Adaptation DVD

Adaptation
The creative team behind Being John Malkovich -- director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman -- return with this equally offbeat comedy, in which Kaufman himself becomes the leading character. Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is a gifted but profoundly neurotic screenwriter who, after the success of Being John Malkovich, has been hired to write a script adapted from the nonfiction book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. But while Charlie is obsessive about his work, he's also intensely paranoid, given to deep depression, socially inept, and terrified of talking to women, qualities which are making it difficult to get on with his work or hold on to his tenuous relationship with girlfriend Amelia (Cara Seymour). Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin brother, Donald Kaufman (also played by Cage), has shown up to move in with his brother. Emotionally, Donald is Charlie's polar opposite -- a loudmouthed, over-confident, superficial party animal who has an easy way with the ladies. Donald has decided to follow his brother's footsteps and take up screenwriting as well, but embracing the dictates of screenwriting tutor Robert McKee (Brian Cox), he's cranking out a cliché-ridden serial-killer Thriller when not busy making time with new girlfriend Caroline (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As Donald blazes through his screenplay, Charlie slowly picks away at his story, in which author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) chronicles John Laroche (Chris Cooper), a scruffy but devoted plant enthusiast who tries to save rare species of orchids by stealing them from their natural home in the swamps of Florida. As John and Susan become better acquainted, they find themselves attracted to one another; similarly, Charlie finds himself increasingly fascinated with Susan, and finds himself falling in love with her, even though he's only seen her photo on the dust jacket of her book. Charlie arranges to meet Susan, but is too nervous to confront her face to face, so he sends Donald (who has just scored a seven-figure deal for his script) in his place, while he attends a screenwriting seminar held by McKee. Adaptation also features Tilda Swinton, Judy Greer, and Stephen Tobolowsky. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Nicolas Cage as Charlie Kaufman Nicolas Cage as Donald Kaufman Meryl Streep as Susan Orlean Chris Cooper as John Laroche Brian Cox as Robert McKee Tilda Swinton as Valerie Cara Seymour as Amelia Judy Greer as Alice the Waitress Maggie Gyllenhaal as Caroline Ron Livingston as Marty Jay Tavare as Matthew Osceola Stephen Tobolowsky as Neely Peter Jason as Defense Attorney Curtis Hanson as Orlean's Husband

Crew Peter Andrus - Art Director Justine Baddeley - Casting Kim Davis-Wagner - Casting Ann Roth - Costume Designer Casey Storm - Costume Designer Thomas Patrick Smith - First Assistant Director Spike Jonze - Director Dan Bradley - Second Unit Director Eric Zumbrunnen - Editor Peter Saraf - Executive Producer Charlie Kaufman - Executive Producer Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score) KK Barrett - Production Designer Lance Acord - Cinematographer Vincent Landay - Producer Jonathan Demme - Producer Edward Saxon - Producer Gene Serdena - Set Designer Gray Matter FX - Special Effects Richard Beggs - Sound/Sound Designer Drew Kunin - Sound/Sound Designer Donald Kaufman - Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman - Screenwriter James Fealy - Additional Cinematography Gray Marshall - Visual Effects Supervisor Michael Kirchberger - Supervising Sound Editor Susan Orlean - Book Author

Adaptation
Critics charged with the divine headache of describing Adaptation, in all its twisted magnificence, should find it appropriate that the story concentrates on the paralysis of writer's block, brought on by the impossible urge to say everything. The sophomore collaboration between screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze is so drenched with unorthodox ideas, yet so fundamentally accessible, that it actually outdoes the groundbreaking Being John Malkovich in existential pretzel logic, while remaining digestible to a middle-brow audience. Kaufman's real-life struggles adapting Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief get brilliantly expanded into a self-reflexive narrative of sublime originality, in which screenwriter, author, and muse become intertwined, and such rich topics as artistic integrity, social awkwardness, and sibling rivalry get teased and prodded. Not only has Kaufman written himself into the proceedings, but in Nicolas Cage, he's found an exquisite choice to interpret himself and his twin brother -- an imaginary character given "real" life by receiving a screenwriting credit. Sweating, stammering, lowering his eyes, and imploding in a crisis of relevance -- then doing just the opposite as Donald -- Cage kicks his own career out of neutral, at least briefly exchanging the hunt for ever-bigger paychecks with work that truly matters. Although the stories of Orlean (Meryl Streep) and John Laroche (Chris Cooper) both carry a vital urgency, this is Kaufman's film, full of the anxieties of a kinky-haired shlub whose overactive imagination is both his meal ticket and his curse. Inasmuch as it eventually imitates the very story structure it abhors, Adaptation is the rare film that both attacks and revels in the humbling, soul-crushing yet exhilarating mechanics of Hollywood moviemaking. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
 

