Mamet for Ford? It’s not such a stretch. Playwright David Mamet has directed a Ford commercial that breaks tonight on American Idol. Given the prospects for live theater, that’s probably not such a bad career move for the auteur, known for high-octane dramas like Glengarry Glen Ross. Mamet’s hallmarks — choppy, high-decibel dialog, urban-hysteric imagery, testosterone-crazed male bonding and betrayal — seem particularly conducive to car ads. So, I’m not sure how we’ll tell his effort from run-of-the-mill Ford fare. Now, if Sam Beckett concocted a TV spot, that would be something special: Drivers immersed up to their necks in a junk-heap of competitors’ scrap parts—crumpled doors of BMWs, a shattered windscreen from a crashed Lexus. They’d scream “Ford! Ford!” as the tagline “What are you waiting for?” slid across the screen. Alas, Beckett’s dead. But Harvey Fierstein’s alive. Maybe he should give Firestone a call about a trilogy of spots. UPDATE: See Mamet’s Ford ads here and here. —Posted by David Gianatasio

April 17, 2007 | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c51c053ef00d834522cab69e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Mamet for Ford? It’s not such a stretch.:

Comments

---

Probably won't be the first to note this, but Mamet didn't direct Glengarrry Glen Ross. He wrote the play and the screenplay, but James Foley directed the movie if memory serves me.
Now House of Games... that was ALL Mamet and was truly excellent!

Posted by: Richard Huffman | Apr 17, 2007 11:28:06 AM

You probably will be the only one to mention it, since David didn't say Mamet directed Glengarry Glen Ross. He merely mentioned that he's known for it.

Posted by: joe | Apr 17, 2007 2:36:42 PM

"I have an idea! Let's get David Mamet to polish this poop!"

p.s. i own, and like, a ford. I'm just saying.

Posted by: True | Apr 18, 2007 9:39:58 AM

Hi Joe --

The guy was speaking of Mamet in a new directing gig, he used the word auteur, he spoke of urban-hysterical imagery; and then he mentions the film Glengarry Glenn Ross. It seemed logical to me that the writer assumed that Mamet directed that film, since the article was about directing and he was used language that was directing-specific. I think if you look at the question you mentioned, you'll see where I got the inference from. He said "that’s probably not such a bad career move for the auteur, known for high-octane dramas like Glengarry Glen Ross."

Auteur is a term that applies to film directors, and despite Mamet having written the script, Foley's the guy that would be described as the auteur of the film Glengarry Glen Ross. Check out the defination on dictionary.com...

But anyway, you're totally correct, he didn't say that Mamet was the director. Hey David Gianstasio... what DID you mean? : )

Posted by: Richard Huffman | Apr 19, 2007 5:43:56 AM

Post a comment

Name:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments:

The opinions expressed in comments are those of the individual poster. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Adweek or Nielsen Business Media. Comments of a promotional nature or comments that are otherwise inappropriate may be removed.