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Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter. His movies have adapted novels of widely different types – from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being to Michael Crichton’s Rising Sun; from Tom Wolfe’s heroic epic The Right Stuff to the erotic writings of Anaïs Nin’s Henry & June. His greatest success has been the film The Right Stuff which received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Kaufman was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Elizabeth (Brandau) and Nathan Kaufman.^[1] He attended the University of Chicago and later Harvard Law School. After spending some time backpacking in Europe with his wife Rose, Kaufman relocated back to the United States. His time in Europe heavily influenced Kaufman's decision to become a filmmaker, when he and his wife would wander into small movie theaters showcasing the works of John Cassavetes among others. He held some odd jobs including mailman. During his frequent travels he met Anaïs Nin, lover of writer Henry Miller. The relationship between Miller and Nin was the inspiration for Kaufman's film Henry and June.

Career[link]

As chronicled on his website, Kaufman relocated back to his native Chicago, ready to make a feature film. With his wife behind him, he proceeded to go around town looking for funding for his film, which became his directorial debut, Goldstein, co-written and co-directed with Benjamin Manaster. With that film in 1965, they were awarded the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at the Cannes Film Festival. Acclaimed French director Jean Renoir called it the best American film in 20 years. Two years later, Kaufman went on to direct Fearless Frank which marked the debut of Jon Voight. While the movie didn't gain as much attention as Goldstein, it did help Kaufman land a contract in Universal Studios' Young Directors Program.

In 1972, Kaufman wrote and directed The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid starring Robert Duvall in a terrific performance as Jesse James.

In 1974, Kaufman directed the film The White Dawn, a drama based on the novel of the same name by James Houston. It is set in the Arctic and stars Warren Oates.

Kaufman had commenced directing The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) but was notoriously fired under Clint Eastwood's command by producer Bob Daley due to strong disagreements between the two. Eastwood's sacking of Kaufman resulted in Eastwood being fined (reported to be around $60,000) from the Directors Guild of America, who subsequently passed new legislation reserving the right to impose a major fine on a producer for discharging a director and replacing him with himself.^[2]

In 1978 Kaufman directed the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which would become his first hit.

In 1979, he directed The Wanderers, based on the novel by Richard Price.

In 1981, Kaufman became involved with the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which he received story credit. While the character of Indiana Jones was created by George Lucas, it was Kaufman who came up with the story and the pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant.

In 1983, Kaufman directed the critically acclaimed film, The Right Stuff, an adaptation of the book of the same name by Tom Wolfe. The Right Stuff was nominated for 8 Oscars, including Best Picture. The film won 4 Oscars.

In 1988, Kaufman was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, based on the novel by Milan Kundera.

In 1990 he wrote and directed Henry & June, which was the first film to be given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA.

In 1993 he directed Rising Sun, an adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel which removed the anti-Japanese bias of the book. The film starred Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes.

In 1995, he narrated China: The Wild East a documentary directed by his son, Peter Kaufman.

In 2000 Kaufman directed Quills, a satirical thriller film about the increasingly desperate efforts of the Marquis de Sade's jailers to censor his licentious works, starring Geoffrey Rush, Joaquin Phoenix, Kate Winslet and Michael Caine.

In 2003 he directed Twisted, a thriller about a young policewoman whose casual sex partners are murdered while she herself suffers alcoholic blackouts. It starred Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson and Andy Garcia.

Kaufman's wife Rose, who has a cameo appearance in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, co-wrote the screenplays of The Wanderers and Henry & June. Their son, Peter Kaufman, was the producer of Henry and June, Rising Sun and Quills, Twisted and Hemingway & Gellhorn.

Kaufman is based in San Francisco alongside other such luminaries as Francis Ford Coppola, Chris Columbus and nearby neighbor George Lucas, where he runs his production company Walrus and Associates with his family.

In June 2010 it was announced that Kaufman would be directing an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn entitled Hemingway & Gellhorn that Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman will star in. The film will air on HBO on May 28.^[3]

Filmography[link]

• Goldstein (1964) (Co-Director/Co-Writer, with Benjamin Manaster)
• Fearless Frank (1967) (Director/Writer)
• The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) (Director/Writer)
• The White Dawn (1974) (Director)
• The Outlaw Josey Wales (Writer, with Sonia Chernus) (1976)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) (Director)
• The Wanderers (1979) (Director/Co-Writer, with Rose Kaufman)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (with George Lucas) (1981) (Story Only)
• The Right Stuff (1983) (Director/Writer)
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) (Director/Writer)
• Henry & June (1990) (Director/Co-Writer, with Rose Kaufman)
• Rising Sun (with Michael Crichton and Michael Backes) (1993) (Director/Co-Writer)
• Quills (2000) (Director)
• Twisted (2004) (Director)
• Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) (Director)

Notes[link]

1. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/36/Philip-Kaufman.html
2. ^ McGilligan, p.264
3. ^ "HBO Orders Hemingway Film With Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Kidman-Owen-HBO-1019691.aspx. 

External links[link]

• Official website
• Philip Kaufman at the Internet Movie Database