Brian Damage
09-25-2009, 09:29 AM
Back in August we found out about the unlikely pairing of writer/director David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Redbelt) and Disney on a remake of The Diary of Anne Frank. But with the recent shake up that's been going down at Disney after Dick Cook exited the studio, it looks like Mamet's take on the story isn't happening anymore. Sharon Waxman over at The Wrap says the picture, "developed by the studio’s chief of production, Oren Aviv… was recently rejected by the studio as 'too dark' and put in turnaround." Sure it's a dark story already, but it sounds like Mamet's take was just too far out there for the new studio execs.
Apparently the story isn't simply a re-telling of the story chronicled in the 15-year-old Holocaust victim's diary, but rather the story is "about a contemporary Jewish girl who goes to Israel and learns about the traumas of suicide bombing." It doesn't sound too crazy, but an executive at Disney who sounds like he's genuinely scared about the adaptation commented on Mamet's version: "It's very intense, and dark and scary. It's not a film version of The Diary of Anne Frank. The story evolved into something more intense."
Well, now I'm all sorts of intrigued about this project after that kind of comment. And I hope that Disney can pick themselves up and get stuff moving again despite Dick Cook's exit. I'm sure his sudden departure will gum up Disney's studio machinery for a little while and stop a lot of projects where they stand, but this sounds like it could be a bold and daring piece that Disney could be proud of if they ever decide to make it. I hope we find out sooner than later what happens to Mamet's Anne Frank project.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/24/mamets-anne-frank-project-ditched-for-being-too-dark/
Apparently the story isn't simply a re-telling of the story chronicled in the 15-year-old Holocaust victim's diary, but rather the story is "about a contemporary Jewish girl who goes to Israel and learns about the traumas of suicide bombing." It doesn't sound too crazy, but an executive at Disney who sounds like he's genuinely scared about the adaptation commented on Mamet's version: "It's very intense, and dark and scary. It's not a film version of The Diary of Anne Frank. The story evolved into something more intense."
Well, now I'm all sorts of intrigued about this project after that kind of comment. And I hope that Disney can pick themselves up and get stuff moving again despite Dick Cook's exit. I'm sure his sudden departure will gum up Disney's studio machinery for a little while and stop a lot of projects where they stand, but this sounds like it could be a bold and daring piece that Disney could be proud of if they ever decide to make it. I hope we find out sooner than later what happens to Mamet's Anne Frank project.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/09/24/mamets-anne-frank-project-ditched-for-being-too-dark/