Career Highlights
- Synecdoche, New York stars Philip Seymour Hoffman Catherine Keener and Michelle Williams
- The film follows the professional and personal life of a regional theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in Synecdoche, New York
- Kaufman is a critically acclaimed, award-winning, TV and screenwriter whose resume includes BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION, and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
- SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK marks his film directorial debut
- Listed in TIME Magazines 2004 issue of the Top 100 most powerful people in Hollywood
Charlie Kaufman is an Academy Award, BAFTA and Independent Spirit Award-winning screenwriter, producer and director. He studied film at NYU and wrote plays and short films while in school. He moved to Los Angeles and was hired to write for different sitcoms and between shows he wrote the screenplay Being John Malkovich. His screenplay got the attention of Hollywood producers and the movie was made.
His directorial debut came in 2008 with the creation of Synecdoche, the story of an anguished playwright who is forced to deal with several women in his life. Kaufman is best known for creating not only Being John Malkovich, but also Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Time Magazine listed Kaufman in their 2004 issue of the Top 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood.
Charlie Kaufman and ThinkTalk Host Zack Sherwood discuss the writer's transition to directing in his feature film debut. Kaufman provides career advice for aspiring writers and directors and answers some questions from college students on his rise to become one of Hollywood's most critically acclaimed auteurs.
