David Mamet Writes
The Edge
Lee Tamahori’s first foray in Hollywood, ‘Mulholland Falls,’ didn’t fare all that well. Luckily, his follow-up with 1997’s ‘The Edge’ made money and allowed him to keep working in the business. (Though if you look at his foray in the Bond franchise, ‘Die Another Day,’ maybe it’s not so lucky after all.) But does the movie feel like something from a David Mamet script? Or does it fall into formulaic Hollywood junk? Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—as we wrap up our ‘David Mamet as a screenwriter’ series with ‘The Edge.’
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Glengarry Glen Ross
David Mamet won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 with his play “Glengarry Glen Ross.” The play really exemplified Mamet-speak and its transition to film retained that, despite the fact that it took eight years to make it to the silver screen. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our David Mamet as Screenwriter series with James Foley’s 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross.
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The Untouchables
Brian De Palma was coming off a couple of box office disappointments when he signed on to bring David Mamet’s script “The Untouchables” to life. The studio was hoping for something akin to a movie version of their old TV show but this team opted to tell a more focused story, and that is both the success and failure of this movie. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our ‘Mamet as screenwriter’ series with 1987’s “The Untouchables.”
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The Verdict
David Mamet wrote screenplays for several years before he jumped into the director’s seat, and while some of them still distinctly sound like Mamet’s writing, others really don’t. The ‘Mamet Speak’ isn’t there, or perhaps it’s just less obvious. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kick off another Mamet series, this time focusing on films he worked on only as screenwriter.
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