Oscars flashback: Charlie Kaufman expresses 'Eternal' gratitude

Although determination are archetypal screenwriters aplenty successful Hollywood, it’s hard to ideate anyone much genuinely sui generis than Charlie Kaufman. After all, he’s the feline who managed to gain 2 nominations for the aforesaid film, erstwhile his fictitious duplicate brother, Donald, was nominated arsenic co-writer connected “Adaptation,” a mind-bending 2002 movie starring Nicolas Cage successful dual roles.

So it seemed each but inevitable that 1 time Kaufman would instrumentality the signifier astatine the Oscars — which is precisely what happened successful 2005, erstwhile helium scored his archetypal (and truthful acold only) aureate statuette, this clip successful the archetypal screenplay category.

‘Mind’ implicit matter

Kaufman had solo WGA penning recognition for the movie based connected a communicative by manager Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth and himself. A romanticist spot of magical realism, the movie imagined what it would beryllium similar if humans could hitch cleanable immoderate of their memories, with Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey playing onetime lovers who underwent the process to hide 1 different — oregon possibly not.

All 3 men took to the signifier to judge their Oscars from presenter Samuel L. Jackson, becoming the archetypal squad of writers to triumph successful the class since 1999, erstwhile “Shakespeare successful Love” duo Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard were victorious. It was Kaufman’s 3rd (or fourth, depending connected however you look astatine it) nomination; successful summation to his “Adaptation” twofer, he’d besides been nominated for archetypal screenplay connected 1999’s “Being John Malkovich.” This was Gondry’s and Bismuth’s 1 and lone information truthful far, but Kaufman would prime up an animated diagnostic information for “Anomalisa,” a 2015 movie helium wrote and co-directed.

Taking the stage, Kaufman said helium recovered the 30-second code countdown timepiece “intimidating.” He past thanked the “people who worked truthful creatively connected this movie” and gave peculiar shoutouts to Winslet (who was successful the audience, cheering him on) and Carrey. “And I’m expected to wrapper up now,” helium noted; past idiosyncratic successful the assemblage shouted retired astatine him. “No, I don’t privation to instrumentality my time,” helium answered back. “I privation to get disconnected the stage. So, convey you. Hi to my daughter, Anna.”

Fellow nominees

Terry George and Keir Pearson were nominated for penning “Hotel Rwanda.” George, who besides directed the film, had antecedently been recognized for co-writing “In the Name of the Father” with manager Jim Sheridan and would spell connected to triumph an Oscar successful 2012 for the live-action abbreviated movie “The Shore,” which helium wrote and co-produced with his daughter, Oorlagh George. This was Pearson’s archetypal and lone nomination.

John Logan, who was competing for his enactment connected “The Aviator,” would spell connected to person designation for penning “Hugo,” different movie directed by Martin Scorsese, and was archetypal nominated for the screenplay to Ridley Scott’s archetypal “Gladiator” film, shared that designation with co-writers David Franzoni and William Nicholson.

Mike Leigh, precocious BAFTA-nominated for his enactment connected “Hard Truths,” was nominated for “Vera Drake,” some arsenic manager and for the screenplay. He has received 7 Oscar nominations to date, archetypal for penning and directing 1996’s “Secrets & Lies,” followed by screenplay designation for 1999’s “Topsy-Turvy.” He would spell connected to beryllium nominated for 2008’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” and 2010’s “Another Year,” some times for his screenplay. He has yet to locomotion distant with a small golden man.

Finally, the class included 1 animated film: “The Incredibles,” written by Brad Bird. He has 5 nominations, including 2 wins for animated film: He picked up his archetypal Oscar earlier that nighttime for “The Incredibles,” and would get a 2nd triumph successful that class successful 2008 for “Ratatouille.” No animated movie has ever won successful the archetypal screenplay category: All 7 nominees from animated films successful the class person been Pixar films, starting with the archetypal “Toy Story” movie released successful 1995 and ending (thus far) with “Inside Out,” a 2015 movie that spawned a sequel that has been nominated successful this year’s animated diagnostic category.