Andy Kaufman’s Comedic Legacy Is Captured by EPs Morgan Neville and Josh & Benny Safdie in ‘Thank You Very Much’ — Watch Trailer

The definitive Andy Kaufman documentary is finally coming to the big screen after almost a decade in the making.

Alex Braverman’s feature directorial debut “Thank You Very Much” charts comedian Kaufman’s life and legacy — with a little help from executive producers Morgan Neville and Josh and Benny Safdie. The film was announced in 2022 and premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.

The official synopsis reads: “Andy Kaufman’s provocative comedy often outraged audiences, challenging them to confront their own presumptions. Through never-before-seen footage and intimate recollections, filmmaker Alex Braverman explores Kaufman’s brief but impactful life and career. As the lines between performance and reality blur in our present age, Kaufman’s genius resonates more than ever.”

“Waffles + Mochi” helmer Braverman uses never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with the late Kaufman’s friends, family, and colleagues to revisit Kaufman’s career, spanning from sets at the Hollywood Improv to the set of “Taxi.” “Thank You Very Much” has been in the works since 2016.

The feature is presented by Neville’s Tremolo Productions, the Safdies’ Elara Pictures, and Jenifer Westphal’s Wavelength. “Thank You Very Much” is produced by Lauren Belfer, Joe Plummer, and director Braverman. The executive producers include Jenifer Westphal, Chuck Braverman, Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, and Rick Rubin.

Braverman credited Josh Safdie for helping greenlit the film as a whole.

“Josh Safdie was one of the first people I reached out to when I was trying to get this off the ground,” Braverman said in press notes for the film. “On social media, he would sometimes post pictures of Andy, and I was a huge fan of [Safdie’s] ‘Good Time’ and ‘Heaven Knows What,’ so I sent him some interview footage I had shot. He wrote back in less than 40 minutes. Eventually Wavelength saw the material and understood the vision, putting me in touch with Morgan Neville because they had worked together on ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ I worked in the Tremolo production office putting this film together, and it was a total gift being able to pop my head into Morgan’s office and bat around creative ideas.”

Braverman also spoke to how making “Thank You Very Much” impacted his perception of Kaufman.

“The greatest joy of making a documentary about Andy Kaufman is that he is impossible to define. The musicality of his act, his shapeshifting, and wild tonal experimentation gave us a thrilling, enigmatic performer whose influence can still be felt across our entertainment, art, even politics,” Braverman said in a press statement. “But for me, his most indelible legacy is that he wasn’t afraid to be the fullest, most beguiling version of himself no matter how others responded to it. That’s his genius. I’m thrilled to have been able to spend this much time immersed in his world, and couldn’t be more proud to share my vision of his life and work.”

Braverman continued, “I’ve come to the conclusion having made this film that Andy was a somewhat normal person who didn’t adhere to the behavioral conventions he was expected to. But times have changed. In today’s media landscape, when you look at entertainers or even politicians, there is often this questioning of what’s real and what is a persona. Are you saying something for clicks and attention, or do you really feel this way? For me Andy was the first person to blur those lines, and unlike those today who either capitulate or apologize or say it was all a joke, Andy was never afraid to go all the way with his material. He continued to evolve no matter where it went or what the reaction was.”

“Thank You Very Much” premieres in New York, Los Angeles, and select theaters nationwide March 28 and will be on digital by Drafthouse Films. Check out the trailer below.