Kaufman to Trim 'Synecdoche' for US Distributors

by William Goss Jun 5th 2008 // 2:02PM

Filed under: Drama, Independent, Cannes, Distribution, Exhibition

Charlie Kaufman is notorious for challenging audiences with his brain-bending screenplays; now, the screenwriter's directorial debut, Synecdoche, NY, faces a challenge even getting to audiences.

The film concerns a playwright (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who uses a grant in order to stage a life-size re-enactment of his life within a massive hangar. Our own James Rocchi referred to the film as "a sprawling, messy work of inspired brilliance and real humanity, a film that enthralls and affects even as it infuriates and confounds"; Kim Voynar put it much more simply: "man, is that film two hours of mental-mindf*ck."

So, as might be the case with another lengthy high-profile Cannes premiere greeted by praise but no distribution, Kaufman is considering trimming the film down from its current 124-minute length to something a bit leaner ... which is saying something about a movie whose first cut, according to the Hollywood Reporter, ran just over four hours.

What say you, readers? Having seen the likes of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, would you rather greet Synecdoche in all its full-bore glory, whether in theaters or on DVD, or would you be willing to settle for a tighter version?

[via Hollywood Elsewhere]

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