David Mamet Takes On The Tale of Anne Frank
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Disney, RumorMonger, Scripts
In perhaps the most oddly juxtaposed match of artist and material since David Lynch gave us The Straight Story, acclaimed playwright and screenwriter David Mamet has signed on to write and direct his own version of the story of Anne Frank.You read that right -- the man behind Oleanna is taking on the tale of the Jewish teenager who hid in an Amsterdam attic during the Holocaust before dying at 15, and on behalf of Disney no less. According to Variety, Mamet's interpretation will combine elements of Frank's renown diary, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett's Tony Award-winning stage adaptation, and whatever Mamet brings to the table that, in the trade's words, "could reframe the story as a young girl's right of passage."
I'm really not sure what to make of this myself. The man has certainly proven a gift with dialogue and direction on both screen and stage, but I can't say that I've seen a film of this that suggests that he might be ideal to bring Anne Frank's life back to, well, life. Maybe he'll go for something more abstract along the lines of I'm Not There; the best any of us can do now is just wait and see how this plays out.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-12-2009 @ 12:31PM
David said...
This is much less "oddly juxtaposed" than Mamet writing and directing a G-rated version of Terence Rattigan's play "The Winslow Boy" in 1999, with a mostly British cast.
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8-12-2009 @ 12:31PM
Batzarro said...
Rite of Passage? That's ackward.
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8-12-2009 @ 1:32PM
ian said...
"Maybe he'll go for something more abstract along the lines of I'm Not There"
I'd like to see Catinca Untaru, Marion Cotillard and Alec Baldwin take turns as Anne.
Reply
8-12-2009 @ 1:33PM
William Goss said...
Didn't strictly mean the casting gimmick, but I like where your head's at all the same.