About six weeks ago, Disney announced that it was considering a new movie based on The Diary of Anne Frank, with David Mamet to direct. Like most people, we had only one thought: David Mamet and Disney?!
The acclaimed director and playwright — who earned a Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross and a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination for Wag the Dog — is famous for his poetic use of vile language and his unsparing examination of racial and sexual politics, hardly family-friendly stuff. It seemed like a match made in hell, and yesterday, Disney finally seemed to realize it.
The Wrap reports that the studio officially announced that they are abandoning the project. One executive made a statement to the press:
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.
Apparently, what Mamet had in mind was a complete reimagining. His version would involve a young girl who travels to present-day Israel and learns about the horrors of suicide bombing. The story would also involve a very intense examination of current anti-Semitism.
Again, we have to ask: Why was this ever brought to Disney?! Now that the project is in turnaround, we suppose Mamet will take it somewhere else. Hopefully, he'll exercise better judgment next time.