When you’re a revered screenwriter like David Mamet and have spent a considerable time in Hollywood, you cultivate a sixth sense for the absurd, as Mamet reveals in his new memoir, “Everywhere An Oink Oink: An Embittered, Disrespectful, and Accurate Report of Forty Years in Hollywood” (Simon and Schuster).
“In Hollywood,” he writes, “everyone is talking nonsense.”
Yet, despite David Mamet enjoying a 50-year writing career adorned with numerous awards and nominations, distinguishing truth from imagination is never easy.
“Billy Friedkin told me he fixed a car chase in ‘The French Connection.’ Mike Nichols told me Ingrid Bergman was a Jew and Gloria Steinem was a CIA spy.
“James Jones’ widow, Gloria, told me she was the leg stand-in for Marilyn Monroe.
“Mary Steenburgen told me she never slept with Jack Nicholson in ‘Goin’ South.’
“I believed them all.”
Some dismiss “Everywhere An Oink Oink” as mostly targeting film producers rather than genuinely crediting Mamet for any real accomplishments.
“If Washington is Hollywood for ugly people,” Mamet writes, “Hollywood is manufacturing for ugly people.
“There’s no daily satisfaction in production because, like Washington, their producers don’t produce anything.”
However, it often seems that producers don’t respect Mamet’s work. For instance, when he showed the script of “Oleana” to Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the producer was less than impressed.
He told Mamet, “The overwhelming respect in my mind for your talent, more than anything else, does not permit me to do anything but be furious at you for this piece.”
David Mamet was not surprised.
He writes, “Art and craft (primarily my own) toward sculpture and ignorance have in these two years received feedback from his industry exactly as mine: I do not understand it.”
In the meantime, agents identify his uselessness.
“The truth is if you are attractive, you do not need an agent,” he states, “and if you are not attractive, the agent does not need you.”
Studio executives fare no better.
“They are not audiences; they are a committee of related persons,” he notes.
However, over time, David Mamet learned not to care about what others in the industry thought of his work.
In 1989, he was hired to rework the script for the film “V.R. Angels.” In the new version, Mamet cast Robert De Niro and Sean Penn in the roles of fugitives and claimed that Irishman Neil Jordan, already renowned for his film “The Crying Game,” would direct the film.
While Jordan still used Mamet’s script, and the film was eventually released, this clash marked some battles that Mamet had to fight for his work to be portrayed the way he wanted.
It’s somewhat reminiscent of what he wrote in his play “Speed-the-Plow”: “Life in the film business is like beginning a new love affair: it is full of wonder, and you are getting f—-d continuously,” he remarks.
David Mamet, a stalwart in Hollywood, has a life story filled with intriguing anecdotes. When you’re a celebrated screenwriter like David Mamet, who has spent an extended period in Hollywood crafting admired narratives, you tend to develop a sixth sense for drama, much like Mamet did for his BA in the sixth sense, as revealed in his latest memoir, “Everywhere An Oink Oink: An Embittered, Dispeptic, and Accurate Report of Forty Years in Hollywood” (Simon and Schuster).
“In Hollywood,” he writes, “everyone is talking nonsense.” Despite enjoying a 50-year writing career adorned with numerous awards and nominations, differentiating truth from fiction is never easy.
“Billy Friedkin told me he fixed a car in ‘The French Connection.’ Mike Nichols told me Ingrid Bergman was a Jewish spy, and Gloria Steinem was a CIA agent.
“James Jones’s widow, Gloria, told me she stood in as a leg stand-in for Marilyn Monroe.
“Mary Steenburgen told me she never slept with Jack Nicholson in ‘Goin’ South.’
“I trusted them all.”
Some dismiss Mamet’s claims in “Everywhere An Oink Oink,” mainly targeting film producers as his primary focus. “If Washington is Hollywood for ugly people,” Mamet writes, “production is Hollywood for losers.”
However, despite numerous accolades, Mamet often felt the lack of respect from producers. For instance, when he showed the script of the film “Oleanna” to Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the producer was less than impressed. He told Mamet, “My immense respect for your talent, other than making me mad, doesn’t allow me to do anything else on this piece.”
Mamet was unfazed. He writes, “Shilpa and Art (foremost mine) have for two years been towards him as a constant imitation and ignorance: I don’t get it.”
In the meantime, agents are identified for their futility. “The truth is, if you are attractive, you don’t need an agent,” he notes. “And if you are not attractive, you don’t need an agent either.”
The demeanor of studio executives isn’t any better. “They are not audiences; they are a committee of related people,” he asserts.
Nevertheless, with time, Mamet learned not to care about what others in the industry thought of his work. In 1989, he was assigned to work on rewriting the script for the film “V.R. Angels.” In its new version, Mamet had enlisted Robert De Niro and Sean Penn, with Irishman Neil Jordan, already renowned for his film “The Crying Game,” slated to direct.
While the script was written, Mamet recalls, “We got together, and Neil said, ‘I have some questions about your script.'” I replied, ‘Then why don’t you go f–k yourself.’
“And I walked out.”
Though Jordan still used Mamet’s script, and the film was released, this clash symbolized some of the battles Mamet had to fight in line with how he wanted his work to be perceived.
It is somewhat reminiscent of what he wrote in his play “Speed-the-Plow” when he said: “The film business is like starting a new love affair in life: it’s full of wonder, and you are getting f—ed continuously,” he writes.
Mamet learned the hard way. On one occasion, actor Denzel Washington pulled out of a project to act in the semi-military thriller “Spartan” because Mamet had said he would welcome thoughts on his script for the film.
He writes, “Then I was not a filmmaker but a ruthless pimp, for whom he should not trust his time.”
After achieving success in stage plays like “The Duck Variations,” “American Buffalo,” and “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” Mamet ventured into films. His first produced screenplay was “The Postman Always Rings Twice” in 1981, featuring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange.
Later, he wrote “The Verdict” in 1982, “The Untouchables” in 1987, and “Wag the Dog” in 1997. He also directed films, including “House of Games” (1987) and “Heist” (2001), among others.
“I started my career at the top in Hollywood,” he writes. “[But] because I was a famous and successful playwright, my entry was a debacle.”
However, as Mamet reveals, relationships in Hollywood are fickle. For instance, he briefly collaborated with the renowned director Stanley Kubrick on “Full Metal Jacket.” “He invited me to his house in England. We talked for two afternoons, mostly about guns,” he recalls.
“He was a competitive pistol shooter, and I was too. I wanted to bring the conversation around to film gossip, but incendiaries and sexual innuendo weigh heavily among his fans.”
Every project that receives the green light has numerous stories of projects that never see the light of day. Even esteemed figures like David Mamet find themselves facing rejection, as evidenced by his refusal to write Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” and Sergio Leone’s ‘Once Upon a Time in America