Coming from the writer best known for absurd movies like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York has become somewhat of a cult hit after bombing at the box office.
Synecdoche was the first film that Kaufman directed himself, and that’s clear from the beginning. The movie is full of dreamlike absurdities and watching it feels like living inside the mind of Kaufman, which makes for some fascinating behind-the-scenes facts. From the crew almost getting decapitated in an elevator to shooting during a heatwave, the facts are almost as bizarre as the movie itself.
Spike Jonze Was Originally Supposed To Direct The Movie
Being a great filmmaker in his own right, Spike Jonze wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t thanks to Charlie Kaufman, nor would Kaufman be here today if it wasn’t for Jonze.
After they were first introduced through Francis Ford Coppola, they began a great working relationship and Jonze directed Kaufman’s screenplays Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. So it comes as no surprise that Jonze was planning on directing Synecdoche, New York, but it conflicted with his progress on the children’s movie, Where The Wild Things Are.
It Was Originally Planned To Be A Horror Movie
While Jonze was still on board to direct and the writing/directing duo were kicking ideas around, it was originally going to be a horror movie. It was Sony who approached the two to conjure up a concept for a horror movie, and they started thinking about things that scared them, not demons and ghouls, but everyday things that are scary in the real world.
It translated well into the movie, as Caden’s outlook on life and aging is horrifying, but the end result is an absurd drama and it’s more trippy than scary.
The Harold Pinter Line Is Based On What Kaufman Heard On The News
At the beginning of the movie, Caden is reading the newspaper, and he exclaims, “Harold Pinter has died. Wait, no, he’s won a Nobel Prize.” That exact line is lifted from Sky News when a news anchor said the same thing live when they were trying to be the first news outlet to break the story.
As the movie is so ambiguous in every conceivable way, why Kaufman decided to include the line is a mystery, as it could be a commentary on news networks or he could simply just be a fan of Harold Pinter.
The Role Was Emotionally Taxing For Hoffman
Though the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman surely would have been used to it by that point, as the incredible actor only ever took roles that were emotionally exhausting, he explicitly mentioned that the role of Caden was emotionally taxing.
As the movie spans more than four decades of the character’s life, there are loads of events, including the deaths of loved ones, that he has to live through. But more than anything, Hoffman hated the prosthetics, yet it shaped up to be one of his best characters.
Emily Watson Found It Hard To Finish Reading The Script
As Kaufman’s movies, whether written or directed, generally tackle heartbreak and existential dread like I’m Thinking of Ending Things and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the screenplays are likely difficult enough just to read through.
When Emily Watson was first handed the script, she struggled to get to the end, but it isn’t for the reasons people would expect. The actress said that she had to keep pausing because she kept wondering who was playing the parts of all the characters.
The Crew Were Almost Killed In An Elevator
At the end of a long day, some of the crew, including Kaufman, had to pick up a last-minute shot in a building, and all of the crew piled into a tiny elevator. Before the elevator could reach the floor they were going to, it got stuck and came to a stop.
Kaufman recalls that they all thought they were going to plummet to their deaths, and when they managed to open the doors of the elevator, it was stuck between two floors. Each member of the crew plucked up the courage to jump out, risking getting decapitated.
Christopher Evan Welch Had Less Than A Day To Rehearse For His Role
In Synecdoche, Christopher Evan Welch plays a character playing a priest inside the fake New York, and Kaufman wrote the role 48 hours before he planned to shoot it.
Welch was cast last minute, and according to Vulture, Kaufman claims that the actor had less than a day to rehearse for it. And it’s quite a feat, as though the actor/priest is only in the movie for one scene, Welch has a three-minute, uninterrupted monologue, and he nails every word.
What The Title Means
Part of the movie’s failure at the box office, despite being a great film and just as mind-bending as Being John Malkovich, could be due to its title. Very few people know how to pronounce “synecdoche,” let alone know what it means.
The word means a part of something that represents a whole, or a whole that represents a part. But the name is also intended to reference Schenectady, New York, which is where the movie takes place.
Was Shot During A Heatwave
According to an interview with Indie Wire, Kaufman explained that the film was shot during a heatwave, and there were a lot of problems that came with it, not just everyone sweating profusely during the shoot.
The biggest problem came with the make-up and costume department. As Hoffman had to wear a costume and prosthetics to make him look fatter and older, one of the members of the crew had to poke holes in the outfit, as Hoffman’s sweat made it bubble.
Kaufman Cast Catherine Keener Because He Told Her He Will Cast Her In Everything He Makes
Catherine Keener and Kaufman have a long history, as she has starred in almost every Kaufman project up to this point. Starting with Being John Malkovich, in which Keener had a starring role, she then had a cameo in Adaptation and a main role in Synecdoche.
According to the same interview with Indie Wire, the reason is that Kaufman told the actress that he would cast her in every project he works on, though he hasn’t exactly stuck to his guns, as Keener was mysteriously absent from last year’s I’m Thinking Of Ending Things.