Charlie Kaufman: Academy, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Charlie Kaufman: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (winner) Charlie Kaufman: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Writer (nominated) Charlie Kaufman: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (winner) Charlie Kaufman: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Charlie Kaufman: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (Runner-up) (winner) Charlie Kaufman: National Board of Review, Best Screenplay (winner) Charlie Kaufman: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Screenplay (winner) Charlie Kaufman: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (winner) Charlie Kaufman: Writers Guild of America, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Chris Cooper: Academy, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Chris Cooper: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Chris Cooper: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Chris Cooper: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Chris Cooper: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Chris Cooper: National Board of Review, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Chris Cooper: National Society of Film Critics, Best Supporting Actor (Runner-up) (winner) Chris Cooper: Screen Actors Guild, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Chris Cooper: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Donald Kaufman: Academy, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Donald Kaufman: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (winner) Donald Kaufman: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) Donald Kaufman: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (Runner-up) (winner) Donald Kaufman: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Screenplay (winner) Donald Kaufman: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (winner) Donald Kaufman: Writers Guild of America, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Maggie Gyllenhaal: Chicago Film Critics Association, Most Promising Performer (winner) Meryl Streep: Academy, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Meryl Streep: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Meryl Streep: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Meryl Streep: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Nicolas Cage: Academy, Best Actor (nominated) Nicolas Cage: Golden Globe, Best Actor - Musical or Comedy (nominated) Nicolas Cage: Screen Actors Guild, Best Actor (nominated) Nicolas Cage: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Actor (winner) Spike Jonze: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated)

American Film Institute, Top Ten Movie of the Year (winner) Berlin International Film Festival, Silver Bear (winner) Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Picture (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Picture - Musical or Comedy (nominated) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated) Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Picture (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DTS: Digital Theater Systems (akin to 5.1) DDS: Dolby Digital Surround Additional Features: Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video Mastered in high definition Widescreen presentation Audio: English DTS, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2-channel Dolby Surround, French 5.1 Dolby Digital Subtitles: English, French Cast & filmmaker filmographies Trailer Animated menus Scene selections DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 115 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Opening Monologue [2:01] 2. Charlie Kaufman, Screenwriter [2:04] 3. Valerie [2:04] 4. John Laroche [3:45] 5. Donald, Charlie's Twin Brother [2:18] 6. Amelia Kavan [7:03] 7. Delusions of Grandeur [3:44] 8. Spot Your Flower [1:44] 9. Orlean's Dinner Party [2:38] 10. Fuck Fish [2:01] 11. Alice, the Waitress [4:36] 12. The Santa Barbara Orchid Show [8:12] 13. Darkness Descends [6:06] 14. Marty the Super Agent [4:09] 15. Susan's Advice [3:38] 16. The 3 [2:15] 17. Lost in the Fakahatchee [1:30] 18. Robert McKee's Story Seminar [6:21] 19. Drinks With Bob [3:59] 20. The Great Donald's Advice [3:14] 21. Impersonating Charlie [2:09] 22. Spying on Susan [1:55] 23. I'm Very Happy Now [4:39] 24. Secrets Revealed [5:06] 25. Return to the Swamp [5:46] 26. Are They Gone? [5:27] 27. Deus ex Machina [3:24] 28. Happy Together [4:33]