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Just a quick little check-in for anyone wondering how goes the site re-design/upgrade: it goes well. The major stuff is done--the updated functionality of the site. Now it's all about visuals, tweaking and testing and adjusting fonts and colours and whatnot. I'll be interstate shortly, for a couple weeks, but after that I'll get back to it. It's not a massive change, the main thing is it should look better on mobile devices and more like a site that wasn't designed 10 years ago.

The WGA went on strike this week, and in the lead-up to it Charlie gave a rallying speech about the importance of writers in the film industry (the importance of real art in general, really), and so it seems like a good time to mention Steamboat Willie Returns. It's a screenplay by Redditor u/PCchongor:

Inspired by Charlie Kaufman's WGA speech last month, I wrote a bonkers script in solidarity about a writer who teams up with Cinderella, Kaufman, and public domain Mickey to stop a studio head from using A.I. to eliminate the need for human imagination.

I don't often mention screenplays by other writers, for many obvious reasons, but this one got a Blacklist Recommend. What's that, you say?

The Black List is a platform for writers to showcase their features, pilots, and plays for industry professionals and get high-quality evaluations from vetted readers. (Source)

I've been asked not to upload the script, but if this sounds like something you might dig, you can check out u/PCchongor's post here, and/or email him here.

Eva HD and Charlie are becoming quite the pair. You'll remember HD's "Bonedog" featured in I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and later Charlie directed a short film adaptation of HD's poem Jackals & Fireflies. Now Eva has a new book coming out, The Natural Hustle (which includes 'Fireflies'), and Charlie will be in attendance for the book's launch--he's one of a few guests who'll perform some readings.

This is on Sunday, April 2nd at 5pm, Kingston Hall in New York.

Two fun facts: The Natural Hustle is dedicated "For Charlie, who helped," and Antkind included Eva HD in the Acknowledgments.

Thanks to u/pavingmomentum and u/agaetisbyrjun22!

In other news, I'm still working on re-designing BCK behind the scenes. Bit of a delay, because half of my house got flooded a month ago, joy! Also I take forever to do anything even on a good day.

Here it is! Video of Charlie's fantastic speech upon receiving the WGA's Laurel Award.

Charlie received the WGA Laurel Award on Sunday--it's a lifetime achievement award--and his acceptance speech was exactly the kind of eloquent, thoughtful speech we've come to expect from him. He used his time on stage as a kind of rallying cry to other artists, and as a denouncement of Hollywood suits.

Via Deadline:

“We are trained to believe that what we do is secondary to what they do,” said Kaufman, taking a dig at studio executives. [...]

“We are trained to do the bidding of people who are motivated not by curiosity but who are protecting their jobs,” he added, to what was the first round of major applause tonight during the awards show in the Fairmont Century Plaza ballroom.

“Our work is to not contribute to their fortunes or our own, it is not to please them or critics or audiences,” he said, “Our work is to reflect the world, saying what is true in the face of so much lying.”

“The rest is window dressing at best,” he continued.

“Adrienne Rich wrote ‘I do know that art means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of the power which holds it hostage,’ ” Kaufman said to another round of cheers.

“The world is a mess, the world is beautiful, the world is impossibly complicated and we have the opportunity to explore that.”

“If we give that up for the carrot, then we might as well be the executives,” the Being John Malkovich scribe added. “We have become their minions. I have dropped the ball, wasted years seeking the approval of people with money.”

“Don’t get trapped in their world of box office numbers! We don’t work for them!” Kaufman exclaimed to a third round of applause.

“We don’t work for the world of box office numbers, we work for the world.”

[...]

“They tricked us into thinking we can’t do it without them,” he said. “But the truth is they cannot do anything of value without us.”

And the ballroom went wild. (Source)

Jessie Buckley presented the award.

The Laurel speeches of previous winners are on WGA's YouTube channel, and Good Lord, hopefully it won't be long before they upload this one. I need to see it.

Neat interview at indieWIRE with Charlie, in which he gives the lowdown on the making of Jackals & Fireflies, hiw internal monologue, the relationship between Jackals and Ending Things, and a potential screening of his ill-fated FX pilot How and Why.

