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Being John Malkovich

Ever wanted to be someone else? Now you can.

1999 · 113 min · Comedy
7.7 Modest
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Comedy Drama Fantasy

One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.

Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Year
1999
Studio
Propaganda Films · Single Cell Pictures · Gramercy Pictures

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Origins

Charlie Kaufman's original idea was simply a story about a man who falls in love with someone who is not his wife; he gradually added elements like the cramped 7½ floor of the Mertin-Flemmer building.

Origins

Kaufman wrote the script on spec in 1994, and though it was widely read by studio executives, all of them turned it down before it eventually reached Spike Jonze via Francis Ford Coppola.

Origins

New Line Cinema's chairman Robert Shaye passed on the project reportedly asking, 'Why the fuck can't it be Being Tom Cruise?'—a question Jonze recalled Malkovich himself later echoed.

Casting

Charlie Kaufman insisted there was never another actor considered for the title role; the script was always written as 'Being John Malkovich' even before he expected the real Malkovich would read it, partly because the actor's name was fun to repeat.

Casting

Jonze's then-father-in-law Francis Ford Coppola helped contact Malkovich, and Jonze flew with producer Sandy Stern to Malkovich's home in France, where the actor was reportedly 'half intrigued and half horrified' by the script before agreeing to star.

Casting

John Cusack got the role after asking his agent for the 'craziest, most unproduceable script' he could find, which led him to Kaufman's screenplay and an audition.

Casting

Catherine Keener initially disliked the character of Maxine and didn't feel right for the part, but took the role because of her admiration for Spike Jonze's prior music video work; she was later nominated for an Academy Award.

Casting

Cameron Diaz's makeup artist Gucci Westman deliberately styled her to look 'homely' for the role, and since the script gave minimal physical descriptions, Diaz didn't realize how unrecognizable she would become on screen.

Effects

The film's puppets were built by Kamela Portuges-Robbins and Images in Motion, and animated by professional puppeteer Phillip Huber, who controlled them using strings rather than rods and even swung them on high wires.

Filming

Principal photography began on July 20, 1998 with a $10 million budget, shooting mainly in Los Angeles, including locations at the University of Southern California and the Observation Bar aboard the RMS Queen Mary.

Casting

The film features cameo appearances by director Spike Jonze as Derek Mantini's assistant, Brad Pitt as a miffed star in a documentary segment, Sean Penn as himself, and an uncredited David Fincher as Christopher Bing in a pseudo-documentary about Malkovich.

Memorable quotes

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Sounds great. Who the fuck is John Malkovich?

Maxine Lund hearing about a mysterious portal into someone's mind

I'd fuck me. [Watching television documentary on his puppeteering when he's in John Malkovich's body.]

Craig Schwartz discovering his own body through John Malkovich's eyes

It's my head, Schwartz! It's my head!

John Malkovich outraged that his mind is being invaded

Do you have any idea what it's like to have two people look at you, with total lust and devotion, through the same pair of eyes?

Maxine Lund experiencing the thrill of being desired by multiple consciousnesses simultaneously

I have been to the dark side. I have seen a world that no man should see.

John Malkovich traumatized after experiencing the portal

Behind the stubble and the too-prominent brow and the male-pattern baldness... I sensed your feminine longing. And it just slew me.

Maxine Lund describing what attracted her to Lotte's hidden desire

Hot lesbian witches! Think about it! It's fucking genius!

Charlie Sheen pitching his absurd theory about Lotte

Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man.

Lotte Schwartz asserting her right to transition

Do you see what a metaphysical can of worms this portal is?

Craig Schwartz grappling with the philosophical implications of the portal

Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

Craig Schwartz reflecting on the job market for puppeteers

That portal is mine, and it must be sealed forever for the love of God!

John Malkovich demanding the portal be destroyed

Maxine. Maxine. I love you, Maxine. Oh, look away. Look away [Looking through Emily's eyes at the end]

Craig Schwartz confessing love to Maxine while trapped in Emily's body

Maybe she's using you to channel some dead lesbian lover.

Charlie Sheen speculating about Lotte's motivations

You're nuts to let a girl go that calls you Lotte, I tell you that as a friend.

Charlie Sheen advising against a relationship with someone who calls you by a female name

Truth is for suckers, Johnny Boy.

Charlie Sheen dismissing conventional morality

Help! He's locking me in a cage!

Lotte Schwartz calling for help during a violent confrontation

How the community felt

😵 Shocked 100%
🤔 Thoughtful 100%
😆 Amused 100%

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