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Adaptation.
Adaptation. film poster
Directed by	Spike Jonze
Produced by	Jonathan Demme Vincent Landay Edward Saxon
Written by	Susan Orlean (book The Orchid Thief) Charlie Kaufman (screenplay) and Donald Kaufman (screenplay)
Starring	Nicolas Cage Meryl Streep Chris Cooper Ron Livingston Brian Cox Maggie Gyllenhaal
Music by	Carter Burwell
Cinematography	Lance Acord
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	December 6, 2002
Running time	115 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

Adaptation. is a 2002 film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, although Donald Kaufman is also given writing credit. It earned Chris Cooper an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, along with overwhelming critical acclaim. It is the second film to be both written by Kaufman and directed by Jonze (the first being the critically acclaimed Being John Malkovich).

Contents 1 Summary 2 Cast 3 Awards 4 Financial measures 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

The screenplay is partially based on a true story except Donald Kaufman is not a real person. After the success of his screenplay for Being John Malkovich, Kaufman was hired to write a screenplay based on Susan Orlean's book, The Orchid Thief. However, he soon realized that the book simply couldn't be filmed. As he came under increasing pressure to turn in a screenplay, the "adaptation" became a story of a screenwriter's attempt to write a screenplay about a book that cannot be adapted into a screenplay. Kaufman handed the script to his employers in the firm belief he would never work again. Instead, the backers enjoyed the script so much they decided to abandon the original project and film Kaufman's screenplay instead.^{[citation needed]}

The film is self-referential, in that we see the creative process behind the movie we are watching. At one point, Charlie is unable to think of a satisfactory ending for the script, and asks his brother Donald (also played by Cage) how he would end it. At that moment, the style of the movie changes to Donald's style of scriptwriting, with intrigue, sex, drugs, car chases and guns replacing abstraction and angst. Another example is during Mckee's seminar while we hear Charlie in a voice over Mckee screams at his audience "God help you if you use voice over!" and immediately Charlie's voice over stops.

Throughout the course of the film, Charlie writes or dictates ideas for his script of The Orchid Thief that are in fact used in this movie itself, such as the rapid timeline of Earth's development, or even of himself sitting there talking into a tape recorder. As well, after Charlie tells the producer the things that he doesn't want his script to turn into a 'typical' Hollywood movie, where characters fall in love, or it turns out to be about drugs, or somebody unexpectedly dies, virtually all of them occur after Donald "takes over" the writing of the movie.

The self-referential nature of the film raises questions as to Donald's existence: that is, whether he is a real person, or merely an embodiment of one aspect of Charlie's personality (as he is in real life). Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Donald is not only credited as a co-writer for the film, but the movie's end credits feature a dedication to his memory (implying that, if he is indeed an existing individual, he died during the writing of the screenplay. In fact, Donald's character dies in the movie). In addition, The 3 is assumed to be an existing screenplay, and an excerpt from it is also featured in the credits. Another reference to Donald and his film can be found on the DVD release in the filmography section on the disc. It includes a page for Donald, listing his works as Adaptation. and The 3.

An ironic aspect of the film's post-modern self-referencing is the appearance of Robert McKee (Brian Cox), a real-life host of screenwriting seminars. McKee is renowned for warning his students about the technique of the deus ex machina. The real irony here is, of course, that McKee becomes the deus ex machina of the film by solving Charlie's problems with a simple formula.

The movie talks about the "Holy Grail", but all of the characters' quests in the story either fail or turn out to be futile:

• Charlie Kaufman wanted to write a movie just about flowers, and to impress Susan Orlean. He failed on both counts. Also, he failed in writing a screenplay wherein nothing much changes, as in "real life", seeing as his character prevails and finishes his screenplay.
• John Laroche wanted to be a leader in many different and obscure fields. Whenever he accomplished this, however, he would abandon his hobby for a completely new one.
• Susan Orlean wanted desperately to see the Ghost Orchid and care passionately about something. When she saw the Ghost Orchid, she was disappointed. When she found passion, she devolved into a hopeless addict.
• Donald Kaufman didn't really want anything out of life but he lucked into all the things his brother Charlie was desperate for and wrote a hit script called The 3.

