What is the significance of floor 7 1/2?
Being John Malkovich is based on Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), an unemployed puppeteer, discovering a portal in his office at LesterCorp which transports the person in it into the mind of John Malkovich.
Among the numerous oddities of the floor 7(1/2) in the LesterCorp building, one of the most interesting is the low ceilings. The movie does somewhat explain the reason for the unique structure, however, I don't understand how it holds any significance in the movie.
What does this unique 'structure' signify?
Best Answer
The reference to 7 1/2 seems to be an homage to Fellini's film "8 1/2" which also deals with a similar concept (e.g. going inside the mind of a genius and seeing its inner workings) albeit in a very different fashion.
What's also quite interesting is that according to Malkovich the script wasn't written specially for him, nor did the Director know that he'd be available at the time of shooting. It just happened to be the first name that popped into Charlie Kaufmann's mind when he was putting together the screenplay, as can be read in Charlie Kaufman: Confessions of an Original Mind by Doreen Alexander Child.
Pictures about "What is the significance of floor 7 1/2?"
What floor is John Malkovich?
in New York, New York 10012 in the Mertin Flemmer Building. Craig arrives for an interview and soon discovers that the floor he is visiting is located on the 7\xbd floor. This occurs precisely at the 7:30 minute mark in the film. In the elevator, a woman spots Craig's confusion and asks if he is looking for the 7\xbd floor.Why did Charlie Kaufman choose Malkovich?
I wrote Being John Malkovich while I was waiting for [the next sitcom] hiring season. My idea was that I would write a script and use it to get work. I had this idea that someone finds a portal into someone's head, and I had another idea that somebody has a story about someone having an affair with a co-worker.Is the Mertin Flemmer building real?
The Mertin-Flemmer building, although fictional, was in part built. It can also be considered fantasy. We might attribute the architect's stamp to the director, to the set designer, or perhaps to the screenwriter (in which case Kaufman joins the ranks of Rem Koolhaas as screenwriter/architect/prophet).Is Being John Malkovich a true story?
Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a satirical version of himself.Being John Malkovich (1/11) Movie CLIP - Welcome to the 7 1/2 Floor (1999) HD
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Polina Tankilevitch, Polina Tankilevitch, Yaroslav Shuraev, cottonbro