David Mamet Remaking "Diary of Anne Frank"

Gina Wilhelm Actress - David Mamet Remaking "Diary of Anne Frank"

David Mamet is writing and directing a new version of "The Diary of Anne Frank" for Disney.

Mamet, of course, is the writer of "Glengarry Glen Ross" and writer and director of "State and Main."

The original stage treatment of the true story of a girl and her family hiding from Nazis was done in 1955 by husband-and-wife writing team Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.

They won the Pulitzer Prize for their script as well as the Tony for best play.

They also wrote the script for the 1959 film adaptation and the 1967 and 1980 TV movie versions.

The film adaptation earned Shelley Winters an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She later donated her award to the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Elisabeth Moss, Cipher

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Elisabeth Moss, Cipher

Elisabeth Moss is a woman of contradictions. She plays a tightly controlled secretary-turned-copywriter on "Mad Men," yet she has to have a sign reminding her to lock her apartment door.

She recently appeared in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" on Broadway, in which every word must be spoken as it appears on the page, but she's currently filming a Judd Apatow movie.

Apatow's movies relay heavily on improvisational work by their actors. In this one, "Get Him to the Greek," she stars opposite Jonah Hill.

She also wants to be taken seriously and not just trade on her looks. Luckily then, perhaps, her "Mad Men" character, Peggy, doesn't get to be very dolled-up.

The show's creator, Matthew Weiner, is impressed with her work. He says it's very instinctive for her.

"She works hard, but I think she also works hard to hide it. Either that, or she’s an alien."

Moss is thrilled that television critics can't understand Peggy. “That makes the performance more interesting,” she says.

Perhaps that makes her own contradictions more understandable.

Moss worked on "Speed-the-Plow" over the filming hiatus for "Mad Men." Weiner had encouraged her to do theater with the thought that she would do a workshop.

Instead, she performed in a Tony-nominated Broadway production.

Moss has been performing since an early age. At 10, she played Baby June in a television movie of "Gypsy" starring Bette Midler.

As a youngster, she was more focused on dancing than acting. She thinks this was good for her. She wasn't the 9-year-old whose whole life focused on getting a single part.

“We all know that 9-year-old, and she’s not a pretty picture,” Moss adds.

Gina Wilhelm Actress

Actor or Actress?

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Actor or Actress?

There's been some debate among my friends over what a woman who acts is supposed to call herself: Is she an actor or an actress? Or a female actor? Or a woman who acts?

The L.A. Times today which illuminates the debate, though does not give any answers.

Some contend that actress actually means a "small actor."

In days gone by, the term connoted a woman of ill repute (even worse than that of her male counterparts, which is saying something).

The actress Gene Tierney considered the word a "title," not a job description.

David Mamet is vehemently--and colorfully--opposed to the use of the term "actress."

Actress Fiona Shaw is in the minority of those who actually consider the word "actress" a badge of honor; usually the best you can hope for is that it not be considered an insult.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences still uses the word "actress," while the Screen Actors Guild uses the term "female actor."

On the other hand, the SAG award statuette is very definitely male, which may dilute the message of equality a bit.

In the meantime, I don't seem to be offended by the suffix "-ess" and the blog is already named, so for now, I continue to call myself...

Gina Wilhelm Actress