Logline of Being John Malkovich: A frustrated puppeteer discovers a secret portal into the mind of a famous actor, an experience he mistakenly shares with his animal-loving wife and a frosty, attractive coworker.

Writer: Charlie Kaufman

Director: Spike Jonze

Genre: Comedy 

Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener

Release Date: October 29, 1999

Script Link: Script Can Be Found Here

As part of a weekly series, I’m looking at some of the WGA’s List of Top 101 Screenplays to see how everyone’s favorite screenwriting formula shows up. I neither condone nor condemn the framework. I’m just deeply curious. 

Rank on WGA List: #74

“Being John Malkovich” Summary:

(Note: As the script differs wildly from the film; for the sake of familiarity, I’m re-capping the film)

The film opens with Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), an eccentric and unemployed puppeteer, struggling to find purpose and financial stability and married to Lotte (Cameron Diaz). He takes a job as a file clerk on the cramped 7 1/2th floor in the Mertin-Flemmer building, where he meets the attractive but cold Maxine Lund (Catherine Keener). Infatuated with Maxine, Craig tries to impress her with his puppeteering skills but is met with indifference.

One day, while working in the office, Craig discovers a small hidden door behind a filing cabinet. Curiosity leads him to crawl through the portal, which transports him into the mind of actor John Malkovich for fifteen minutes before ejecting him onto the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig enlists the help of Lotte to explore the portal further. 

Craig and Maxine hatch a plan to monetize their discovery by charging people for the opportunity to experience being John Malkovich. They create a business venture called “JM, Inc.” and advertise their services. When Lotte inhabits John Malkovich, she and Maxine develop romantic feelings for each other. As the business thrives, Craig’s obsession with Maxine grows, leading to jealousy and conflict between him and Lotte. 

As more people experience being John Malkovich, the portal becomes overcrowded, causing chaos and confusion. Malkovich himself becomes aware of the strange occurrences happening within his own mind and even travels within the portal only to have it malfunction on him. Upon arriving at the New Jersey Turnpike, he threatens Craig with legal action. 

Desperate to possess Maxine for himself, Craig concocts a plan to permanently inhabit Malkovich’s body. In eight short months, Craig and the now-pregnant Maxine decide to have John stop being a world-class actor and instead become a world-class puppeteer. Dr. Lester (Orson Bean), who wants Malkovich for himself, kidnaps Maxine. Lotte, who by now has sided with Dr. Lester, goes on a rampage, and chases Maxine through the portal, which leads them into Malkovich’s subconscious. Once Maxine, Lotte, and Craig are ejected onto the New Jersey Turnpike, Lotte and Maxine declare their love for each other. 

Fast forward seven years, Lester is now inhabiting Malkovich, Maxine and Lotte are married with a child, and Craig is now inhabiting their seven-year-old daughter. 

“Being John Malkovich” Analysis:

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
1	Opening Image (page 1)	1	In movie:   A blue curtain in a theater.  In script: INT. CHEERLESS ROOM – DAYThe room is bare, dusty. A ceiling fan turns. The wall clock ticks. Craig, 30 and small, sits at a collapsible card table. The only item on the table is a book. Craig picks it up, looks at the jacket.  It’s entitled “Sit.”Craig opens the book. It reads “Sit sit sit sit sit…” over and over, page after page. Craig closes the book. He begins to stand, but thinks better of it, sighs. He looks at the book again. It is now entitled “Die.” He opens it up. “Die die die die.” A rooster crows.

As we meet Craig, this scene merely denotes that his life is as dead-ended, cheerless, and dusty as this room. The guy is not in a happy space. And yet, it’s a dream. As he jolts awake, his real life isn’t much better (with a rooster standing on his chest). This is an appropriate introduction to the weird, existential, stuck-in-someone’s-head world we’re about to inhabit in Being John Malkovich. 

