Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze — the duo behind Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002) — are again on fans’ radar after Kaufman’s public Q&A in Brazil this month. Speaking while presenting his new short at the 49th Mostra Internacional de Cinema em São Paulo (Oct. 16–30, 2025), Kaufman fielded audience questions about working with Jonze. As of Oct. 25, no reunion project has been announced or confirmed by a studio or the major trades, and there is no script or timetable on record. The interest, however, underscores how potent their collaboration remains more than two decades on.
What happened in São Paulo
Kaufman was in Brazil with How to Shoot a Ghost, a 27‑minute short written by poet Eva H.D., starring Jessie Buckley and Josef Akiki, and photographed by Michał Dymek. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 2, 2025, is officially credited to Unmade — the company co‑founded by Halsey, Anthony Li, and Avan Jogia — alongside partners in the U.S. and Greece. Festival listings confirm the runtime, creative team and screenings in São Paulo this week. The Venice program entry and the Mostra page also note Eva H.D. as narrator and list full craft credits, offering a clear, public record of the short’s details and festival trajectory. See La Biennale’s listing and Mostra’s program notes for the official breakdowns.
Sources: La Biennale di Venezia program: How to Shoot a Ghost; Mostra São Paulo film page.
Why a Jonze–Kaufman reunion matters
Jonze and Kaufman’s two films together shaped late‑1990s/early‑2000s American cinema. Being John Malkovich earned three Academy Award nominations — including Best Director for Jonze and Best Original Screenplay for Kaufman — signaling an audacious new voice in studio‑backed surrealism. Two years later, Adaptation converted their meta‑alchemy into Oscar gold when Chris Cooper won Best Supporting Actor, with additional nods for Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Kaufman’s screenplay. The Academy’s official records list those nominations and wins.
Sources: Oscars.org: 72nd Academy Awards (Being John Malkovich nominations); Oscars.org: 75th Academy Awards (Adaptation wins and nominees).
Where the filmmakers are now
Jonze has not directed a narrative feature since Her (2013), which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and cemented his status as one of Hollywood’s most inventive writer‑directors. The Academy’s 2014 winners list includes Her among the five‑time nominees and notes Jonze’s win. In the interim, Jonze directed the Apple TV+ feature documentary Beastie Boys Story (2020), keeping his nonfiction and music roots active while he has not returned to a scripted feature.
Sources: Oscars.org: 86th Academy Awards (Her wins); Apple TV+ press: Beastie Boys Story announcement.
Kaufman last directed a feature with Netflix’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) and has spent 2025 on the festival circuit with How to Shoot a Ghost. In a September interview, he described ongoing financing headwinds for independent, non‑IP films and said production on his planned feature Later the War was paused in Belgrade while the team works to regroup. That candid assessment, shared as he promoted the short, tracks with the tougher market for original, mid‑budget dramas.
Source: The Guardian interview (Sept. 12, 2025).
The creative stakes — and audience interest
A Jonze–Kaufman reunion would arrive at a moment when studios and streamers remain cautious about financing non‑franchise films, but when audiences repeatedly reward distinctive storytelling. Their previous collaborations blended box‑office modesty with critical and awards impact, a profile many distributors view as valuable for brand identity and year‑end prestige. Her, for example, competed for Best Picture and won Best Original Screenplay; Adaptation netted four Oscar nominations with one win; and Being John Malkovich became a late‑’90s touchstone for audacious, writer‑driven cinema.
At the same time, Kaufman’s short demonstrates he remains active with globally minded partners, and festivals continue to program his work. After Venice and São Paulo, he is also slated to present How to Shoot a Ghost at Mexico’s Morelia International Film Festival this fall, extending its festival life and keeping conversation around his next feature front‑and‑center.
Source: Morelia Film Festival announcement.
What’s confirmed — and what isn’t
What’s verified: Kaufman showed How to Shoot a Ghost in São Paulo this month and at Venice in September; the short’s creative details match the official festival listings. Jonze’s most recent narrative feature remains Her (2013), a Best Original Screenplay Oscar winner, and he directed the 2020 Apple TV+ documentary Beastie Boys Story. Kaufman has publicly acknowledged production challenges on Later the War while expressing hope to reconvene.
What isn’t confirmed: a new Jonze–Kaufman feature. As of today, there’s no studio announcement, no title, and no production timeline on file. If a project advances beyond informal conversations, expect it to surface quickly via a distributor or one of the major trades such as Variety or The Hollywood Reporter.
For continuing coverage of auteur projects, awards positioning, and festival premieres, keep up with Globally Pulse Entertainment.
