Cast
Production
Script
In an interview in 2013, ''Phil Spectors writer and director,Cast and crew
''Phil Spector'' originally was supposed to star Bette Midler as Linda Kenney Baden, but Midler left the project two and a half weeks after filming began after suffering a back injury and, according to Helen Mirren, having to be carried off the set. Mamet recalled that the loss of Midler put completion of the film in jeopardy, as it could have led to the loss of Pacino and of the locations and sets as well, and that Mirren's willingness to take on the role on short notice saved the film. In a December 2002 interview with Spector biographer Mick Brown, Spector stated that he had a lifelong dream that his favorite actor, Al Pacino, one day would portray him in a film about his life and career. In an article in ''Historical accuracy
Although ''Phil Spector'' is based on real people and an actual event, it opens with an unusually worded disclaimer that states "This is a work of fiction. It's not 'based on a true story.' It is a drama inspired by actual persons in a trial, but it is neither an attempt to depict the actual persons, nor to comment upon the trial or its outcome." In reviewing the movie,Reception
The film has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator siteControversy
Spector's wife Rachelle said that the movie was "cheesy." She complained that the movie depicted Spector inaccurately as "a foul-mouthed megalomaniac." In his June 2013 article, Brown claimed that when ''Phil Spector'' premiered on HBO in March 2013, "it achieved the rare feat of offending or upsetting just about everyone" and that unspecified critics have termed it a "moral mess." Brown wrote that "Mamet ignores the evidence that doesn't fit his thesis, so that in the end ''Phil Spector'' becomes less an 'exploration' f the relationship between Spector and Kenney Badenthan an act of advocacy," and he described the movie as "dishonest." Asked in 2013 whether he thought Spector shot Clarkson, Mamet responded, "I have no idea. And see, the point of the legal system is that nobody has any idea. That's why the opposite of a guilty verdict is not 'innocent,' it's 'not guilty.' In the wisdom of the American jurisprudence system, the onus is on the state. And if the state cannot prove its case, you've got to let the guy go free, whether or not, in the back of all our minds, we think that he actually did it." Addressing his own view of the Spector case more specifically, Mamet told ''Awards and nominations
References
External links
* {{Phil Spector 2013 television films 2013 films 2013 biographical drama films 2010s legal drama films American biographical drama films American legal drama films Biographical television films American drama television films Films about music and musicians Films directed by David Mamet Films scored by Marcelo Zarvos Films set in the 2000s Films with screenplays by David Mamet HBO Films films HBO original programming Phil Spector Television controversies in the United States 2010s American films