• Nicolas Cage - Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
• Meryl Streep - Susan Orlean
• Chris Cooper - John Laroche
• Cara Seymour - Amelia Kavan
• Tilda Swinton - Valerie Thomas
• Ron Livingston - Marty Bowen
• Brian Cox - Robert McKee
• Maggie Gyllenhaal - Caroline Cunningham
• Jim Beaver - Ranger Tony
• Judy Greer - Alice the Waitress
• Litefoot - Russell
• Doug Jones - Augustus Margary
• Jay Tavare - Matthew Osceola
• Stephen Tobolowsky - Ranger Steve Neely (scenes deleted)
• Roger Willie - Randy

Adaptation. won one Academy Award (Cooper for Best Supporting Actor) and was nominated for three others:

• Cage for Best Actor
• Streep for Best Supporting Actress
• Charlie and Donald Kaufman for Adapted Screenplay. Donald became the first truly fictitious person nominated for an Oscar. Oddly, the screenplay technically isn't an adaptation of The Orchid Thief, but in fact is a fictionalized account of Kaufman's attempt to adapt the book to film.

It won best adapted screenplay awards from these institutes:

• the BAFTA
• Boston Society of Film Critics
• Broadcast Film Critics Association
• Chicago Film Critics Association
• Florida Film Critics Circle
• Golden Satellite
• National Board of Review, USA
• New York Film Critics Circle
• Online Film Critics Society
• PEN Center USA West Literary
• San Diego Film Critics Society
• Southeastern Film Critics Association
• Toronto Film Critics Association

• Production Budget: $19 million^[1]
• Opening weekend U.S. gross: $2,636,924
• Total U.S. box office gross: $22,498,520
• Total Foreign box office gross: $10,302,653

• The Player, another satire of American films.

• Adaptation. at the Internet Movie Database
• Adaptation. at BeingCharlieKaufman.com
• Adaptation. at Rotten Tomatoes
• Adaptation. Real Story vs. Reel Story at ChasingtheFrog
• Adaptation. September 24, 1999 draft script
• Adaptation. November 21, 2000 draft script
• Adaptation. Film Review

Film Awards 2002 (Best Picture)
Industry: (USA, Europe and Australia)
Academy Awards (Chicago) | Australian Film Institute (Rabbit-Proof Fence) | BAFTA Awards (The Pianist) | César Awards, France (The Pianist) | European Film Awards (Hable con ella) | Genie Awards, Canada (Ararat) | Golden Globe Awards (Drama: The Hours / Musical or Comedy: Chicago) | Goya Awards, Spain (Los lunes al sol) | Image Awards (Antwone Fisher) | Independent Spirit Awards (Far from Heaven) | Satellite Awards (Drama: Far from Heaven / Musical or Comedy: My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
Festival: (International)
Berlin, Germany (Golden Bear: Bloody Sunday and Spirited Away) | Cannes, France (Golden Palm: The Pianist) | Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (Crystal Globe: Rok dábla) | Sundance, USA (Grand Jury Prize: Personal Velocity: Three Portraits) | Venice, Italy (Golden Lion: The Magdalene Sisters)
Critics: (USA and Canada)
Boston (The Pianist) | Broadcast Film Critics Association (Chicago) | Central Ohio (Punch-Drunk Love) | Chicago (Far from Heaven) | Dallas-Fort Worth (Chicago) | Florida (Adaptation.) | Kansas City (About Schmidt) | Las Vegas (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) | Los Angeles (About Schmidt) | National Board of Review (The Hours) | National Society of Film Critics (The Pianist) | New York (Far from Heaven) | Online Critics (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) | Phoenix (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) | San Diego (Far from Heaven) | San Francisco (The Pianist) | Seattle (Far from Heaven) | Southeast (The Hours) | Toronto (Adaptation.) | Vancouver (The Hours) | Washington DC Area (Road to Perdition)