Without a doubt, Charlie Kaufman is one of the most unique writers in modern film. Every time he has a new project, fans are always expecting a new, interesting spin on something we’ve seen before. That is to say—Kaufman doesn’t write four-quadrant blockbusters or superhero films. And with those types of films being the bread and butter of Hollywood studios in 2023, Kaufman isn’t feeling so hot about the industry right now Compounding those feelings are the current WGA strike and the looming fear of A.I.
While speaking at a masterclass during the Sarajevo Film Festival (via Deadline), Charlie Kaufman took issue with the current state of the industry and how it is affecting the WGA strike. Let’s just say that Kaufman is really upset over the types of films that get made, and he’s concerned that A.I. could make writers obsolete if consumers are content with subpar movies.
“At this point, the only thing that makes money is garbage. It’s just fascinating. It makes a fortune, and that’s the bottom line,” Kaufman said about the current state of the film industry. “It’s very seductive to the studios but also to the people who engage and become the makers of that garbage, especially if they’re lauded for the garbage because they don’t have to look inward or think long about what they’re doing.”
Kaufman argued that, because consumers have been fed “garbage” and this is the content that makes money, writers are being “trained to eat and make the garbage too.” And this is where the concern about A.I. comes into play. One of the major headline-grabbing issues during the WGA strike has been how studios are trying to play hardball with writers about using A.I. The studios don’t want you to believe it’s a big deal, but writers are seeing it as an existential threat. Kaufman agrees with the later, considering writers are being used to make “shit” anyway.
“As long as they are in that arena making that shit, then you might as well have A.I. do it,” Kaufman said. “Once you give that up and allow the studios to use A.I. to write their screenplay, there’s no going back. Then there’s no hope because A.I. can’t create a moment of humanity. As long as people are doing it and there’s that struggle, then there’s always a chance that something will come out of it that will be worth something to human beings.”
Needless to say, Kaufman has some serious anger when it comes to the current state of the film industry. He believes the studio system is so focused on producing “shit,” and there’s no end in sight. Now, because the studios have been feeding the general public a diet of bad films, the audiences don’t expect anything more.
“The diet is so corrupted and has been for so long. It’s like if you eat shit all your life, you want shit,” he explained. “If you eat processed food, you crave it. And you wouldn’t if you hadn’t been fed it all your life. That’s what the movie machine does and I find it really offensive. It makes me angry.”
Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine a near-future where blockbusters and “shit” aren’t the moneymakers anymore. It would take a seismic paradigm shift to see that change. We’ll just have to wait and see how folks such as Charlie Kaufman adapt.
As for what Kaufman is up to next, the writer/director says he’s written a movie for a very big star, but in typical dour fashion, he doesn’t sound super optimistic that the project will happen.
“I don’t have anything. 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,” he told Indiewire a few months back. “And I’m working on a second novel, and I’m fretting. And that’s my schedule.”
Let’s hope that one gets made and we’ll be holding out hope until then.
