Adaptation · written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman · 2002

Donald reads Charlie’s pages and urges him to emphasize the brothers, sharpen the drama, and use the swamp.

Scene 184 of 202 · ≈ 1 min on screen

Plot Point II
Kaufman
Donald

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:34 into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 184

Unable to find a conventional story in The Orchid Thief, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman turns his own crisis into an increasingly self-referential adaptation.

Scenes 1–9
Charlie inhabits an isolated, self-condemning world while Orlean’s book supplies a distant model of obsession.
Scenes 10–88
Charlie wants to write honestly and make flowers matter, while also longing to be desired and understood.
Scenes 89–105
He leaves his familiar writing room and goes to Florida to search for the story firsthand.
Scenes 106–126
The swamp is ordinary, Orlean’s research fails, and Charlie experiments with increasingly personal versions of the book.
Scenes 127–144
Charlie finds a way to focus the material by putting himself in it, then commits to meeting Orlean.
Just before
Scene 181
Laroche and Orlean find the road out of the swamp by following a gleam of metal.
Scene 182
Charlie admits his faithful version has no movie ending, and McKee tells him the last act makes the film.
Scene 183
Charlie calls Donald to congratulate him and invites him to help in New York.
Scene 184
This scene

184INT. HOTEL ROOM - MORNING

Donald lies on his back on the floor intently reading the script. Kaufman paces. Donald finishes, is quiet.

KAUFMAN

So, like, what would you do?

DONALD

Script kind of makes fun of me, huh?

KAUFMAN

Sorry. I was trying something. I --

DONALD

Hey, I don't mind. It's funny.

KAUFMAN

Okay. So, what would you do?

DONALD

You and me are so different, Charles.

We're different talents.

KAUFMAN

I know. Just for fun. How would the

great Donald end this script?

DONALD

(giggling)

The great Donald.

(serious)

Well, I mean... do you need the whole

court case?

KAUFMAN

Uh, it's what happened to Laroche. It's

kind of important.

DONALD

It's boring. No offense. A courtroom

scene should be dramatic. Stick the

ruling in a line of dialogue, maybe.

KAUFMAN

Um. Okay.

DONALD

Too much about orchids. Get rid of it.

Pare that stuff down to a minimum.

Frankly, I'd focus more on the

relationship between the brothers. I

think that's the gold here. No one cares

about orchids.

KAUFMAN

The book's about orchids.

DONALD

That's a problem. But don't let it ruin

the movie. I mean, for example, use the

orchids in a more dramatic way. Have

some kind of bang-up, crazy action

sequence in the swamp. Use the swamp

better. It's a tremendous fictional

world. A setting of great dramatic