in Michael Clayton and the title character in Julia)

Talk about a work load for some very talented actors. I think Keener has the best chance at a supporting nod for this film, call it a calculated hunch. And if the film is any good, Kaufman can at least expect that they will make way for him in the original screenplay category since no one is quite as original as Kaufman.

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4 comments:

ePastor James said...

I keep wondering--will this film be made in time for this year?

I certainly hope so, as I think this could go the full distance, as this sounds like his heaviest work yet.

From what I've heard, the role of Caden is a brilliant character and one that Hoffman will easily tear out of the park.

As far as the women will go, I believe it'll be Williams who garners the most attention. She plays his second wife, who according to the script, has two utterly brilliant scenes, especially her final appearance. And since Williams is an incredibly capable actress, I have the utmost confidence she'll be able to prove to her dissenters that her first nom was not a fluke in the least and prove to us fans that she's got it.

I simply can't wait for this. I haven't added it to my predictions, but I figure there's still hope for it to be released, so...perhaps I should...perhaps I should.

P.S. You also forgot to mention Confessions of a Dangerous Mind--but since that was tampered with, I suppose it shouldn't count XD.

RC said...

good thoughts cinematic, thanks for sharing them.

as far as confessions of a dangerous mind i did not include it because i was only counting the films that kaufman wrote and produced.

it certainly would be fun to have a hoffman light role to be mixed with some of the heavier and weightier roles of the year.

Sadie Lou said...

Thanks for alerting me on this film. I loved Eternal Sunshine and Being John Malkovich [sic].
I have to agree with you that Michelle Williams is a surprise talent coming from such cheesy roots as Dawson's Creek. Blech. As much as people love Katie Holmes--she hasn't evolved much since her tween soap-star days.
Williams has ventured out past all of that. Did you ever see the Station Agent?

Anonymous said...

Hoffman could get double nominations this year for both Best Actor for S,NY and Best Supporting Actor in Charlie Wilson's War.