Some bits:

“So much of it is about the experience of being anywhere, but specifically in New York, and we shot as much as we could all over the city,” Kaufman said. “Everybody involved in it became very sort of aware. We had people say things like, ‘I always walk around with earphones on or earbuds, and I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m starting to listen to people’s conversations that I’m passing on the street.’ I thought that the poem, and then consequently the movie, did a service in that regard, in that it reminded people to be in the world that they’re in.”

Kaufman and H.D. first met when they were completing artist residencies at MacDowell in New Hampshire (Kaufman was working on his novel, while H.D. was crafting a new poetry manuscript). Their connection was quick, and Kaufman says they remain “very close” to this day.

“[Jackals] is about a lone woman in the world; [Ending Things] is about a lone man,” Kaufman wrote. “Whereas the man’s experience is one of rural isolation, the woman’s is one of urban community. The male character in ‘ITOET’ wants to imbue the woman with idealized traits and the female character in ‘J&F’ accepts the world’s embrace, its multifarious and variegated forms. It is true that in general men become more isolated as they age and women form communities. Perhaps the two films reflect this.”

Kaufman hopes the IFC event will lead to other screenings of his work at the theater. He mentioned that his John Hawkes-starring FX pilot “How and Why.”

"I wrote a screenplay that Ryan Gosling might do, might act in, and we’re going to go out with it at some point, I guess, and see if we can get it set up. And I’m working on a second novel, and I’m fretting. And that’s my schedule.” (Source)

It's out, and it's online! Not only that, but Jackals & Fireflies--the new short from Charlie Kaufman and Eva HD--has its own YouTube channel, entirely separate from any of the Samsung accounts the project had thus far been linked to. Not sure what else (if anything) might get posted there, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

The film clocks in at 20 minutes, and I don't know about you, but I had to turn the sound waaay up on it. The YouTube description says, in part, "The filmmakers kindly ask you please set the resolution to 4K and allow to buffer for optimal viewing experience." So you might want to do that, too.

The short had its theatrical debut Thursday night at NYC's IFC Center, playing alongside I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Charlie participated in a Q&A after, and you can check that out here.

WGA West is set to honour Charlie with the Laurel Award on March 5. Nice! Via Deadline:

Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman will be this year’s recipient of the WGA West’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement. The lifetime achievement award, which goes to members who have “advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter,” will be presented March 5 during the 75th annual Writers Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (Source)

Jackals & Fireflies will screen as part of the Galaxy Unpacked event at the Galaxy Experience Space in San Francisco, February 1. This news comes via the Samsung US Newsroom. At a later date, CK will also present the film in New York City.

Best known for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York, Kaufman took advantage of the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s filming capabilities to create a short visual art film in beautiful, crystal-clear detail. The film, titled Jackals and Fireflies, is based on a poem by Eva H.D. who plays the role of poet, narrator, and lead actor in this uniquely Kaufmanesque love letter to New York City. Galaxy S22 Ultra’s Nightography allowed acclaimed Director of Photography Chayse Irvin to effectively capture New York’s famous night scenes, revealing the City to viewers as if they were witnessing with their own eyes. Kaufman found shooting with Galaxy to be an “effective approach” for bringing the film to life, and is very happy with the final result, adding that “…the finished product is beautiful.” (Source)

Samsung Malaysia have tweeted 2 minutes of Charlie and Eva HD's upcoming short, Jackals & Fireflies. Feels like this is the opening of the film. On that note, I wonder how long the complete film is?

Filmed #withGalaxy S22 Ultra.

Official trailer of ‘Jackals & Fireflies’ a short film by Charlie Kaufman.

Coming soon.

Learn more about Galaxy S22 Ultra: https://t.co/CfFXrGZAL6#GalaxyS22Ultra #Samsung #CharlieKaufman #Film pic.twitter.com/1JpwIaULbJ

— Samsung Malaysia (@SamsungMalaysia) January 23, 2023