What is most wonderful about 'Man on the Moon,' a very good film, is that it remains true to Kaufman's stubborn vision. Oh, it brightens things up a little [...] But essentially it stays true to his persona: A guy who would test you, fool you, lie to you, deceive you and stage elaborate deceptions, put-ons and hoaxes. [7]

The story traces Kaufman's steps from childhood through the comedy clubs and television appearances that made him famous, including his memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, Fridays, and his role as Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi, which was popular among viewers but disruptive for Kaufman's co-stars. The film pays particular attention to the various inside jokes, scams, put-ons, and happenings for which Kaufman was famous, most significantly his long-running "feud" with wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler and his portrayal of the character of bawdy lounge singer Tony Clifton. The film makes a few changes to Kaufman's life story. As Kaufman (played by Carrey) explains in the film's prologue, "All the most important things in my life are changed around and mixed up for dramatic purposes." Thank you Lovemybooks for such a brilliant recommendation and such imaginative and inspiring activities. I really think it’s such a brilliant resource for parents and teachers!"Things to make and do The Real Man on the Moon Speaks". Andykaufman.jvlnet.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010 . Retrieved January 22, 2017.

To develop reading for pleasure through personal reflection

The documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond was released in 2017 and chronicles Carrey's performance as Kaufman in the film, a performance he maintained during much of the film's production.

After its release, the film attracted some criticism over various events in Kaufman's life that were left out. Max Allan Collins maintained that the filmmakers did not understand Kaufman, and that the film "does not give Kaufman the credit for his genius, that he had a complete intellectual grasp of what he was up to and a showman's instincts for how to play an audience." [17] Significantly, these critics included Kaufman's own father Stanley, who was displeased that little of Andy's early life (before show business) and early career were portrayed. [18] Shales, Tom, and James Andrew Miller. (2002). Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Boston, MA: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-78146-0.

To investigate suffixes: -y suffix

Kaufman catches the eye of talent agent George Shapiro, who signs him as a client and lands him a television series, Taxi, much to Kaufman's dismay, as he does not like sitcoms. Because of the money, visibility, and a promise that he can do his own television special, Kaufman accepts the role, turning his foreign man into a mechanic named Latka Gravas. Secretly, he hates doing the show and wants to quit. SPaG- there is some interesting vocabulary used in this book that might possibly be new to pupils in KS1, such as somersaults, souvenir, stilts, craters, astronauts. It also acts as a good lead on to talking about the difference between writing about yourself and writing from a different perspective. Pupils could write their own day in the life, either of themselves, or maybe someone else like is done in the book.

The story starts by introducing Bob in his home and explaining his morning routine and his journey to work. Following on from this it also shows the process of Bob getting ready for work at the launch pad, specifically the time he has to arrive, be ready and leave by, which is a recurring theme throughout the book. The book then goes into detail of what Bob does at work on the moon such as keeping it clean and tidy, and giving guided tours. Another recurring theme within the book is the phrase “there’s no such thing as aliens” which may encourage speculation among the children reading and provoke discussion. The story then explains the process of the end of Bob’s day and his journey home. The story finishes with Bob’s evening routine and a question about whether aliens really do exist. Creating your own alien, what colour, how many arms, legs and eyes, are they wearing clothes, what do those look like- are they human clothes or something different? Man on the Moon was shot in Los Angeles in the winter of 1998. [11] The film's production is notable for Carrey's rigid method acting, staying in-character as Kaufman both on and off the set for the duration of production. Carrey's adherence to the role reached the extent where he would develop unscripted tics and habits that were previously characteristic of Kaufman himself. Among other examples, Courtney Love noted how Carrey would stuff his clothing with Limburger cheese on the set when playing Kaufman's Tony Clifton character in the film, something Kaufman had done in his own performances of the character. [11]

To write the second part of the build-up of a narrative

As mentioned, this book gives me almost unlimited ideas of ways it could be used with a KS1 class across the curriculum, not just an English, so I think it could be a really affective text with the right class. Lawson, Jen (April 29, 2003). "Actor Conaway sues Mandalay Bay". Las Vegas Sun . Retrieved September 20, 2018. [...] Most recently, Conaway reprised his "Taxi" character and also played himself in the 1999 Jim Carrey movie "Man on the Moon.

Isaac absolutely loved Man on the Moon. The illustrations in this book are wonderful and they captured my son’s imagination. We spent ages spotting the aliens in the pictures and trying to deciding which alien was our favourite." The fact that the story is ‘a day in the life’ style means it is written in the 3rd person, I think this really adds to the narrative as the reader is able to notice things that Bob does not- such as the aliens. Children love clueless Bob and the aliens who ‘aren’t really there’. Bob is as silly as he looks and it is fun to play with the idea of a grown up with such an important job (keeping the moon clean and tidy and performing for space tourists) can be so oblivious to what we can see (as the adult, it’s fun to pretend you can’t see them too). This worked really well as a class text with year 1 children, lots of opportunities to explore inference and dramatic irony and both the story and the beautiful oil painting illustrations capture their imagination enough to provide a term’s worth of activities alongside topic exploration: Good resource for the study of space- starting talk about the different planets, the fact that in space there is not gravity, the distance between Earth and the moon, among other planets.

I think the most likable thing, for me, about this book is definitely the illustrations, they are bright and exciting to look at; especially the aliens as there appear to be lots of different kinds that are different colours, shapes and sizes. The fact that Bob does not believe in aliens, but they are ever present in the illustrations really creates an exciting opportunity for the reader to spot all the aliens that Bob seems to be oblivious to. Especially in scenes such as the rush hour, where aliens can be seen walking through the streets, on public transport and in local homes. This could be an interesting talking point with students, why do we think Bob does not think aliens are real? Why do we think he does not notice the aliens? This is the big puzzle of the book. One year later, in 1985, Tony Clifton appears at Kaufman's tribute at The Comedy Store's main stage, performing " I Will Survive", while Zmuda (who would often perform as Clifton in routines where Kaufman appeared as himself) watches in the audience. Creative writing- there are so many opportunities for creative writing tasks as a direct result of looking at this book. For example, writing postcards as if they were visiting the moon, writing tourist leaflets all about the moon (perhaps in collaboration with science lessons), writing Bob’s job description and then applying for that job etc.