<p>Phil and Emily are joined by Angie Han, TV critic at The Hollywood Reporter, to discuss&nbsp;<em>Synecdoche, NY</em>&nbsp;(2008), Charlie Kaufman's audacious directorial debut and the film Roger Ebert called the best of the 2000s.</p><br><p>Kaufman wrote and directed this hallucinatory portrait of Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an ailing theater director who uses a MacArthur Fellowship to build a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse. As the decades pass and his art consumes his life, the film tunnels deeper into mortality, creative obsession, and the quiet horror of living in a body that won't cooperate. Originally conceived as a horror film with Spike Jonze,&nbsp;<em>Synecdoche, NY</em>&nbsp;opened in October 2008 against High School Musical 3 and Saw 5, made $4.5 million on a $20 million budget, and has since been ranked among the greatest films of the 21st century by the BBC, the Guardian, and Time.</p><br><p>Phil finds it deeply triggering as a self-described hypochondriac. Angie has seen it a dozen times and finds it weirdly soothing. Emily thinks it's funnier than people give it credit for. All three dig into why this film bombed commercially and became a critical touchstone, what it means to watch it in your 20s versus your 40s, and why it still doesn't have a Criterion edition.</p><br><p><br></p><p>Follow the show and guests:</p><p>Podcast Like It's... —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits</a></p><p>Phil Iscove —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove</a></p><p>Emily St. James —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams</a></p><p>Angie Han —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ajhan06" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/ajhan06</a></p><p>💜 Patreon (bonus episodes and video):&nbsp;<a href="http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>