大卫·马麦特

David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays Glengarry Glen Ross (1983) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). He first gained critical acclaim for a trio of 1970s off-Broadway plays: The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo. His plays, Race and The Penitent, respectively, opened on Broadway in 2009 and previewed off-Broadway in 2017.

Feature films that Mamet both wrote and directed include House of Games (1987), Homicide (1991), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), and his biggest commercial success, Heist (2001). His screenwriting credits include The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Verdict (1982), The Untouchables (1987), Hoffa (1992), Wag the Dog (1997), and Hannibal (2001). Mamet himself wrote the screenplay for the 1992 adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross, and wrote and directed the 1994 adaptation of his play Oleanna (1992). He created and produced the CBS series The Unit (2006–2009).

Mamet's books include: On Directing Film (1991), a commentary and dialogue about film-making; The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a Torah commentary with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business; The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture (2011), a commentary on cultural and political issues; Three War Stories (2013), a trio of novellas about the physical and psychological effects of war;……

Early life and education

Mamet was born in 1947 in Chicago to Lenore June (née Silver), a teacher, and Bernard Morris Mamet, a labor attorney. He is Jewish. His paternal grandparents were Polish Jews. Mamet has said his parents were communists and described himself as a "red diaper baby". One of his earliest jobs was as a busboy at Chicago's London House and The Second City. He also worked as an actor, editor for Oui magazine, and as a cab driver.……

Career

Theater

Mamet is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company; he first gained acclaim for a trio of off-Broadway plays in 1976, The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for Glengarry Glen Ross, which received its first Broadway revival in the summer of 2005.……

Film

Mamet's first film work was as a screenwriter, later directing his own scripts.……

Style and reception

Mamet speak

Mamet's style of writing dialogue, marked by a cynical, street-smart edge, has come to be called Mamet speak. Mamet himself has criticized his (and other writers') tendency to write "pretty" at the expense of sound, logical plots.……

Gender issues

Mamet's plays have frequently sparked debate and controversy.……

Archives

The papers of David Mamet were sold to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 and first opened for research in 2009.……

Personal life

Mamet and actress Lindsay Crouse married in 1977 and divorced in 1990. The couple have two children. Mamet has been married to actress and singer-songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon since 1991, and they have two children. Mamet and Pidgeon live in Santa Monica, California.

Mamet is a Reform Jew and Zionist.

Political views

In 2005, Mamet became a contributing blogger for The Huffington Post, drawing satirical cartoons with themes including political strife in Israel.……

Works

Film

• Short film
• Acting roles

Television

• TV movies
• Acting roles

Unrealized projects

Ace in the Hole remake (1990) – Script for Brian De Palma to direct

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1992) – Unused early draft

Charlie Chan in Horse and Rider (1992) – Script for Warner Bros.

Ordinary Daylight (1992) – Based on the memoir, for Warner Bros.

High and Low remake (1993) – Script for Martin Scorsese to direct

• Moby-Dick (1990s) – Based on the novel
• Lolita (1997) – Unused early draft