Philip Kaufman Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the Storyteller Award at the 1997 Taos Talking Picture Festival
• Made his directorial debut in 1965 with the comedy "Goldstein," which won him a Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at the annual Cannes Film Festival
• Received the American Film Institute's Orsan Welles Award for Best Filmmaker in 1989 for his adaption of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being․"
• Graduated from the University of Chicago and enrolled in Harvard Law School
• Was inspired to become a filmmaker while backpacking in Europe and coming across small movie theaters showcasing the works of John Cassavetes and other filmmakers
• Quote: "(On working with actor Michael Caine) "He's amazing․ He just gets it․ But Michael, who seems to be so casual, he's joking all the time․․․ To the outside world, he appears to be completely different․․․ He's a dynamo inside, just simmering․""
• Believes in making art films that are accessible to the American public
• Has adapted a large variety of novels to the screen
• Frequently visits the Tosca Café in San Francisco, which is decorated with various photos of him
• Was encouraged to become a filmmaker by author Anais Nin just a year before the release of his award-winning comedy, "Goldstein․"
• Wrote and directed the first NC-17 film to be released by a major studio, "Henry & June․"
• Had his 1970s script for a "Star Trek" film dropped by Paramount Pictures in order to generate interest in director George Lucas' "Star Wars" project
• Worked with friend and fellow director George Lucas on the basic story for "Raiders of the Lost Ark․"