Interview with Charlie Kaufman and Eva H.D. on "How to Shoot a Ghost," AI, and the Future

Academy Award-winning writer and filmmaker, Charlie Kaufman is back with a brand new project! In collaboration with writer and poet, Eva H.D. How to Shoot a Ghost starring Jessie Buckley is one of 2025's most talked-about short films after premiering in Venice last month. This week I had the immense privilege of speaking with Kaufman and H.D. about their new film, AI in the industry, and the truth behind a supposed new film with Spike Jonze...

Rua: "Good morning you two, it is such an honor to meet both of you. Mr. Kaufman you are a personal hero and inspiration of mine and Eva I've been admiring your writing for a long time. To start off can you tell our audience a little bit about your new short, How to Shoot a Ghost?"

H.D: "Well it's about two ghosts wandering around Athens -"

Kaufman: "-Fresh out of life!"

H.D: "That's right, who meet each other in the streets of Athens and they spend the day together, encountering the personal and political ghosts of history, contending with their regrets and their love for the world that they're leaving. They're in this sort of liminal space and coming to terms with the fact that they don't have any agency or choice in this world anymore."

Rua: "I found it to be a very meditative, melancholic film that has a lot of themes of life vs death and authenticity vs performance. In that sense I was wondering if that's why you chose Athens as the setting because it's a city that's known for its history but there's also a lot of inauthentic tourism involved."

H.D: "Well, as you say Athens plays a role in the film, in a way it's the main character. And vis-a-vis the tourist industry it seems like a phony, performative city for a lot of people, but it is so much more than that. I have a long relationship with Athens, I've lived there, I have family there. So with this film, we wanted to say something true and our characters come together in this city and mingle with its present and history in their own way."

Rua: "I figured there was a connection there. So this is your second time working on a film together and I was wondering if it's easier to work with someone who's primarily a writer when you're a writer yourself? Is there an inherent camaraderie that makes collaboration easier?"

H.D: "Hmm, maybe. That's a good question..."

Kaufman: "Yeah I don't know. As a reader I respond to Eva's writing so that's what makes it appealing to me to engage with."

H.D: "Maybe we became friends because we're both writers in the first place."

Kaufman: "Yeah, she didn't know I was a filmmaker. I was working on a novel at this arts residency we were both at. Eva thought I was a novelist, which I wasn't officially at the time. We started our friendship while we were there and I started sending Eva snippets of things I was writing to sort of test them on her. And that's not something I've done in the past, I tend not to share my writing with anyone, so it was kind of a risky thing for me. I don't exactly know why but I trusted her reactions, which were helpful and they kept me going."

Rua: "What do you find are some of the key similarities between writing a long-form novel and a screenplay?"

Kaufman: "I don't think there's that much of a difference. I was worried, when I first took on the task of writing that I wouldn't know how to do it, but it seemed to be the same. I don't intend to write screenplays like in the sort of generic screenplay form, so maybe they're more like stories. Once I got over the intimidation of having to write a novel, it just seemed like writing to me."

Rua: "Well that just makes me really want to read your book! I'm curious, you two are both writers and I consider anything creative or original to be incredibly important right now. In that regard I was wondering where you both stand on AI in the entertainment industry?"

H.D: "I think it's a straw man that's distracting a lot of people from real issues. I mean, if you take global warming, which obviously AI massively contributes to and people are willing to overlook headlines every day saying that and ignore the fact that our world is burning up. It's part of this attention deficit racket that takes people's attention away from what matters. When we're all living on a dwindling ice floe about to die in a fire or fall into the ocean or whatever, I don't think we're going to care that a computer can write a novel that's not very good. It's not going to matter when we're dealing with the living hell that we've made our planet. I don't know if that answers the question, but that's how I feel."

Kaufman: "I think the distraction racket you're talking about happened before AI, and it's interesting to me to watch how easily people fall into what's presented to them. I agree with everything Eva said, but it's also kind of upsetting to watch how many people in my business are utilizing it. It's taking away any sort of creative process away from human beings. I guess this isn't any different than what Eva says but if we're going to survive, people have to be able to think and feel and focus. I think this AI stuff and social media and the movie business, and all the distractions we have in front of us are all calculatedly there to a few certain people a lot of money very quickly, at the cost of human life and the planet in general."

Rua: "I mean, every day I find myself growing more and more appreciative of Guillermo Del Toro and his staunch opposition to AI. Now, back to How to Shoot a Ghost, my family is from Ireland so naturally I'm wondering what it was like to work with the amazing, Jessie Buckley? She's pretty much royalty in my household."

Kaufman: "This is my second film that I've done with Jessie. She's a great actress, she's totally honest on screen, just a force of nature. I just love watching her work I don't know what else to say. She's a great person, a great actress, and apparently...royalty!"

H.D: "Where in Ireland is your family from?"

Rua: "The greatest city in the country: Limerick!

H.D: "No way!"

Rua: "Yeah, and I can't help but ask this burning question. Mr. Kaufman, yesterday a headline went viral on Twitter that you are currently working on a new film with Spike Jonze, is that correct?"

Kaufman: "No. It is not correct, it is a lie. Somebody decided they wanted a headline. I answered an audience question at the São Paolo Film Festival where someone asked if I was going to work with Spike again and I said 'I talked to Spike and I'd like to do another movie with him,' just as like a general conversation, we don't have a project lined up or anything. I'd be happy to do it, but there's nothing in the works.

Rua: "Best to nip that in the bud I guess. I mean, I'll be first in line if that every comes to fruition. Just to wrap up, I want to ask one last question. So I am in my last year of undergrad film school at Ithaca College and if you were to give any advice to the next generation of creative professionals, what would it be?"

H.D: "Tell the truth."

Kaufman: "Yeah, that's what I'd say too.

H.D: "Because it's so much more difficult to tell the truth than you might think. Tell the truth about yourself, tell the truth about your relationships, tell the truth about the world."

Kaufman: "And remember that when you're doing this stuff, you're putting it into people's heads. Don't put garbage into people's heads to make money. And I also just want to say that Ithaca to Gorges!"

Rua: "Well thank you both so much for talking to me today. This has honestly been a dream come true and I just want to ask you both, please don't ever stop creating, it helps more people than you know get through the day! I'm such a sincere fan of you both, enjoy the rest of AFI Fest!"

H.D. and Kaufman: "Thank you!"

I'd like to personally thank Charlie Kaufman and Eva H.D. once again for appearing on our publication this week. Make sure to keep an eye out for their new short: How to Shoot a Ghost. Thank you for tuning into Cinemasters and remember to never stop watching!