Happy Birthday: David Mamet

David Mamet

Born: November 30, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois, USA

There’s no such thing as character development; all there is is action.

Working as a screenwriter, I always thought that ‘Film is a collaborative business’ only constituted half of the actual phrase. From a screenwriter’s point-of-view, the correct rendering should be ‘Film is a collaborative business: bend over’.

In my experience, almost every financial interchange with Hollywood ends with an accusation by the corporation of theft. ‘You didn’t do what I wanted, you didn’t work hard enough, you intended to defraud me.’ These are the recurring plaints of industry. They may be translated as: You forgot to work for nothing.

Heist 2001 dir. Mamet starring Gene Hackman Danny DeVito

Spartan 2004 dir. Mamet starring Val Kilmer Kristen Bell

Redbelt 2008 dir. Mamet Starring Chiwetel Ejitofor Alice Braga

Born in Chicago in 1947, as a young man Mamet was already a successful playwright.

His first original screenplay was 1982’s The Verdict, for which he received an Oscar nomination.

Mamet’s directorial debut was House of Games (’87), and he has continued to direct many of his own screenplays since then. David also received another Oscar nomination for adapting Wag the Dog (’97). Mamet is currently developing The Diary of Anne Frank.

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