One of the most talked about scripts of the year, Adaptation is the
story of an orchid collector (Chris Cooper), a journalist (Meryl Streep,
as author Susan Orlean), and the screenwriter (Charlie Kaufman, played
by Nicolas Cage) who, in adapting Orlean's bestselling book The Orchid
Thief, writes himself and his twin brother (also played by Cage) into
the movie.
In the foreword, written exclusively for this Newmarket edition, Orlean
reveals her own struggle to tell the story of the orchid, and her
delight that "strangely, marvelously, hilariously, Kaufman's screenplay
has ended up not being a literal Adaptation of my book, but a
spiritual one."
In a fascinating interview, Kaufman and Jonze take readers behind the
scenes of Adaptation and their other films to speak about how they
collaborate, where truth and fiction diverge, the challenges of
balancing various storylines, why they do not like to comment on the
meaning of their work, and Kaufman's approach to writing: "I try to
write in the midst of confusion and be strong enough to stay there,
rather than swim to the shore of some kind of conclusion."
Finally, screenwriting guru Robert McKee's commentary attempts to
analyze Kaufman's work, identifying many of his themes including "that
grand twentieth-century preoccupation with the Self."
In the acclaimed Newmarket Shooting Script series format, the book
includes the complete screenplay, Orlean's foreword, the interview with
Kaufman and Jonze, McKee's critical commentary, 24 black-and-white
stills, and cast and crew credits.
