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Adaptation.
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Adaptation. (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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Adaptation. (2002) -- A lovelorn screenwriter turns to his less talented twin brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere.
Adaptation. (2002) -- A lovelorn screenwriter turns to his less talented twin brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere.

Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   58,856 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 14% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Spike Jonze
Writers (WGA):
Susan Orlean (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Adaptation. on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 January 2003 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
Charlie Kaufman writes the way he lives... With Great Difficulty. His Twin Brother Donald Lives the way he writes... with foolish abandon. Susan writes about life... But can't live it. John's life is a book... Waiting to be adapted. One story... Four Lives... A million ways it can end.
Plot:
A lovelorn screenwriter turns to his less talented twin brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 39 wins & 48 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(46 articles)
Top 50 Hottest Young Actresses - Top 20
 (From The Movie Fanatic. 5 July 2009, 4:22 AM, PDT)

Top 50 Hottest Young Actresses - Top 20
 (From The Movie Fanatic. 5 July 2009, 4:22 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Could you be more Original? more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Nicolas Cage ... Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman

Tilda Swinton ... Valerie Thomas

Meryl Streep ... Susan Orlean

Chris Cooper ... John Laroche

Jay Tavare ... Matthew Osceola
Litefoot ... Russell (as G. Paul Davis)

Roger Willie ... Randy

Jim Beaver ... Ranger Tony
Cara Seymour ... Amelia Kavan

Doug Jones ... Augustus Margary

Stephen Tobolowsky ... Ranger Steve Neely (scenes deleted)

Gary Farmer ... Buster Baxley

Peter Jason ... Defense Attorney

Gregory Itzin ... Prosecutor

Curtis Hanson ... Orlean's Husband
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Orchid Thief (USA) (working title)
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MPAA:
Rated R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images.
Runtime:
114 min | Turkey:81 min (TV version)
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Latin
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Malaysia:U | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:L (video rating) | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (DVD rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Bern) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38094) | Portugal:M/12

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
All the crew members identified in the fictional 'Behind the scenes' sequence of Being John Malkovich (1999) are actually the same crew members playing themselves. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Susan and Laroche are walking through the swamp and Laroche calls Susan a "dumb bitch" she has sunglasses, but in the next shot of her, she has regular glasses. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Charlie Kaufman: [voiceover] Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier, my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked...
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Film Geek (2005) more
Soundtrack:
Wild Horses more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
89 out of 115 people found the following comment useful:-
Could you be more Original?, 15 March 2003
10/10
Author: Duane Barry from Amsterdam

Incredible.

Charlie Kaufman might just be the most genius screenwriter (I daren't say ever) at the moment. I mean, trying to adapt a book for a screenplay, not succeeding, yet in the process writing a screenplay about how you can't seem to adapt this book for a screenplay. Oh yeah, and also being helped by your not existing twin brother, and crediting him as co-writer, and being nominatad for an Oscar together with him.

Is anyone following this?

Kaufman seems to be the master of destroying the line between reality and fiction.

I kind of have a hard time saying anything about this movie, because I don't know what to say. You should just go and say it. There's nothing like it.

If you liked Being John Malkovic you wil definitely love this. If you hated BJM you might still like it. It doesn't have the absurdity and surreality of BJM. The story is just incredibly intelligently written.

Even though the movie is about how Kaufman is unable to adapt this book, he actually succeeds in doing just that in the process.

Jesus, I'm still totally stunned.

Jonze does do a very good job once again. But the direction is just outshined by the story...

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A profound provocative exploration alrodbel
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