Charles Stuart Kaufman (born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, filmmaker, and novelist. His work is distinguished by postmodernist and surrealist storytelling. He received his first Academy Award nomination (Best Original Screenplay) for Spike Jonze’s devout feature Being John Malkovich (1999), with John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place, and John Malkovich.
He received his second Academy Award nomination (Best Adapted Screenplay) for Jonze’s Adaptation (2002), with Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ron Livingston; and won Best Original Screenplay for Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), with Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson.
Other writing credits include Human Nature (2001), with Tim Robbins, Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Rosie Perez, Peter Dinklage, Place, Robert Forster, and Toby Huss; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), with Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney (who also directed), Julia Roberts, and Rutger Hauer; and the animated fantasy Orion in the Dark (2024), with the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Colin Hanks, Mia Akemi Brown, Ike Barinholtz, Nat Faxon, Golda Rosheuvel, Natasia Demetriou, Aparna Nancherla, Carla Gugino, Matt Dellapina, and Angela Bassett.
He made his directive debut on Synecdoche, New York (2008), with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, and Tom Noonan. His other directorial efforts include the stop motion animated dramedy Anomalisa (2015), with the voices of David Thewlis, Leigh, and Noonan – which was notated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature; and the psychological thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020), with Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, Thewlis, and the voice of Oliver Platt.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Being John Malkovich (1999) – directed by Spike Jonze – writer, executive producer
- Human Nature (2002) – directed by Michel Gondry – writer, producer
- Adaptation (2002) – directed by Spike Jonze – writer, executive producer
- Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) – directed by George Clooney -writer
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – directed by Michel Gondry – writer, co-story, executive producer
- Synecdoche, New York (2008) – director, writer, producer
- Anomalisa (2015) – co-directed with Duke Johnson – also writer, producer
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) – director, writer, producer
- Jackals & Fireflies (2023) – director – short
- Orion and the Dark (2024) – directed by Sean Charmatz – writer
- Darkest Miriam (2024) – directed by Naomi Jaye -executive producer
- How to Shoot a Ghost (2025) -director, producer – short
- The Actor (2025) – directed by Duke Johnson – executive producer
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