I’m Pondering Being in the Midst of Things

an excerpt from an interview with Charlie Kaufman

(Artwork by Sarah Tell)

INTERVIEWER- So, you know, I just want to get some of that real Charlie-Kaufman feeling here, to start out with.

CHARLIE KAUFMAN- Like…what…?

INTERVIEWER- Oh, you know. Like I want to get inside your head. What is Charlie Kaufman’s process? How does he approach a subject? How does he make all these intersecting lines connect into a whole? What’s his morning routine like?

CHARLIE KAUFMAN- Bagels and coffee.

INTERVIEWER- Oh. Nice. That’s great! Yeah. Basically, just stuff like that. The internecine struggle of the well-to-do, famous, and revered writer and his craft.

CHARLIE KAUFMAN- God. Internecine?

INTERVIEWER- I’m adlibbing.

CHARLIE KAUFMAN- We all are. Really, when you think about it. That’s our life, the way he interact with people…

INTERVIEWER- Sure. But we’re all scripted in our modes and modulations too. Muddled specks of flotsam agitated into all the abysmal jetsam. We have certain…um…tendencies that are like hardwired into us.

CHARLIE KAUFMAN- “Hi.” “Have a good one.” “See you later.” “That sucks.” Those repeated patterns in our everyday dialogue…