Director David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabee’s) is known for being controversial – not in the movies he makes, but how he makes his movies. It is said that he pushes his actors to be “real” – kind of like in the early days of film where directors would actually put the actors in danger so that the look of fear on their faces was “authentic.” For example, Mark Wahlberg was really shocked during his Three Kings Iraqi torture sequence. The only difference between Russell and those old films is that nobody has actually died while filming one of his. Yet.
Rumor has is that Russell is “difficult” to work with. Obviously, that depends on the actor. You can see YouTube videos of Russell and Lily Tomlin (Orange County) in a cussing match from the set of Huckabee’s. It is also rumored that George Clooney (The American) punched Russell in the face during the filming of Three Kings. I doubt neither Tomlin nor Clooney will ever work with him again. But Wahlberg has worked with him multiple times, so it doesn’t seem to bother him any. I guess it’s whatever floats your boat.
The Fighter, Russell’s latest film which is slated to open December 10, 2010, just got a trailer tonight. Christian Bale (Batman Begins) ate nothing more than an apple a day and morsels of bread to achieve a deathly skinny look for The Machinist (and probably Rescue Dawn too), so it is no surprise to see him starring along side Walhberg in The Fighter. The amazing Amy Adams (Enchanted) also co-stars in the based-on-a-true-story boxing tale of a average underdog proportions.
Me, I am a fan of Russell. Three Kings is one of my favorite films from the ’90s. The Fighter looks like Rocky for a new generation, so I’m in. After seeing the trailer, what do you think?
