Known for his highly stylized dialogue, elaborate con films and thematic explorations of gender politics and masculinity, Disney’s announcement of a new adaptation of “The Diary Of Anne Frank” written and directed by David Mamet comes as a total shock. Already filmed multiple times, the best known version being George Stevens’ Oscar winning 1959 feature film, Mamet’s version (which is still being written) is set to reframe the story as a “young girl’s rite of passage.” Uh, ok.
It remains to be seen what attracted Mamet to the project in the first place or how he will leave his stamp on the material. We find it hard to believe that Disney is going to let the director do anything truly groundbreaking with such a well known, important and revered text in Jewish culture. So if this is just yet another re-telling of the familiar story, why bother? Is this just an easy payday for Mamet and an awards season horse for Disney? Have the execs at Disney actually seen a David Mamet film? We’ll have to wait and see the studio’s reaction once the script is handed in, though we’ll hardly be surprised if Disney ends up going for something more safe and traditional even if it means dumping Mamet altogether.
Or maybe two-time nominee Mamet just wants his Oscar already. [BFDealMemo]
