I saw Adaptation today, and found this quote, addressed to a screenplay seminar class regarding voice-overs, pretty darn hilarious.

…and God help you if you use voice-over in your work, my friends. God help you. That’s flaccid, sloppy writing. Any idiot can write a voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character.

Clearly Kaufman doesn’t take himself too seriously, but then, all I could think of Dexter, and the huge role it plays in that show as a story-telling device. As much as Michael C. Hall can act, it sure has made getting into the mind of a morally ambiguous serial killer a lot easier, and I’m not sure on what level the show would work without it.

And on the topic of serial killers, another choice quote from the movie…

Charlie Kaufman: The only idea more overused than serial killers is multiple personality. On top of that, you explore the notion that cop and criminal are really two aspects of the same person. See every cop movie ever made for other examples of this.

Donald Kaufman: Mom called it “psychologically taut”.