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Converting Mamet
The Weekly Standard ^
| May, 2011
| Andrew Ferguson
Posted on 05/14/2011 7:11:04 PM PDT by AustralianConservative
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http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/converting-mamet_561048.html
To: AustralianConservative
Honesty and clarity-Isn’t it refreshing?
2
posted on
05/14/2011 7:16:45 PM PDT
by
Amberdawn
To: AustralianConservative
If anyone hasn’t seen the 1992 film version of Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ please do. It’s breathtaking.
3
posted on
05/14/2011 7:20:10 PM PDT
by
Borges
To: Borges
Mamets Glengarry Glen Ross Especially Alec Baldwin's sales meeting from Hell.
4
posted on
05/14/2011 7:29:27 PM PDT
by
AU72
To: AustralianConservative
Fantastic article. Thanks for finding this and putting it up.
5
posted on
05/14/2011 7:29:39 PM PDT
by
jessduntno
(Liberalism is socialism in a party dress. And just as masculine.)
To: Borges
Everyone knows that, including Wag the Dog.
But try SPARTAN, with Val Kilmer. Mamey befriended in real-life, one of the founders of Delta Force, and that’s what Kilmer played.
The irony? It’s about a president who tried to have his own daughter kidnapped and left for dead because at the same time, the president in a re-election year was having sex with his other girlfriends in Boston. So basically, it was all fakery...(like Clinton and obama)
Kilmer plays the Delta guy who saves the daughter because he knew it was the right thing to do, even though the president was an a-hole.
To: AU72
“Especially Alec Baldwin’s sales meeting from Hell.”
I worked for a guy just like that - for 3 days - delivered a few Mamet type lines to him before I left. He just sat there and blinked.
7
posted on
05/14/2011 7:31:42 PM PDT
by
jessduntno
(Liberalism is socialism in a party dress. And just as masculine.)
To: AustralianConservative
I’ve been a fan of Mamet for a long time.
His writing is Shakespearean. I thought that Atlas Shrugged would have benefited by having him do the screenplay. (Maybe he’s ready now?)
House of Games is a wonderful film.
This feels like the Michael Crichton essay on environmentalism as a religion:
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/environmentalism-as-religion
We enjoyed seeing Mamet’s latest work on Broadway (first night of previews - Patrick Stewart in “A Life in the Theater” - fun from the front row center, closed in a few weeks).
It’s a joy to see people growing up, one by one!
8
posted on
05/14/2011 7:36:08 PM PDT
by
Atlas Sneezed
(...a.k.a. "Norm L. C. Bias")
To: Beelzebubba
9
posted on
05/14/2011 7:38:59 PM PDT
by
Atlas Sneezed
(...a.k.a. "Norm L. C. Bias")
To: jessduntno
10
posted on
05/14/2011 7:39:52 PM PDT
by
AU72
To: Borges
Best dialogue of any film ever. Always be closing. Some great con artist movies as well in House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner. Wrote the movie version of The Untouchables. Wrote the script of that DeNiro movie Ronin where he, Jean Reno and some other guys are gangsters in France with a briefcase and the mafia is after them. A great chase movie. Wrote the script of the Paul Newman classic The Verdict. Even a decent terrorism movie with Val Kilmer where the President's daughter is kidnapped. Some great quotes in the story: Before long, when Finley didnt budge, the books from Mamet stopped arriving, and Finley asked if he could send Mamet some books too. One of the first was A Conflict of Visions, by Thomas Sowell of the Hoover Institution. In it Sowell expands on the difference between the constrained vision of human natureclose to the tragic view that infuses Mamets greatest playsand the unconstrained vision of mans endless improvement that suffused Mamets politics and the politics of his profession and social class. He came back to me stunned. He said, This is incredible! He said, Who thinks like this? Who are these people? I said, Republicans think like this. He said, Amazing. Interestingly, Gov Palin mentioned that same Sowell book in Going Rogue and used it as an example of what conservatism is and what she believes. Now, whether she actually read the whole book or someone just told her it would be good to name drop, who knows? But she still mentioned it and interesting to see Mamet mention it as influencing him. Also this one: And he was right, Mamet said. It had a huge effect on me. Forcing yourself into a new way of thinking about things is a wrenching experience. But first you have to look back and atone. You think, Oh my god, what have I done? What was I thinking? In talking about Witness. But I was reminded of the Talking Heads song "Once In a Lifetime". "And you may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife. You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?" Good story to read though.
11
posted on
05/14/2011 7:41:33 PM PDT
by
jeltz25
To: AustralianConservative
Fascinating article.
Fascinating man.
Thanks for posting.
12
posted on
05/14/2011 8:02:51 PM PDT
by
okie01
(THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Ignorance On Parade)
To: max americana
Spartan is really good, very under-appreciated little movie.
I really like The Edge, Heist and Things Change also. He wrote my favorite episode of "The Shield" (called "Strays").
The cool thing is, he can get away with this. Mamet cannot be blacklisted, he's too good. Some people have f*ck you money... Mamet has f*ck you talent.
To: AustralianConservative
WOW!
READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE!!!
14
posted on
05/14/2011 8:18:22 PM PDT
by
Atlas Sneezed
(...a.k.a. "Norm L. C. Bias")
To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
Mamet cannot be blacklisted, he’s too good.
Plus, he’s a genuine “Member of the Tribe.”
15
posted on
05/14/2011 8:20:25 PM PDT
by
Atlas Sneezed
(...a.k.a. "Norm L. C. Bias")
To: AustralianConservative
Thanks so much ....Id read a bit about this a while back and I find this inspiring
16
posted on
05/14/2011 8:34:25 PM PDT
by
woofie
To: AustralianConservative
It is interesting to see what happens when an intelligent liberal actually takes the time to actually think about his political positions - he becomes a conservative.
17
posted on
05/14/2011 8:51:20 PM PDT
by
fhayek
To: AustralianConservative
18
posted on
05/14/2011 8:53:48 PM PDT
by
Auntie Mame
(Fear not tomorrow. God is already there.)
To: AustralianConservative
This is a very good read. Well worth the time.
19
posted on
05/14/2011 8:55:22 PM PDT
by
comps4spice
(Liberalism is a threat to life and liberty in the USA.)
To: AustralianConservative
bookmark - and the thread looks interesting, too.
Thanks!
20
posted on
05/14/2011 9:04:30 PM PDT
by
fightinJAG
(I am sick of people adding their comments to titles in the title box. Thank you.)
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