Folks, Harry dead sleep must Quint next, n joy zzzzzzzzzzzz
Ahoy there, my fine squirts! 'Tis I, the dependably crusty seaman here once more, this time with a little look at the first draft of Charlie Kaufman's newest script, Human Nature.
Yep. That Charlie Kaufman. The genius behind Being John Malkovich. That's the one. Human Nature feels a lot like Being John Malkovich in that it is both hilarious and fucking weird as hell... most of the time simultaneously!
Now, before I get into the meat of this sucker, I just want to say that the draft I read IS the first draft. I've checked www.imdb.com and have found character names that aren't in the draft I read. What does this mean? Well, it either means the script has undergone substantial rewrites or extras from the film have written into IMDB with their names and whatever they decided to call their "characters." If it is due to rewrites, then there are new characters added and maybe even a few minor ones taken away. So, what I'm about to give you readers a little advance peak of what the movie's tone and feel is like. The script is very solid, so I doubt that Kaufman changed too much of it.
The characters are already fleshed out in this early draft, so, the logical assumption would be good ol' Charlie's been adding a little bit more to 'em. Making them breath. Tweaking the minor areas for perfection. Either that or the studio took it away from our good friend Charlie and is currently fucking his terrific first draft ten ways to Sunday. I think, and I hope, it's the former.
That said, Kaufman's script had me in tears. It's absolutely hilarious in the way that only Charlie Kaufamn can be. If Kaufman's name hadn't been on the script, if I had received it without the title page, I still would have known he did it. In the first 2 pages I would have been thinking to myself, "This feels a lot like Being John Malkovich."
The script has three main characters. Nathan, a scientist who is obsessed with table manners due to his weird, strict parents. Lila, a pretty nature writer with a bit of a problem... I'm not sure how they're going to market this, whether or not they're going to give away her problem in the ad campaign, but just in case they aren't, I'm not going to be the one to tell. Let's just say her problem is pretty major and something she can't control. The third major character is Puff, a human raised in the wilderness by his mental hospital escapee father to be an ape.
The whole story is told in flashbacks by all three characters. Now, usually I'm not a very big fan of movies with excessive flashbacks, but goddamn if it doesn't work, at least on the page, for this film. Kaufman actually seems to make the flashbacks a character in and of itself, just as imaginative, quirky and weird as the other characters in his script.
The script starts out with the three main characters talking to the camera. One of them is being interrogated, one of them is addressing a congressional committee and one of them is dead. Yes, dead and telling his story. It's handled greatly to full comic effect.
Now, I don't think it's much of a spoiler to let you know who exactly is dead, confessing and addressing politicians being that before the first page is over we have a hint and by page three we know outright. Just in case you don't want to know, let me just say it's a great script with a lot of great talent involved. If you liked Being John Malkovich, then you'll dig this film.
I'm not going to go too deep into spoiler territory here, but if you keep reading you'll find out a little about the film that those spoiler sensitive people might not want to know. Fair warning.
Basically, I want to take a snippet from very early on in the script (page 6 as a matter of fact) and present it to you guys. By process of elimination you can guess who's dead, etc. This is Puff's flashback scene. His origin scene. It takes place in New Jersey in 1963. Take a look:
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EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT
It's raining and deserted. Puff's father, in pajamas, comes tearing around the corner. He runs crazily towards the camera, waving his arms, puffing out his cheeks.
PUFF (V.O.)
He had been committed the previous year after applying one too many times at our local zoo for the job of "apprentice ape."
Puff's father passes a newspaper vending machine, stops, goes back and examines the headline. It reads: President Kennedy Assassinated. Puff's father looks heavenward and clutches at his temples in despair.
PUFF (V.O.)
My father saw what the human race had come to while he was... in captivity. He felt something had to be done to create a better world.
EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - NIGHT
Puff's father climbs out a second story window with a small bundle in his arms. He runs off into the night.
PUFF (V.O.)
He stole little me from my mother, his ex-wife, and raised me, with love and tenderness and respect, as an ape like himself.
INT. AUDITORIUM - DAY
Puff looks pointedly at the congressmen.
PUFF
Apes don't assassinate their presidents, gentlemen.
The congressmen are shamed: they look down, they take notes, they mumble instructions to the assistants sitting behind them.
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See what I mean? The absurdity isn't with his story, but with the congressional reaction to it. It's a perfect example of Charlie Kaufman's writing. His humor is beautiful!
