Shanghaiist: 99-year-old becomes oldest Beijinger to be charged with a crime

James Creegan

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:24:35 +0800

No no no, the best bit is when he's in the line for the airport and the woman in front of him is scolding her son "Now look you've got your fingers on that book. Look at it! The book it's covered in fingerprints! Fingerprints all over the book!" and then finally the penny drops as you scream at the screen. Didn't enjoy "Edmond" though, and I wasted a lot of time watching The Unit because he was involved.

Andy Best

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:03:53 +0800

Hey man. Yeah, I love Mamet, I knew from my Drama Degree writing courses. His dialogue crosses over perfectly to movies too. Glengarry Glenross is an obvious winner too. The best part of Spanish Prisoner is the meeting on the island where Cambpell Scott pitches his idea for the formula and persuades the board to buy it. You never ever see that white board face on or hear what it actually is, and they don't say what the amount they'd make on it is. It's so clever and rewarding to watch.

InactionHero

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:37:38 +0800

Dang, someone who reads and comments on Shanghaiist also knows and is a fan of David Mamet films. There's hope yet. I have seen every Mamet film, Andy, and I salute your reference to "The Spanish Prisoner." All of Mamet's films are underrated and somewhat of an acquired taste in that they kind of require that you pay attention to their signature dialogue. In this day and age, anybody who falls for The Spanish Prisoner scheme deserves to get bilked.

Andy Best

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:28:52 +0800

That one is traditionally called 'The Spanish Prisoner' and there's a very cool David Mamet movie of the same name about it. Anyone else seen that movie? The Spanish Prisoner con is just the idea of investing a little amount to get to the large amount, and the large amount is fake. In the movie though, it's way more complex. Very underrated film. Steve Martin is the bad guy too.