Writer, director and producer Charlie Kaufman will be honored with Variety‘s creative impact in screenwriting award during its virtual 10 Screenwriters to Watch event on Oct. 13.
The virtual event will be hosted by the Mill Valley Film Festival. Kaufman, who one of Variety‘s screenwriters to watch in 1999 for “Being John Malkovich,” will discuss his work in a conversation with Variety deputy awards and features editor Jenelle Riley during the program. The two will focus on the award-winning screenwriter’s latest film, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” The movie, based on Iain Reid’s novel of the same name, premiered on Netflix in September. Viewers can register for the virtual program here.
“Few screenwriters of his generation can claim the influence and impact of Charlie Kaufman,” said Variety executive vice president of global content Steven Gaydos. “Emerging as a major creative force with the audacious and innovative indie comedy classic ‘Being John Malkovich’ in 1999, Kaufman went on to pen such landmark hits as ‘Adaptation,’ the Oscar-winning ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ and the wonderfully off-kilter animation entry ‘Anomalisa.’”
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” stars Jessie Buckley as a woman visiting the parents of her new boyfriend, played by Jesse Plemons, despite her recurring thoughts of “ending things” between them. Following its release, it was one of the top 10 films on Netflix.
“With this year’s Netflix stunner, ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things,’ Kaufman has proven that more than two decades after his entry to the American cinema scene, his powers to provoke and expand the boundaries of American screenwriting continue to amaze and amuse,” Gaydos said.