Throughout the script Kaufman molds his humor with absurdity, weirdness and really out there situations. I love his comedy. He takes very low brow material and makes it feel high brow! There are dick jokes, shit jokes, FUCKING MIDGET JOKES!!!!, sex jokes and even lesbian jokes and none of them come off as cheap. He doesn't make you feel bad for laughing at his jokes. There is no post-chuckle embarrassment. Very much like Being John Malkovich.
The whole script feels like Malkovich. The structure, the pacing, the characters, the dialogue all mirror Kaufman's previous film without being just Being John Malkovich 2: Electric Boogaloo. You know what I mean? It feels like it's from the same Universe that Malkovich was set in. One that is very similar to ours, but in which there exist portals into people's heads or where a weird scientist can train two mice table manners to such an extent that they know the correct fork to eat their salad with.
So, the main structure for the film, the script, is in place with the right kind of eccentric feel. What about the actual production? I was disappointed to learn that Spike Jonze isn't directing, just on as executive producer. The director of the film is a guy named Michel Gondry who has worked with Jonze on a film called Volumen with Bjork. I haven't seen it, but I'd imagine it's a Four Rooms type deal since there were about 6 or 7 directors listed including Gondry and Jonze.
Now we got a director on board that has worked with Spike Jonze... which makes me happy again. The two other names attached to the crew of Human Nature that make me happy are KK Barrett and Peter Andrus. They both worked on Being John Malkovich as the Production Designer and Art Director, respectively. So, we now have the look nailed down. I guess it's just up to the actors now. Let's take a look at who's involved.
-Nathan- The weird scientist with a small penis who has a great ambition to save the world by teaching animals how to use table manners. Don't worry, you'll understand when you see the film. He is being played by Tim Robbins. Perfect casting. Great actor who can pull of nerdy and still keep a sympathetic undertone. I couldn't imagine anybody else in this role when I found out he was cast.
-Lila- The real hero of the story who goes through a lot of hairy situations throughout the script. She's being played by Patricia Arquette. I like that casting. Is she the only who could be seen in this role? No, but I think her casting is very apt given the quirkiness of the script and the fact that most of the weirdness centers around her character.
-Puff- The man-beast taught to be civil by Nathan and Lila. He's being played by Rhys Ifans. Yeah, that guy from Notting Hill that posed in his underwear for photographers. He was also one of Adam Sandler's brothers in Little Nicky. I think he's terrifically cast. I believe he'll do this role justice. Being that one of the great comedies of the script is him turning from grunts and snorts to sounding Harvard educated, I think his accent will put a great spin his character.
-Gabrielle- This is the evil vixen of the script. Nathan's French-accented assistant who plots to steal him away from Lila. She is being played by an actress named Miranda Otto. She was the next door neighbor lady in What Lies Beneath and will be portraying Eowyn in Lord of the Rings.
The rest of the cast is pretty impressive. Nathan's parents are being played by Mary Kay Place and Robert Forster. They have some great moments in the script. "Tell him, Harold!" will be said a lot by geeks around the world after this movie comes out, I betcha. Rosie Perez is in it as well. Thankfully in a small role. She can be decent. I hope she surprises us all.
There's a very small role in film that I'm very excited about because an actor named Miguel Sandoval is cast in it. Who? He's a cool character actor who had a bit part in Jurassic Park, but is most well known for playing Archie, the punk that gets evaporated when he opens the trunk to the Malibu in RepoMan. I can't wait to see him on screen again even if it's just for a minute or two.
And of course, the great role only referred to as "Midget" in the script. I mean, c'mon! Having a midget in your movie, especially if it's as out there as Kaufman's films have been, automatically adds at least one star to the overall picture rating. You don't necessarily need a midget in your film to make it great, but it sure helps. George Lucas knew this. Spielberg knew this. Point of fact, extra seaman points for those out there who can spot the midget in my favorite movie, Jaws. It's kinda tricky, but give it a shot.
"Midget" in the script is great. Heroic, funny, smart. He rocks!
Well, my fine little squirts, that just about wraps up this one. If I can score a more recent draft of this flick, I'll let you know if they're still on the right track. Right now, this one is high on my list of must see flicks.
Keep yer eyeballs peeled, squirties! This is only the first of many gold nuggets I'm sharin' with ya' from my treasure chest. Trust me, the next one will be even bigger and purtier. Yes, I said "purtier." What do you expect? I'm a seaman! And it's time for this old salt to get back to chummin'. Til next time, constant readers, this is Quint signing off.
-Quint
