David Mamet is one of the foremost American playwrights. His numerous plays include Oleanna , Glengarry Glen Ross (winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award), American Buffalo , Speed-the-Plow , Boston Marriage , November , Race and The Anarchist . He wrote the screenplays for such films as The Verdict , The Untouchables and Wag the Dog , and has twice been nominated for an Academy Award. He has written and directed ten films, including Homicide , The Spanish Prisoner , State and Main , House of Games , Spartan and Redbelt . In addition, he wrote the novels The Village , The Old Religion , Wilson and many books of nonfiction, including Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature , Purpose and Practice of the Movie Business ; Theatre; Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama and the New York Times bestseller The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture . His HBO film Phil Spector, starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren, aired in 2013 and earned him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing. He was co-creator and executive producer of the CBS television show The Unit and is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company.