As David O. Russell entered a new, high-profile phase in his career, with “The Fighter,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” and “Joy,” marking the transition from his more eclectic indie images to something more solid, old habits die hard. The director, whose tantrum on the set of ‘I Heart Huckabees’ went viral and who clashed with George Clooney on the set of ‘Three Kings’, still maintains an open atmosphere on set that encourages improvisation and pushes the actors to their limits. However, it’s a fine line between inspiration and isolation.
As David O. Russell entered a new, high-profile phase in his career, with “The Fighter,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” and “Joy,” marking the transition from his more eclectic indie images to something more solid, old habits die hard. The director, whose tantrum on the set of ‘I Heart Huckabees’ went viral and who clashed with George Clooney on the set of ‘Three Kings’, still maintains an open atmosphere on set that encourages improvisation and pushes the actors to their limits. However, it’s a fine line between inspiration and isolation.
In a conversation with GQ, Amy Adams talks about making “American Hustle,” and she doesn’t have the best memories of it. “He did [make me cry]. I was really devastated on set. I mean, not every day, but most. Jennifer [Lawrence]
don’t take anything. It is Teflon. And I’m not Teflon. But I also don’t like seeing other people being abused,” she said. “That’s not okay with me. Life to me is more important than movies. It really taught me to separate work and home. Because I was like, I can’t bring this experience at home with my daughter.
While promoting “American Hustle,” Amy Adams had a different account of the making of the film, telling Russell at a press conference, “I think you’re illustrating heightened reality. Not everything is reality. subtle and slow. When I lose my temper in life, it’s over the top. I overreact sometimes, that’s how we are as humans and we all have examples in our lives [of this]. David finds times when this “pushed reality” is the truth. This is the truth for these characters.
That being said, time can cast experiences in a new light, and while Adams did earn an Oscar nomination for her work in the film (and for her performance in “The Fighter”), as she explains below- above, the process, if it hurts her and others, is not worth it, no matter the outcome.
So you can probably count on Adams to work with Russell again, and while the director once expressed a desire to do a musical with the actress, that probably won’t happen.
