Film

Say you’re a first-time feature filmmaker who really, really liked Being John Malkovich, so much so that you wish you had written and directed it yourself. And hey, there’s still a germ of an idea there! Why not make a depressing, self-serious version of Being John Malkovich? Instead of having your character serve as a puppeteer for other people’s bodies, he could “try on” other people’s souls. Actually casting John Malkovich might be a step too far, but perhaps the less interesting Giamatti (playing an actor named Paul Giamatti, currently struggling with a production of Uncle Vanya) would be available.

Unfortunately, then you’d be accused of making Being Paul Giamatti. You could quell the anxiety of influence by adding an incoherent subplot about soul-trafficking on the Russian black market (although this arguably correlates to Malkovich’s “ripe vessel” thread). You could try to muffle cries of “rip-off” by importing a few good ideas from other movies—maybe adding a wacky medical clinic like the one from another of your favorite Charlie Kaufman scripts, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And you could hope that a sleek visual sensibility and old pros like Watson and Strathairn will carry the day. Maybe, maybe not.