One of the films I’m most curious about in 2008 is Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut Synecdoche, New York. Kaufman wrote the script — his first to go into production since 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — with the idea that Spike Jonze would direct. When Jonze took on Where The Wild Things Are, Kaufman stepped in to direct himself.
The film, which premieres at Cannes (where Kaufman will be the only first-timer in competition) is about Caden (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a theatre director who creates a full-size replica of New York within a warehouse in order to stage a play as the same time as his own body begins to fail. Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton are all in the cast as well. Above, sourced from Anne Thompson’s blog on Variety, is the most recent image from the film. The only other still, which debuted on IonCinema a while back, is below.
