In August Variety had reported that Disney had recently acquired the rights to the film, which would be produced by Andrew Braunsberg ("Being There") and writer-director Mamet. The Oleanna and Race playwright, it was then reported, had based his film's script on the famed diary and the original Albert Hackett-Frances Goodrich play.
According to a Sept. 23 article on TheWrap.com, Mamet's version — "a pro-Israel exploration of anti-Semitism movie set in contemporary times" — has been deemed "too dark" by Disney, and it is unlikely the film will be made. "It's very intense, and dark and scary," a Disney executive told TheWrap.com. "It's not a film version of 'The Diary of Anne Frank.' The story evolved into something more intense."
No official announcement has been made by Disney.
The original 1959 "Anne Frank" film, also written by Hackett and Goodrich, won three Academy Awards.