In the movie, however, it’s almost a 180. There’s a lush, blue velvet curtain in a theater as an orchestra tunes up. Here, the curtain points to a theme of revelation and performance, one that this film delivers in spades. (The theme of performance is also close to the theme of being a vessel, which all actors (including Malkovich) are. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
2	Theme Stated (page 5)	p.2	In script: “The CRAIG” puppet paces back and forth, wringing its hands with incredible subtlety. We see Craig, above and behind the stage. He is manipulating the puppet.” In movie:CRAIG (to Elijah): “You don’t know how lucky you are being a monkey. Because consciousness is a terrible curse. I think, I feel, I suffer. And all I ask in return is the opportunity to do my work. And they won’t allow it.”

This visual is the closest thing to having the stated theme of “Who’s the puppet? Who’s the puppetmaster?” that develops once John Malkovich gets involved (as well as the people who invade his head). There isn’t a clear line of dialogue that explicitly says that, so STC is off-base here. 

HOWEVER, in the movie, the moment of dialogue that is captured about consciousness and his frustration in not being able to do his work. This is key because the entire movie is about becoming a vessel. (Craig’s frustration also seems to echo the lengths a frustrated creative will go to break through the so-called establishment and do his art). 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
3	Set-Up (pages 1-10)	Pages 1 – 8	Six Things that Need FIxing (in Script and Movie): 1. Craig Schwartz is an unemployed puppeteer, 2. He is jealous of Derek Mantini, 3. No one really likes his act – it’s lewd, 4. He feels misunderstood by the establishment, 5. There’s also a mention of a trial date, 6. Lester Corp. is weird.

In both the script and the movie, poor Craig is misunderstood, and there aren’t that many paying opportunities to do his art. When he creates a venue for his work (on the street), he gets punched out by a dad. All of this is to exhibit that Craig is completely down on his luck and needs a change. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
4	Catalyst (page 12)	Pages 11	In script/in movie: Craig lands the job at Lestercorp.

There are a lot of bizarre details going on when he does land the job at Lestercorp (i.e., he sees how nuts it is with the 7.5 floor, how the receptionist doesn’t understand what he’s saying, etc.). Landing the job at Lestercorp, however, is the catalyst because it’s the major change in his life that sets off the chain of events that is to occur. Without it, all other details would not exist. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
5	Debate (pages 12-25)	Pages 11 – 33	In movie: There’s a bizarre orientation video, he meets the cold-as-a-fish Maxine, the animals are making a mess/have health problems (i.e., Elijah has a shrink), Lotte wants a baby, Maxine rebuffs him, he rebuffs Floris’s advances, he asks Maxine out on a date, he hangs with the horndog Lester, he goes out on a quasi-date with Maxine, he goes out with Lester; he comes home and there’s some distance with Lotte

Not much of a debate here, just a development of conflict and a gentle raising of the stakes. Most of the weirdness of Lestercorp creates a world where it’s entirely plausible that one could find a portal to get into John Malkovich’s head. Maxine is introduced as manipulative (and will help Craig monetize his efforts later on); the sick animals as well as Lotte wanting a baby put financial pressure on Craig (it also sets up what will happen at the end of Act Three when Lotte and Maxine have a kid together). As for Lester the Lech, his unattractive behavior resurfaces at the end of Act Two and Act Three. 

The most poignant moment occurs when Craig practices with his Craig puppet and his Maxine puppet, mentioning “Well, Maxine, I’m not sure exactly. Perhaps it’s the idea of becoming someone else for a little while. Being inside another skin. Moving differently, thinking differently, feeling differently “ (page 28-29). Here, Kaufman picks up on the theme of the vessel/puppet-versus-puppeteer and develops it to talk more about empathy. (It almost feels as though Kaufman is actually talking about the nature of writing – or creation – itself because so much about the act is about inhabiting another person’s world). 

AND YET…he’s becoming so intimate with the puppet Maxine that, in a way, he’s becoming so emotionally invested in Maxine the puppet that he’s committing a type of adultery with the real Lotte. (What’s odd is that the real Maxine doesn’t want anything to do with him and his puppetry), so there’s this weird interplay between reality and fiction. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
6	Break Into Two (page 25)	33	In script/In movie: Craig discovers the portal into John Malkovich’s brain.

