Wikipedia's first sentence called it “heavily fictionalized version of the screenwriter”. Today it says “one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist”. It now reads “American filmmaker and novelist”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Charles Stuart Kaufman (born November 1 , 1958 in New York City ) is an accomplished screenwriter , identified by Premiere magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood . He got his start in television , writing two episodes for Chris Elliott 's Get a Life , as well as a couple of dozen other episodes of shows like Ned and Stacy and The Dana Carvey Show . He first came to national attention as the writer for Being John Malkovich , earning an Oscar nomination for his effort and a BAFTA . He also wrote Human Nature , which was directed by Michel Gondry and then worked with Spike Jonze again as the screenwriter for Adaptation. , which earned him another Oscar nomination and his second BAFTA. Adaptation featured a "Charlie Kaufman" character that is a heavily fictionalized version of the screenwriter; in real life, however, he does not have an identical twin brother, is married rather than single and hardly experienced that story's fabulist drama. He also penned Confessions of a Dangerous Mind , a biopic of Chuck Barris , a gameshow host who believed he was a CIA hitman; this was directed by George Clooney in his directorial debut. He owns a home in the fabled Kennedy Compound . His most recent script and story is for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , his second film with director Michel Gondry , for which he received his first Oscar for best screenplay and third BAFTA.1
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The opening as it stood in 2010 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman (born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director.In 2003, he was listed at #100 on Premiere's annual "Power 100" list.Kaufman was identified by Time Magazine in 2004 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.His works include Being John Malkovich ; Human Nature ; Adaptation. ; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ; and Synecdoche, New York .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371036458.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Charles Stuart " Charlie " Kaufman (born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and lyricist. He wrote the critically acclaimed films Being John Malkovich , Adaptation , and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind .He made his directing debut in 2008 with Synecdoche, New York , which was also well received; film critic Roger Ebert called it "the best movie of the decade" in 2009.Kaufman is often praised for being deeply imaginative and original: Being John Malkovich stars John Malkovich as a fictional version of himself; Human Nature is mostly told in flashback; Adaptation tells the story of Kaufman himself, trying to write the film the viewer is watching and to understand the book from which it is adapted with the help of his twin brother Donald Kaufman (credited as a co-writer despite being a fictional character); Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind mainly takes place in the mind of the main character while his memory is erased; and Synecdoche, New York is a postmodern film with many complex non-realistic elements.He has been nominated for three Academy Awards : twice for Best Original Screenplay for Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , winning the award for the latter, and Best Adapted Screenplay (with his fictional brother) for Adaptation .He also won two BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplays , one BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Saturn Award for Best Writing .(2009-12-13) The best films of the decade – Roger Ebert's Journal .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664718086.
The opening as it stood in 2020 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist "How and Why" redirects here.Charles Stuart Kaufman ( / ˈ k ɔː f m ə n / ; born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist.He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).He made his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York (2008), which film critic Roger Ebert called "the best movie of the decade" in 2009.Further directorial work include the stop motion animated film Anomalisa (2015) and the upcoming I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020).One of the most celebrated screenwriters of his era, Kaufman has been nominated for four Academy Awards : twice for Best Original Screenplay for Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (winning for the latter), Best Adapted Screenplay (with his fictional brother) for Adaptation , and Best Animated Feature for Anomalisa .He also won two BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplays and one BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay .Three of Kaufman's scripts appear in the Writers Guild of America 's list of the 101 greatest movie screenplays ever written."Charlie Kaufman is one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium." "Charlie Kaufman Is The 21st Century's 'Mad Genius Of Cinema' " .British Academy of Film and Television Arts ."One of modern cinema's most celebrated writers"...
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964318322.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American filmmaker and novelist "How and Why" redirects here. Charles Stuart Kaufman ( / ˈ k ɔː f m ə n / ; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He both wrote and directed the films Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020).In 2020, Kaufman made his literary debut with the release of his first novel, Antkind .One of the most celebrated screenwriters of his era, Kaufman has received an Academy Award , three BAFTA Awards , two Independent Spirit Awards , and a Writers Guild of America Award .Film critic Roger Ebert called Synecdoche, New York "the best movie of the decade" in 2009. Three of Kaufman's scripts appear in the Writers Guild of America 's list of the 101 greatest movie screenplays ever written. "Charlie Kaufman is one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium." "Charlie Kaufman Is The 21st Century's 'Mad Genius Of Cinema' " . British Academy of Film and Television Arts . "One of modern cinema's most celebrated writers"...
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1172741643.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American filmmaker and novelist "How and Why" redirects here. Charles Stuart Kaufman ( / ˈ k ɔː f m ə n / ; born November 19, 1958) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist.Having first come to prominence for writing Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), he went on to direct films based on his own screenplays: Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020).In 2020, he released a novel, Antkind .One of the most celebrated screenwriters of his era, Kaufman has received numerous accolades , including an Academy Award , three BAFTA Awards , two Independent Spirit Awards , an Emmy Award , and a Writers Guild of America Award . Film critic Roger Ebert called Synecdoche, New York "the best movie of the decade" in 2009. Three of Kaufman's scripts appear in the Writers Guild of America 's list of the 101 greatest movie screenplays ever written. "Charlie Kaufman is one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium." "Charlie Kaufman Is The 21st Century's 'Mad Genius Of Cinema' " . British Academy of Film and Television Arts . "One of modern cinema's most celebrated writers"...
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “heavily fictionalized version of the screenwriter”. Today it says “one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist”. It now reads “American filmmaker and novelist”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
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2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
heavily fictionalized version of the screenwriter
Now
one of the few truly important writers to make screenplays his medium
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
