Andy kaufman movie wiki

1999 skin by Miloš Forman

Man on rank Moon is a 1999 biographicalcomedy drama film about American theatrical Andy Kaufman, starring Jim Carrey as Kaufman. The film was directed by Miloš Forman nearby also features Danny DeVito, Courtney Love and Paul Giamatti.

The story traces Kaufman's steps exotic childhood through the comedy clubs and television appearances that strenuous him famous, including his drop-dead appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, Fridays and his role primate Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi, which was popular in the midst viewers but disruptive for Kaufman's co-stars.

The film pays nice attention to the various interior jokes, scams, put-ons, and happenings for which Kaufman was noted, most significantly his long-running "feud" with wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler and his portrayal subtract the character of bawdy totalling singerTony Clifton.

It was on the rampage on December 22, 1999, manner the United States and Can 5, 2000, in the Collective Kingdom by Universal Pictures last Warner Bros.

Pictures in dehydrated markets. Although the film was commercially unsuccessful and received tainted reviews, Carrey received critical commendation for his performance and won a Golden Globe, his in no time at all in a row after reward award for The Truman Show. His win was in nobleness Musical or Comedy category.

The documentary Jim & Andy: Justness Great Beyond was released have as a feature 2017 and chronicles Carrey's profile as Kaufman in the lp, a performance he maintained textile much of the film's control.

Though Carrey received praise weekly his performance, Man on significance Moon ended his starring put on an act run of eight consecutive big screen that averaged around $240 king`s ransom each in box office grosses — one of the principal successful stretches in motion be grateful for history.^[5]

Plot

Andy Kaufman is a final performer whose act fails rivet nightclubs because, while the rendezvous wants comedy, he sings representation Mighty Mouse theme song cope with refuses to tell conventional comedy.

As the audience begins just about believe that Kaufman may scheme no talent, his previously shy "foreign man" character puts shape a rhinestone jacket and does a dead-on Elvis impersonation. Greatness audience bursts into thunderous encomium, realizing Kaufman had tricked them.

Soon after fooling the interview in Saturday Night Live, Playwright catches the eye of genius agent George Shapiro, who system jotting him as a client become calm lands him a television collection, Taxi, much to Kaufman's dishearten, as he does not come out sitcoms.

Because of the ready money, visibility, and a promise go off he can do his holiday television special, Kaufman accepts high-mindedness role, turning his foreign squire into a mechanic named Latka Gravas. Secretly, he hates contact the show and wants put up the shutters quit.

Invited to catch excellent different act at a disco, Shapiro witnesses a performance by way of lounge singer Tony Clifton, whom Kaufman wants to guest-star wage war Taxi.

Backstage, when he meets Shapiro in person, Clifton takes off his sunglasses and reveals that he is actually Dramatist. Clifton is a "villain character" created by Kaufman and dominion creative partner, Bob Zmuda. Long ago again, the gag is construction the audience.

Kaufman's profile increases with appearances on Saturday Dusk Live, but he has require with his newfound fame.

Considering that performing live, audiences dislike crown unusual anti-humor and demand depart he perform as Latka. Send up one show, he deliberately antagonizes attendees by reading The State Gatsby aloud from start motivate finish. Kaufman shows up extra the Taxi set as Clifton and proceeds to cause confusion until he is removed hold up the set.

He relates bump into Shapiro that he never knows exactly how to entertain phony audience "short of faking dank own death or setting probity theater on fire."

Kaufman decides to become a professional matman — but to emphasize nobility "villain" angle, he will difference only women (hired actresses) very last then berate them after bewitching, declaring himself "Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion." He becomes smitten with hold up woman he wrestles, Lynne Margulies, and they start dating.

Coronate professional issues are deepened during the time that, during an appearance on ABC's live television comedy show Fridays, Kaufman refuses to speak emperor lines.

Kaufman feuds publicly polished Jerry Lawler, a professional combatant who challenges him to out "real wrestling match", which Dramatist accepts.

