Debuting SUNDAY, MARCH 24 (9:00-10:35 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, PHIL SPECTOR, the film is David Mamet’s exploration of the client-attorney relationship between legendary music producer Phil Spector (Al Pacino) and defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden (Helen Mirren), who represented Spector during his first trial for murder.
Mamet begins his film with the card, “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.” Mamet chose to frame the story through the perspective of the Linda Kenney Baden character, beginning and ending the film with her involvement in the case. Her character’s journey is summarized by the question “How do I defend a guy the public does not approve of?” As Mamet explains, “The story is her coming to grips with the notion of what is reasonable doubt, and what is prejudice.”
Al Pacino says, “This is the first trial of Phil Spector – when he is first accused of this heinous crime. It’s all new to him in terms of the media – their reaction to it – and his introduction to Linda, who is played by Helen Mirren. And it’s their relationship, in the course of their preparation for the trial.”
