A little David Mamet for Friday....

Of all the directors in Hollywood today, there's only one of whom I can say that when I see "Written And Directed By _______" on a movie ad, it is guaranteed that I will see that movie: David Mamet. Here's a sampling of his work:

Wrote And Directed:
House of Games (1987)
Things Change (1988)
Homicide (1991)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1993)**
Oleanna (1994)**
American Buffalo (1996)**
The Spanish Prisoner(1998)
State And Main (2000)
Heist (2001)
Spartan (2004)
Redbelt (2008)

** - Wrote original play, too.

Wrote Screenplay:
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
The Verdict (1982) - Screenplay nominated for Academy Award
About Last Night (1986)
The Untouchables (1987)
The Edge (1997)

Wrote Stage Play:
American Buffalo (1975) - Won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play
Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) - Won Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Nominated for Tony Award
Speed the Plow (1988) - Nominated for Tony Award
Oleanna (1992)

Mamet is also the creator of the TV series "The Unit".

I saw Heist again the other night. I had considered it behind House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, and Spartan on my mental list of favorite Mamet productions, but after another viewing, I am reconsidering. I had forgotten how entertaining the dialogue was in Heist. To wit:

Scene: Bobby Blane (played by Delroy Lindo), a veteran thief, and Jimmy (Sam Rockwell), a mobster's nephew on his first heist, are sitting in a van, about to initiate their roles in the job. Jimmy taps his lighter on the steering wheel.

Bobby: Sometimes adrenaline gives people the shakes...
Jimmy: I'm alright, man...
Bobby: No, I'm just saying sometimes, adrenaline gives people the shakes. Some other people mistake it for cowardice, maybe you'd want to pray about it.
Jimmy: I'm not a religious man.
Bobby: There's nothing wrong with prayer.
Jimmy: You think so?
Bobby: I'm in this fire fight, this trooper who always carried a bible next to his heart, we used to mock him. But that bible stopped a bullet.
Jimmy: No s--t?
Bobby: Hand of God, that bible stopped a bullet. It would’ve ruined his heart. And had he had another bible in front of his face, that man would be alive today.....

I laughed out loud at that last line. Woke up Lynda and everything.