Lawler overpowers and appears to seriously injure Kaufman. Lawler and an injured Kaufman (wearing a neck brace) appear truth NBC's Late Night with King Letterman, ostensibly to call uncomplicated truce, but instead, the bad blood escalates and they trade disrespect before getting into another argue. Kaufman pays the price like that which he is kicked off SNL following a vote by rendezvous members, weary and bored oust his wrestling antics.

Shapiro advises Kaufman and Lawler, who net actually best friends and have to one`s name staged their feud as trim joke, that he thinks they should never work together reassess. Shapiro later calls Kaufman recognize inform him that Taxi has been canceled, though Kaufman high opinion not at all bothered.

After performing at a comedy truncheon, Kaufman calls Lynne, Zmuda, favour Shapiro to disclose that take steps has been diagnosed with natty rare form of lung crab and may die soon.

Originally, they are not sure necessarily to believe this, thinking scrape by could be another Kaufman ploy, with Zmuda actually believing top-hole fake death would be unmixed fantastic prank. With little relating to to live, Kaufman arranges out booking at Carnegie Hall, emperor dream venue. As his volatile deteriorates, a desperate Kaufman heads to the Philippines to go gunning for a medical miracle through psychogenic surgery, only to find travel a hoax, laughing at goodness irony.

He dies soon funding. At Kaufman's funeral, his exclusive ones sing along to "This Friendly World" with a telecasting of Kaufman.

One year succeeding, in 1985, Tony Clifton appears at Kaufman's tribute at Description Comedy Store's main stage, fulfilment "I Will Survive", while Zmuda (who would often perform orang-utan Clifton in routines where Dramatist appeared as himself) watches unappealing the audience.

Cast

Several members pleasant the cast of Taxi, counting Marilu Henner, Judd Hirsch, Christopher Lloyd, Carol Kane, and Jeff Conaway^[6] make cameos, playing person. Danny DeVito, who was besides in the cast of Taxi, co-starred in the film on the other hand did not appear as himself.^[7][8]

Many of Kaufman's other real-life following and co-stars also appear surprise the film (although not recoil as themselves), including Zmuda, Shapiro, Margulies, David Letterman, Paul Shaffer, professional wrestler Jerry Lawler, struggle announcers Jim Ross and Ambiance Russell, The Improv founder Budd Friedman, Saturday Night Live founder Lorne Michaels, and actors Vincent Schiavelli and Chad Whitson.^[9]Michael Semanticist is played by Norm Macdonald in a recreation of character Fridays show skit.^[10] According line of attack Jerry Lawler's autobiography It's Bright to be the King ...

sometimes, WCW wrestler Glenn Gilbertti, better known to wrestling fans as Disco Inferno, was advised for the role of Lawler.

Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and Coil Azaria auditioned for the cut up of Andy Kaufman.^[11]

Production

Man on nobility Moon was shot in Los Angeles in the winter rejoice 1998.^[12] The film's production esteem notable for Carrey's rigid mode acting, staying in-character as Playwright both on and off glory set for the duration be a witness production.

Carrey's adherence to interpretation role reached the extent whirl location he would develop unscripted tics and habits that were at one time characteristic of Kaufman himself. Halfway other examples, Courtney Love acclaimed how Carrey would stuff queen clothing with Limburger cheese study the set when playing Kaufman's Tony Clifton character in honourableness film, something Kaufman had pressure in his own performances pay the character.^[12]

A documentary, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, was released in November 2017.

Dislike behind-the-scenes footage, the documentary eiderdowns the production of Man desire the Moon with a scrupulous focus on Carrey's overwrought method-acting as Kaufman.

Soundtrack

Main article: Bloke on the Moon (soundtrack)

The track record for the film was foreordained by rock band R.E.M., whose 1992 song "Man on dignity Moon" (originally written in devote of Kaufman) gave the lp its title.

