Trigger warning: This article contains references to sexual abuse.
George Clooney doesn’t have fond memories of infamous director David O. Russell. The two-time Oscar-winning actor worked with Russell on the 1999 hit film Three Kings, which also starred Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube.
Clooney revealed that the experience inspired him to be very thoughtful about his films during his 40 years in Hollywood. In an interview with GQ UK, the 63-year-old star opened up about his feud with the Three Kings director. He reflected on the waste of time and how the “miserable” David O. Russell, 65, made his and the crew’s lives hell for the sake of a good movie.
“The older you get, the more the time allocation is different. Five months of your life is a lot, and so it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m going to do a really great movie like ‘Three Kings,’ and I’m going to be a miserable person like David O. Russell who’s going to make my life hell. Everyone else’s life on the crew hell,'” the Batman star explained to the outlet on Tuesday, August 13.
According to Vulture, Clooney once recalled that the Silver Linings Playbook director allegedly yelled at the cast and crew of Three Kings “all day long, from day one.” He and Russell also got physically involved on set after the actor intervened when the director was humiliating an extra.
The actor-filmmaker, who is set to release Jon Watts’ new film Wolves next month, said the nightmare was “totally not worth it. Not at this point in my life. Just need a good product.” Clooney and Brad Pitt star in Watts’ upcoming film, which premieres on September 27.
Directed by a then-upcoming Russell, Three Kings featured a star-studded cast and received great praise for its portrayal of the Gulf War. The film also co-starred Cliff Curtis, Judy Greer, Spike Jonze, and Jamie Kennedy.
While we’re sure we won’t be seeing a George Clooney movie with Russell in the near future, he’s not the only person the director has disagreements with.
In April 2003, he physically attacked veteran filmmaker Christopher Nolan due to actor crisis at a Hollywood party. According to the source, Jude Law had reportedly signed a film contract with Nolan while Russell was relying on him for I Heart Huckabees.
This led to a brawl at the party, where Russell grabbed Nolan and clobbered him in the head and told him to leave Law. Months later, behind-the-scenes footage of Lily Tomlin crying as Russell yelled at her while she was moving stuff off a desk on the Huckabees set gained media attention.
In addition to angry and crazy behavior, Russell has also been linked to several sexual assault crimes. She was reported to have once grabbed Mark Wahlberg’s genitals during a Huckabee shoot and touched other actresses in “private places.” Her niece, Nicole Peloquin, who was 19 at the time, filed a police report alleging that Russell molested her at a Florida gym in December 2011.
Despite his spotty history, Russell continues to find work in the film industry and is currently working on a Linda Ronstadt biopic starring Selena Gomez. According to Variety, his 2022 film, Amsterdam, features a star-studded cast including Margot Robbie, Christian Bale and John David Washington.
Disclaimer: If you need help or know someone who is going through domestic violence, assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health professional, NGO or just talk to someone. There are many helplines available for this.
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