In discovering the portal to John Malkovich’s head, Craig has now found the key to this other dimension. Once he gets spit out onto the New Jersey Turnpike, he realizes that life will never be the same because he has seen a portal into someone else’s consciousness. Craig has an awakening. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
7	B-Story (page 30)	Page 42	Lotte meets Maxine

The B-plot comes in a little late here, and it’s Lotte’s relationship with Maxine. Craig drives the A-plot (his pursuit of Maxine/money as well as his pursuit of creative freedom as a puppetmaster). What makes the B-plot interesting is that Lotte and Maxine will also pursue each other (and escalate it by using John Malkovich to do so). 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
8	Fun and Games (pages 30-55)	Pages 33	Craig tells Maxine (who wants to monetize it); Lotte takes a ride into John Malkovich’s head; they go to dinner at Dr. Lester’s place; Lotte discovers the shrine to John Malkovich; Craig and Maxine start monetizing the experience; Lotte wants to do more of the experience (and does it) with Maxine; they start inviting other people into John Malkovich’s head; both Lotte and Craig try to have sex with Maxine at once; Maxine only wants to have sex with Lotte when she’s in Malkovich.

Well, this is a Fun and Games we’ve never seen before. As Craig and Maxine continue their plan to monetize the experience of Being John Malkovich, the unintended consequence becomes Lotte falls in love with Maxine when she’s in Malkovich. What also is of note here is that Lester, who has a shrine to Malkovich, seems to have orchestrated all of this. Not only does Kaufman continue to explain how this world functions, but he sets up the antagonist for an incredible Act Three climax. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
9	Midpoint (page 55)	Page 59	Craig confronts Lotte about cheating on him with Maxine.

Maxine is now in control. This is bad news for Craig because he is now longer holding the strings (so to speak). As the puppetmaster, he has lost control of his puppet (the unintended consequences of his actions). Stakes have raised considerably because it has become a mess. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
10	Bad Guys Close In (pages 55-75)	Pages 59 – 69	Craig pulls a gun on Lotte, forces her to meet Maxine, and locks her in a cage. Craig-as-Malkovich and Maxine have sex, Craig comes back and gloats to Lotte in the cage, Malkovich confides in Charlie Sheen about how crazy it is and determines to find the truth; he trails Maxine and discovers what’s going on.

Just like Fun and Games, we’ve never seen a Bad Guys Close In quite like this. What drives this part of the narrative is that Craig is determined to not lose his foothold; in doing so, he inadvertently tips off Malkovich who needs to find out what’s going on and what possessed him when he and Maxine had sex. Seeking the truth, he finds J.M., upsets the line and allows for Craig to have him go through the portal.  Which leads to…

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
11	All is Lost (page 75)	Page 69 – 74	Whiff of Death: John Malkovich “goes through his own portal,” sees the “Malkovich Malkovich” scene, comes out of the New Jersey Turnpike, and threatens legal action to Craig; Lottie is still in a cage; Elijah frees Lotte.

Again, we come back to the theme of vessel-like consciousness, specifically creative consciousness. Whenever we open a book, see a movie, watch a play or what-have-you, we experience a sliver of consciousness through someone else’s eyes; it’s an act of consensual empathy; the creator is allowing the audience through the subject’s point of view. 

But in the world of Being John Malkovich, it’s a violation; when the actual John Malkovich goes through his own portal, it creates a type of corrupted file/flaw in the matrix. The parameters of the world malfunction because it’s an ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail. 

Now Craig is completely at a low point because, without Malkovich’s consent (and threatening legal action), how is he going to fulfill his destiny as a master puppeteer? 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
12	Dark Night of the Soul (pages 75-85)	Pages 74 – 80	Lotte calls Maxine and tells her it was Craig in Malkovich last time. Maxine goes to Malkovich to talk to Craig and communicates with him; Lotte seeks to talk to Lester, wants to know about the museum, who reveals himself to be Captain Mertin and explains that he leaps from vessel to vessel and he will move into his next vessel (Malkovich). He introduces Lotte to the other old people. Meanwhile, Malkovich does Craig’s Dance of Despair and Disillusionment.

