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David Mamet
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===Film=== Mamet's first film work was as a screenwriter, later directing his own scripts. According to [[Joe Mantegna]], Mamet worked as a [[script doctor]] for the 1978 film ''[[Towing (film)|Towing]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|title=Joe Mantegna|date=April 21, 2009|website=The A.V. Club|url=https://www.avclub.com/joe-mantegna-1798216310|accessdate=June 19, 2022}}</ref> Mamet's first produced screenplay was the 1981 production of ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981 film)|The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'', based on [[James M. Cain]]'s novel. He received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination one year later for the 1982 legal drama, ''[[The Verdict]]''. He also wrote the screenplays for ''[[The Untouchables (film)|The Untouchables]]'' (1987), ''[[Hoffa (film)|Hoffa]]'' (1992), ''[[The Edge (1997 film)|The Edge]]'' (1997), ''[[Wag the Dog]]'' (1997), ''[[Ronin (film)|Ronin]]'' (1998), and ''[[Hannibal (2001 film)|Hannibal]]'' (2001). He received a second [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for ''Wag the Dog''. In 1987, Mamet made his film directing debut with his screenplay ''[[House of Games]]'', which won Best Screenplay awards at the 1987 [[Venice Film Festival]] and the [[London Film Critics' Circle Award for Film of the Year|Film of the Year]] in 1989 from the [[London Film Critics' Circle Awards]]. The film starred his then-wife, [[Lindsay Crouse]], and many longtime stage associates and friends, including fellow [[Goddard College]] graduates.<ref>''Life'' magazine (Oct. 1987, V. 10 No. 11)</ref> Mamet was quoted as saying, "It was my first film as a director and I needed support, so I stacked the deck."{{citation needed|date=September 2010}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=House of Games Movie |url=https://casinoinmovies.com/house-of-games.htm |website=casinoinmovies.com}}</ref> After ''House of Games'', Mamet later wrote and directed two more films focusing on the world of con artists, ''[[The Spanish Prisoner]]'' (1997) and ''[[Heist (2001 film)|Heist]]'' (2001). Among those films, ''[[Heist (2001 film)|Heist]]'' enjoyed the biggest commercial success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywood.com/movies/box-office-analysis-nov-11-57232728/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921210011/http://www.hollywood.com/movies/box-office-analysis-nov-11-57232728/|archive-date=September 21, 2015|title=Box Office Analysis: Nov. 11|date=November 11, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heist.htm |title=Heist |access-date=February 19, 2009 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://us.imdb.com/Charts/video020609 |title=Top Video Rentals for the week ending June 09, 2002 |website=us.imdb.com |access-date=January 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021216041748/http://us.imdb.com/Charts/video020609 |archive-date=December 16, 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Other films that Mamet both wrote and directed include: ''[[Things Change (film)|Things Change]]'' (1988), ''[[Homicide (1991 film)|Homicide]]'' (1991) (nominated for the Palme d'Or at 1991 [[Cannes Film Festival]] and won a "Screenwriter of the Year" award for Mamet from the [[London Film Critics' Circle Awards]]), ''[[Oleanna (film)|Oleanna]]'' (1994), ''[[The Winslow Boy (1999 film)|The Winslow Boy]]'' (1999), ''[[State and Main]]'' (2000), ''[[Spartan (film)|Spartan]]'' (2004), ''[[Redbelt]]'' (2008), and the 2013 bio-pic TV movie ''[[Phil Spector (film)|Phil Spector]]''. A feature-length film, a thriller titled ''Blackbird'', was intended for release in 2015, but is still in development.<ref>{{cite web |title=James Badge Dale Joins Cate Blanchett In David Mamet's 'Blackbird' |url=https://deadline.com/2013/11/james-badge-dale-joins-cate-blanchett-in-david-mamets-blackbird-629015/ |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=November 24, 2013}}</ref> <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:David Mamet - 1978.jpg|thumb|left|Mamet in 1978]] --> When Mamet adapted his play for the 1992 film ''[[Glengarry Glen Ross (film)|Glengarry Glen Ross]]'', he wrote an additional part (including the monologue "[[Coffee's for closers]]") for [[Alec Baldwin]]. Mamet continues to work with an informal repertory company for his films, including Crouse, [[William H. Macy]], [[Joe Mantegna]], and [[Rebecca Pidgeon]], as well as the aforementioned school friends. Mamet rewrote the script for ''[[Ronin (film)|Ronin]]'' under the pseudonym "Richard Weisz" and turned in an early version of a script for ''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]'' which was rejected by director [[Spike Lee]].