“Drama Appeals to Us is Because It Touches Something Different than the Contemporary”: David Mamet on TV, Theater, Gene Hackman and His New Film, Henry Johnson

I assumed David Mamet would probably have more opinions about Aristotle than A24 and, indeed, in discussing the 76-year-old playwright-turned-filmmaker’s new movie, Henry Johnson, the former came up while the latter didn’t. Henry Johnson marks Mamet’s return to the director’s chair after a decade-long absence from cinema, and it’s easily his most austere work since 1994’s Oleanna, which like this film was adapted from his own play. Premiering on stage in 2023 at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California, and later staged at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater in 2025, the play follows the unraveling of its titular character, a well-meaning […] The post “Drama Appeals to Us is Because It Touches Something Different than the Contemporary”: David Mamet on TV, Theater, Gene Hackman and His New Film, Henry Johnson first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

May 9, 2025 - 19:08

“Drama Appeals to Us is Because It Touches Something Different than the Contemporary”: David Mamet on TV, Theater, Gene Hackman and His New Film, Henry Johnson

I assumed David Mamet would probably have more opinions about Aristotle than A24 and, indeed, in discussing the 76-year-old playwright-turned-filmmaker’s new movie, Henry Johnson, the former came up while the latter didn’t. Henry Johnson marks Mamet’s return to the director’s chair after a decade-long absence from cinema, and it’s easily his most austere work since 1994’s Oleanna, which like this film was adapted from his own play. Premiering on stage in 2023 at the Electric Lodge in Venice, California, and later staged at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater in 2025, the play follows the unraveling of its titular character, a well-meaning […] The post “Drama Appeals to Us is Because It Touches Something Different than the Contemporary”: David Mamet on TV, Theater, Gene Hackman and His New Film, Henry Johnson first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.