Screenwriting 101: Charlie Kaufman

“My theory about creative work is that 99 percent of it is intention. When you go in with the intention of exploring something real, then that’s what you’ll get no matter what’s around it. It may not even be successful — people may not like it and it may make no money — but that is what you’ll have. And if you go into something with the intention of showing off and just being absurd for absurdity’s sake, then hey, that’s what you’ll get. I’m interested in trying to find a real moment between people, and hopefully that’s what people get out of my work.”

— Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York)

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