With Lotte now understanding more about Lester is the vessel for Captain Mertin and Craig meets with Maxine as Malkovich, we get a better idea of the device of the vessel (the reason why all of this is happening is because Mertin created it) and we also sense that through Craig-as-Malkovich’s Dance of Despair and Disillusionment, he gets Maxine on the same page (because now she finally realizes that puppeteering is about manipulating people)  as him in proposing to allow Malkovich to become a puppeteer instead of an actor. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
13	Break Into Three (page 85)	Page 80 – 83	Craig and Maxine decide to re-create Malkovich as a puppeteer instead of as an actor. When they go to the agent, they propose the idea and receive no pushback.

The change in Malkovich becoming a puppeteer now signifies that Craig and Maxine are now on a level playing field. They are working in tandem to create their dreams. Craig believes that he’s finally gotten it all – significance, fame, the love of Maxine – but we realize that it is incredibly short-lived. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
14	Finale (pages 85-110)	Pages 83 – 111	In movie: Eight months later, Malkovich has rebranded as a world-famous puppeteer, and Craig-as-Malkovich and Maxine are expecting a child. Maxine, however, has become distant and misses Lotte. After a Swan Lake benefit, Maxine is missing, and Craig learns that Lester has kidnapped Maxine and calls threatening blackmail (but it’s a bluff). Lotte threatens to kill Maxine – they both go into the portal and run rampant through disturbing memories stored in Malkovich’s subconscious. They reconcile by the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig-as-Malkovich makes a deal with Lester to leave. Now, all of the old people invade Malkovich’s mind. They leave Craig behind. Seven years later, Lester now lives in Malkovich and wants to live in Emily, Maxine and Lotte’s daughter, as a way to achieve immortality.. Craig is now stuck in Emily’s head.

The movie is wildly different from the script’s ending; for the sake of audience familiarity, I’m going to just talk about the movie here because its Act Three is a brilliant example of how to keep the stakes high while creating a new problem and a new world. In fast-forwarding eight months, the movie shows the meteoric (and absurd) rise of John Malkovich, puppeteer. Lester’s threat (set up when Lotte found the shrine) is now becoming real as he moves to claim power over Malkovich by kidnapping Maxine. What is so brilliant about the action here is the surprise turn of events: now Lotte is chasing Maxine through John Malkovich’s subconscious, showing us painful childhood memories, etc. All of the action is justified, but it’s surprising and indelible.  Once Craig, Maxine, and Lotte all leave Malkovich’s head, it leaves it open to Lester and his cult of elderly people to invade. Fast-forward seven years, and Lester has now completely inhabited Malkovich and Craig now inhabits Emily. 

The ends completely – but ridiculously –  justify the means. 

Number	STC Element	Page(s) in Script	Event in Script
15	Final Image (page 110)	N/A	In movie: Emily swims underwater.

What I love about this ending is that it avoids the cliche of someone dying. In some ways, you could instead see it as a rebirth; with Mertin now at the helm of Malkovich and Craig inside of Emily, the ourobouros just plays out ad infinitum because, to a certain extent, as humans, we’re all vessels for someone else’s point of view. 

Final Thoughts:

If there are two things that I appreciate above everything else in Being John Malkovich, it is this: 1) the theme of manipulating-the-vessel is so strong. Craig wants to manipulate (by being a puppeteer) but is getting manipulated by Maxine (even when Maxine realizes that puppeting isn’t stupid – it’s just a physical manifestation of what she does every day). Craig, Lotte, and Maxine all manipulate Malkovich in an effort to achieve their ends, but Malkovich is an actor, a profession centered on manipulating oneself to achieve a new result. Everyone here is playing and getting played. This could be a commentary on the creative process, Hollywood, or even humanity itself. Despite our best efforts to gain control, we’re almost always being controlled by a force greater than our own. There’s no escaping it; it’s just a fact of life; and 2) the film keeps its focus on madcap, absurdist action and allows for all of its philosophical themes to arise as a byproduct. By doing so, the piece remains fun and action-packed, never becoming stuffy or buckling under the weight of its own brilliance.