From the director and writer of Being John Malkovich--a film by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, from a screenplay by Charlie and Donald Kaufman about the adaptation of the bestselling book The Orchid Thief--an exciting new filmbook in the Newmarket Shooting Script® series.
This latest head trip from director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) concerns 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 Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief, writes himself into the movie.
The Orchid Thief tells the story of a Florida man who schemes to clone the "ghost orchid" and sell it to people all over the world who are struck with orchidelirium, the obsession with collecting rare orchids at any price. Adaptation: The Shooting Script® includes the complete screenplay, a selection of 20 black-and-white movie stills, as well as an introduction by Charlie Kaufman.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Beautifully done:
I have not yet read 'The Orchid Theif', and as such am in a good position to comment on the greatness of this movie in stand-alone form. Charlie Kaufman is a brilliant screenwriter - and Adaptation is a masterpiece. The point he has tried to make in adapting 'The Orchid Theif' to screenplay is that if he were to adapt the book in it's original form, it would not 'make it' in the movie industry without any cliched Hollywood moments (scandal, sex, murder etc..). A movie built solely on 'flowers' would... more info
It's About The Process!:
First and foremost, I would have to say that this is one of my favorite movies. Charlie Kaufman really knows how to write such a compelling and remarkable movie. Second, many people have this misconception that ther movie was supposed to be based on the novel "The Orchid Thief". What people fail to realize is that once a screenwriter is hired to adapt a novel, it is their job to write the screenplay in dramatic screen form. In ther movie, if people paid closer attention, Kaufman was clearly trying to... more info
This is about a screenplay.. not a book.:
Adaptation by Charlie Kaufman (film dir. by Spike Jonze) is like the name might imply, about adaptation. Many critics of this script complain that it is a failure of Suzanne Orlean's novel "The Orchid Thief" but I disagree. The first point to make I've already said: it's about adapting a book. Now, there are plenty of references to the orchid thief, and this script is inexticably linked with the book, but the novel, as Kaufman says in the movie "is a beautiful book about flowers... I just want to make a... more info
An abomination:
Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief is a true gem - wonderfully written and highly entertaining. I don't know what Charlie Kaufman was thinking but this is no "adaptation" of The Orchid Thief. It's really a shame that such a fine book is associated with this screenplay. Surely, Kaufman could have come up with a more creative way to adapt The Orchid Thief for the screen. This screenplay is little more than a rant on the film industry. It doesn't do justice to Orlean's work.
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