George Clooney talks candidly about his notorious falling out with David O. Russell, a Hollywood director. Russell and Clooney collaborated on the 1999 dark comedy Three Kings, which followed four soldiers as they attempted to recover gold that had been taken from them in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Apart from Clooney, the film featured Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Cliff Curtis, Spike Jonze, and Nora Dunn. Following its positive reception, Three Kings was nominated for a Critics Choice Award in the Best Picture category.
Clooney now makes mention to his beef with Russell in an interview with GQ. Beginning with a more broad discussion of “time allotment,” Clooney states that he is now more selective about the amount of time he will commit to projects. Then, he intensifies his remarks, declaring that he is no longer content with “a miserable f*ck like David O. Russell making [his] life hell.” See Clooney’s entire statement below:
individuals that enjoy their work. You mentioned time allocation, something like that. The way you allocate your time changes significantly as you age. That’s a lot of five months out of your life. Hence, it’s not as simple as saying, “Oh, I’m going to make a really fantastic movie, like Three Kings, and I’m going to have a terrible time like David O. Russell is ruining my life.” making life miserable for every member of the staff. It’s not worthwhile. Not in my current circumstances. only to produce a quality product.
George Clooney in Up in the Air as Ryan Bingham and as Jack Foley in Out of Sight.
Associated
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Years after the public revelation of his altercation with the director of Three Kings, Clooney has made remarks on Russell. Clooney and the filmmaker allegedly got into a physical argument after Russell allegedly made derogatory remarks to extras on set. A 2000 Playboy article revealed the altercation, in which Clooney called his work as a Three Kings employee “the worst experience of [his] life.” Since then, the actor has made an effort to patch things up with Russell, but obviously not enough to desire to collaborate with him once more.
Nevertheless, it’s clear from Clooney’s remarks that some people won’t put up with Russell’s actions, and maybe this will result in future adjustments.
The filmmaker has faced criticism for a number of things he did on set, not the least of which being his ongoing dispute with Russell. Russell may be heard angrily harassing Lily Tomlin in a video taken on the I Heart Huckabees production. Numerous people have commented on the filmmaker’s passion, which is frequently to blame, and the incident with Tomlin has prompted others to speculate that the director may possibly be sexist. Margot Robbie also mentioned how Russell refused to call a cut and prolonged production hours, overworking the performers on the Amsterdam set.
Even with all of the misconduct, Russell’s films are still praised. He had three Oscar nominations for Best Director: Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and The Fighter. Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Christian Bale are among Russell’s ongoing partners. Nevertheless, it’s clear from Clooney’s remarks that some people won’t put up with Russell’s actions, and maybe this will result in future adjustments.