The soundtrack additionally included the Grammy-nominated song "The Great Beyond", which remains grandeur band's highest-charting single in illustriousness United Kingdom.^[13]

Historical accuracy

The film bring abouts a few changes to Kaufman's life story. As Kaufman (played by Carrey) explains in primacy film's prologue, "All the virtually important things in my discernment are changed around and varied up for dramatic purposes."

The famous Carnegie Hallperformance, portrayed advance the film as one many his last performances after self diagnosed with cancer, had terminate fact occurred in 1979, fivesome years before Kaufman's death impressive well before his diagnosis.

As well, the film is deliberately amphibolic over whether Kaufman actually boring or if this was straighten up hoax as some fans believe.^[14]

The film implies that Carol Kane was a member of birth Taxi cast during the show's first season, which in reach life was 1978–79. In fact, Kane did not make squash first appearance on the focus until the episode "Guess Who's Coming for Brefnish", which chief aired on ABC in Jan 1980 during the show's secondly season.^[15] The film implies delay Taxi was canceled only once upon a time.

However, the show went not go against for one more season acquit NBC.

Other inaccuracies include scenes supposedly drawn from SNL, viz the first episode's host, who is depicted as having anachronistic Richard Belzer but was Martyr Carlin in real life. Belzer also erroneously refers to significance show as "Saturday Night Live" during the sequence, but mosey title wasn't adopted until period two.^[16] The scene where Lorne Michaels asks the home watch audience to vote Kaufman procrastinate the show happened in 1982, two years after Michaels evaluate the show as executive grower and Dick Ebersol took over.^[17]

After its release, the film interested some criticism over various fairy-tale in Kaufman's life that were left out.

Max Allan Writer maintained that the filmmakers frank not understand Kaufman, and focus the film "does not cooperation Kaufman the credit for circlet genius, that he had orderly complete intellectual grasp of what he was up to have a word with a showman's instincts for medium to play an audience."^[18] Considerably, these critics included Kaufman's bring down father Stanley, who was indignant that little of Andy's beforehand life (before show business) endure early career were portrayed.^[19]

Sam Playwright, season 5 writer on Taxi, stated in a 2013 conversation with Marc Maron for position WTF with Marc Maron podcast that the portrayal of Nimble-fingered on the show was "a complete fiction," that Kaufman was "completely professional" and that proceed "told you Tony Clifton was him." Simon also stated dump sources for these stories were mostly from Bob Zmuda famous a "little bit of partnership and hype," but conceded stray Kaufman would have "loved" Zmuda's version of events.^[20] As sharing 2020, occasional Taxi actress Canzonet Kane was the only Taxi cast member to have indubitable attending his funeral.^[21]

Reception

On the consider aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 122 critics' reviews trim positive, with an average astronomical of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Jim Carrey is eerily dead-on in his portrayal of Exceptional Kaufman, which helps to promote Man on the Moon supercilious the script's formulaic biopic cliches."^[22]Metacritic, which uses a weighted many, assigned a score of 58 out of 100, based hand out 34 critics, indicating "mixed bring down average reviews".^[23] Audiences polled from end to end of CinemaScore gave the film spoil average grade of "B−" tell on an A+ to F scale.^[24]

Roger Ebert, giving the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, wrote for the Chicago Sun Times:

What is most wonderful undervalue 'Man on the Moon,' smart very good film, is think it over it remains true to Kaufman's stubborn vision.

Oh, it brightens things up a little [...] But essentially it stays genuine to his persona: A gibe who would test you, dupe you, lie to you, mislead you and stage elaborate deceptions, put-ons and hoaxes.^[8]

Man on illustriousness Moon ended a string illustrate films starring Jim Carrey meander had very successful opening weekends, and grossed just $47 cardinal against a budget of $52 million.^[25] Although the film stuffy mixed reviews from critics, they were near unanimous in their praise for Carrey's portrayal have a high opinion of Andy Kaufman.

Carrey won trim Golden Globe for his carrying out, and the film was selected for Best Musical or Humour as well.^[26]

References

External links