How much of Adaptation really happened?

I get the feeling that the third act is mostly fiction.

It's all true! Except for John Laroche dying. I just scored my month's supply of green orchid-blow from him, so I know he's alive. Excellent stuff. I'm on it now! You are all such beautiful people from up here. Peace.

Well, there really is a book called The Orcid Thief, written by Susan Orlene, about (mostly) John Laroche...and Hollywood did hire Charlie Kaufman to write it, he did have trouble writing it, and he eventually did write himself into the screenplay (obviously). Also, the name of the screenwriting instructor played by Brian Cox is real.

Charlie Kaufman does not have a twin brother, probably isn't nearly quite as neurotic as he makes himself out to be in the film, and his imaginary brother wasn't killed (duh) and there was no drugs or murder attempts or stupid deus ex mania Alligators, or anything like that.

I watched this again, recently, and I think my favorite scene is where Charlie talks to Susan via her book jacket, and masterbates. It's almost as if the two are having creative artistic sex to create a movie out of their two proved formats (the novel, and the screenplay) creating Adaptation in the process...a mix of both of their styles. I like that.

Also, if you go see this again, wait until the end of the credits. There is a quote from Donald's screenplay "The Three," and at the end, the film is dedicated "in loving memory" to Donald. Some idiots saw this in the theater with me and said "Oh wow, so I guess that really happened!"

Sheesh.

if you ever get the chance- go check out the dust jacket for Robert McKee's STORY. Brian Cox is a dead ringer from the picture in the jacket.

and yes, what the guy above said- the third act, which starts right after Charlie talks to McKee in the bar, is the fictional part. Charlie has been troubled and doesn't have any idea how to finish his story and so right after he talks to McKee, most, if not all, of the things that he said he didn't want to do with the movie, happen.

pretty cool. very interesting. i personally enjoyed it more the second time around.

this is one of those movies unfortunatly i dont think will reach the right audience. Excellent stuff though, i hope for a loaded dvd.

The Deus Ex Machina didn't happen.

i feel special.. i used fancy latin words

Means "God of the Machine". Literally when a greek playwrite couldn't think of a way to end a story or resolve a situation he/she would have a god lowered from onto the stage by machine(pully) and would resolve the situation through some fantastic turn of events. In stories, it's basically the same thing. You have a story that can't go anywhere, can't end or whatever (.Adaptation) and so the writer, lacking any real foresight during the writing process, has to make somthing totally absurd happen in order to resolve the story...

Mckee actually tells Kaufman NOT to use a Deus Ex Machina... which he then goes ahead and does by making the orchid a drug, and having car crashes and guns, and aligators.

Think about it.

Although he does do many things ACCORDING to McKee's advice: establishes a conflict, etc. Basically, that last part is Donald's influence.

I'm still not sure why the alligator deus ex machina ending was used (the drug subplot has nothing to do with "deus ex machina," by the way - that's actually something INSPIRED by McKee, not something that would be discouraged by him), since Kaufman is more-or-less selling out and playing "by the rules." The whole movie is about his struggle to write the script on its own terms with respect to the book and ignoring the cookie-cutter McKees and Syd Fields of the world.

HOWEVER, this message is a little muddled as no "screenwriting expert" would tell you to use a deus ex machina to resolve your plot. Perhaps it's Kaufman's way of including a final wink to let us know his story hasn't become cookie-cutter... even if it means employing the worst cliche possible.

And I don't think the film broke from reality at one given point in the narrative. It was pretty much highly fictionalized right from the get-go, with what I suspect are a few scenes that were taken from Kaufman's life and Orleans' book.

That, or you play video games...

Eh hem...

Latin video games.

I have a fucking awful sense of humor.

Nice theory!

Maybe we'll be seeing "The Three" by Spike Jones soon!

The brilliant Jonze did not co-write it.

I think Donald is that little red devil who sits on every writer's shoulder baiting him to do the obvious Hollywood things. Probably what Kaufman wrestled with a lot while trying to adapt the book.

"Little red devil" is probably too strong a way of putting it. Maybe more like the naive part of every writer who wants to please an audience. Maybe "little red devil" would fit some types of writers better than others.

That's how I took it.

One wonders what it means that he's killed at the end, though...

I saw it twice, and I love this movie. The only problem is, everyone I recommended this movie to, hated it. Now I get to deal with everyone bitching at me. Same thing with Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. If movies don't have explosions and shit like that, it won't find it's audience.

He also "wow'd them in the end"

Quote:

He also "wow'd them in the end".