<ref name="MalcolmX">{{cite magazine |last=Simpson |first=Janet |title=The Battle To Film Malcolm X |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975087-1,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105112509/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975087-1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 5, 2008 |magazine=Time |access-date=March 20, 2007 | date=March 16, 1992}}</ref> Mamet also wrote an unproduced biopic script about [[Roscoe Arbuckle]] with [[Chris Farley]] intended to portray him.<ref name="Fatty">{{cite web|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|title=Fatty fall down, make tragedy: The Chris Farley Show|date=June 9, 2009|website=The A.V. Club|url=https://www.avclub.com/fatty-fall-down-make-tragedy-the-chris-farley-show-1798217093|accessdate=June 19, 2022|quote=For Farley, the projects that could have pulled him out of a steep professional downward spiral were a plucky animated comedy called Shrek and a David Mamet-penned biopic of Fatty Arbuckle.}}</ref> In 2000, Mamet directed a film version of ''[[Beckett on Film#Catastrophe|Catastrophe]],'' a one-act play by [[Samuel Beckett]] featuring [[Harold Pinter]] and [[John Gielgud]] (in his final screen performance). In 2008, he wrote and directed the [[mixed martial arts]] movie ''[[Redbelt]],'' about a martial arts instructor tricked into fighting in a professional bout. In ''[[On Directing Film]]'', Mamet advocates for a method of storytelling based on Eisenstein's montage theory, stating that the story should be told through the juxtaposition of uninflected images. This method relies heavily on the cut between scenes, and Mamet urges directors to eliminate as much narration as possible. Mamet asserts that directors should focus on getting the point of a scene across, rather than simply following a protagonist, or adding visually beautiful or intriguing shots. Films should create order from disorder in search of the objective. In 2023, reports emerged that Mamet would direct and co-write a new film titled ''Assassination'', his first film since 2008. The film will center around the [[Chicago Outfit|Chicago Mob]] ordering the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], and will star [[Viggo Mortensen]], [[Shia LaBeouf]], [[Courtney Love]], [[Al Pacino]], and [[John Travolta]]. The film's production was scheduled to start in September 2023.<ref name="Assassination">{{cite news|last=Ravindran|first=Manori|title=Viggo Mortensen, Shia LaBeouf, Courtney Love Board David Mamet's JFK Thriller 'Assassination' |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/jfk-assassination-viggo-mortensen-shia-labeouf-david-mamet-1235612087/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=15 May 2023}}</ref> In October, [[Barry Levinson]] took over as the film's director, while Mamet remained as the screenwriter.<ref name="Assass2">{{cite news|title=Barry Levinson Set To Direct Al Pacino Starring, David Mamet-Scripted JFK Thriller 'Assassination' |url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/barry-levinson-assassination-al-pacino-1235576261/|work=Deadline|date=17 October 2023}}</ref> In March 2024, Mamet stated that he is currently writing a screenplay centering about [[Hunter Biden]], the second son of U.S. President [[Joe Biden]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Ruimy|first=Jordan|title=David Mamet Says He's Writing A Hunter Biden Film|url=https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/3/18/david-mamet|work=WorldofReel|date=18 March 2024}}</ref> In June, ''[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]]'' reported that the film, titled ''The Prince'', will directed by [[Cameron Van Hoy]] and star [[Scott Haze]] as the lead character Parker; alongside [[Nicolas Cage]], [[J.K. Simmons]], [[Giancarlo Esposito]], and [[Andy Garcia]]. Mamet added that the film won't be "a travelogue", and will be inspired by Hunter's life, rather than serve as a [[Biographical film|biopic]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Grobar|first=Matt|title=Hunter Biden-Inspired Addiction Pic 'The Prince' In Works From Cameron Van Hoy & David Mamet; Scott Haze, Nicolas Cage, J.K. Simmons, Giancarlo Esposito & Andy Garcia To Star|url=https://deadline.com/2024/06/hunter-biden-movie-the-prince-casts-nicolas-cage-giancarlo-esposito-more-1235971590/comment-page-2/#comments|work=Deadline|date=12 June 2024}}</ref>
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