David Mamet to Write and Direct Disney Film Version of The Diary of Anne Frank

Pulitzer Prize-winning scribe and incoming Broadway director David Mamet will pair with Disney to bring a new version of The Diary of Anne Frank to the big screen, according to Variety. Mamet, who will also produce the film alongside Andrew Braunsberg, will reportedly use both the famous diary and the original stage play by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich to craft a fresh take on Frank’s story.

The Diary of Anne Frank was made into a 1959 film, written by Hackett and Goodrich. It garnered three Academy Award nominations.

Mamet adds the writing of the script to an already full plate, which includes making his Broadway directorial debut with the fall’s world premiere of his previously announced new play Race, beginning previews November 17 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. In addition to Race, Broadway will double up on Mamet with a starry production of his Oleanna, featuring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, which begins performances on September 29 at the Golden Theatre. Off-Broadway will also receive a dose of Mamet, with Atlantic Theater Company’s double bill of the playwright’s short plays Keep Your Pantheon and School, which begin performances on September 9.