Aside from a couple of shorts, David Mamet hasn’t written and directed anything on the big screen since 2008’s martial arts drama Redbelt. He’s back with a script called Blackbird and has scored Cate Blanchett as his leading lady.
Mamet is dipping into conspiracy theory for this one, chronicling the tale of a woman called Janet (Blanchett) who heads to Los Angeles for her grandfather’s funeral.
She discovers that he was keeping more than a few secrets from the family, not least of which is that in addition to working as a talented visual effects artist in Hollywood, he moonlighted as a consultant to US Special Ops agencies. Oh, and he was somehow involved with the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Soon, Janet’s life is under threat, and she’ll need to probe deeper into what her grandfather knew to survive.
It won’t surprise to learn that this is heavily Hitchcockian, with plenty of ticking-clock thrills. Mamet has support from SBS Productions and will shoot in Sydney thanks to some Australian tax breaks.
Blanchett is currently at work on George Clooney’s The Monuments Men. She’ll be seen in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmin****e, and recently worked on Terrence Malick’s latest films, including Knight Of Cups. The actress also turned director for Aussie portmanteau movie The Turning and will be back on our screens as Galadriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smau****g, which is out on December 13. Phew, you'd think she'd want a break already.