David O. Russell

Christian Bale to Star in Director David O. Russell’s AMERICAN BULLSHIT; Bradley Cooper in Talks to Join

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 18th, 2012 at 7:24 pm

After wrapping a little-publicized movie called The Dark Knight Rises, Christian Bale will reunite with The Fighter-director, David O. Russell for American Bullshit.  We previously reported that Russell was set to direct the picture, but this is the first we’ve heard of Bale being attached.  If that wasn’t enough, Bradley Cooper is also reportedly in talks to star.  A drama scripted by Eric Warren Singer (The International), American Bullshit (which more-than-likely won’t clear the MPAA with that title intact) is about the 1970s FBI sting known as “Abscam” that brought down a number of U.S. Congressmen.  Details are in short order as to who Bale and Cooper would play, but what is clear is who will be financing the film.  Hit the jump to find out more on American Bullshit.

David O. Russell Confirmed to Direct Buddy Cianci Biopic

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 16th, 2012 at 5:37 pm

Director David O. Russell is throwing yet another project on to his “to-do” list.  A little over a year ago we heard that the The Fighter director was circling a biopic of 21-year Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci.  Nothing was firm at the time, but now 24 Frames reports that Russell has officially attached himself to the project, though he won’t write the screenplay.  For those unfamiliar, Cianci built a career on rooting out corruption only to serve nearly five years in prison on racketeering charges.  The untitled biopic will be based on Cianci’s autobiography Politics and Pasta.

Russell is currently in post-production on his adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and recently attached himself to the 1980s-set undercover sting story American Bullshit.  There’s no word on what project he’ll do next, but given that the Cianci biopic is early days I’m assuming that one’s quite a ways off.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the autobiography.

David O. Russell Attached to Direct AMERICAN BULLSHIT

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 21st, 2012 at 2:04 pm

As The Fighter director David O. Russell puts the finishing touches on his next film, The Silver Linings Playbook, it appears he’s looking for his next project. Variety reports that Russell is now attached to direct the Black List script American Bullshit for Sony Pictures and Atlas Entertainment. Written by Eric Warren Singer, the stranger than fiction story is based on a real-life undercover sting operation set up in the 1980s by a con artist working for the FBI who rooted out corruption in Congress. Ben Affleck was previously considering the project before he signed on to next tackle The Stand, but I think Russell is a suitable replacement. He definitely knows how to do strange (I Heart Huckabees) and I imagine he won’t be taking a straight-forward procedural approach to the material. Hit the jump for more on the crazy story.

David O. Russell’s THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Set for November 21, 2012

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 16th, 2011 at 9:16 am

The Weinstein Company has set the release date of David O. Russell‘s The Silver Linings Playbook for November 21, 2012.  Based on the novel by Matthew Quick, the movie centers on a former high school teacher (Bradley Cooper) who returns home after four years in a mental institution to live with his mother (Jackie Weaver) and win back the affection of his estranged wife.  The movie also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Tucker, Julia Stiles, and Robert De Niro.  Silver Linings sounds like it could be awards material and now TWC can put “From the Oscar-nominated Director of The Fighter” on the poster.

The Weinsteins will probably take Silver Linings out for a spin on the awards circuit before its November 21st release.  Of course, the Thanksgiving Day weekend is always crowded and so far the date also belongs to Alfonso Cuaron‘s sci-fi drama Gravity, the family comedy Parental Guidance, the Keanu Reeves‘ action-adventure 47 Ronin, and the animated film Rise of the Guardians.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of The Silver Linings Playbook. [Release date via Box Office Mojo]

First Images and Synopsis from David O. Russell’s THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 4th, 2011 at 11:11 am

 

Straight out of the American Film Market, we’ve got the first images and synopsis for director David O. Russell’s The Fighter follow-up, The Silver Linings Playbook. Based on the novel by Matthew Quick, the film tells the story of a former high school teacher (Bradley Cooper) who returns home after four years in a mental institution to live with his mother (Jackie Weaver) and win back the affection of his estranged wife. The great cast also includes Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Stiles, Chris Tucker, and Robert De Niro. Russell has a knack for off-center material, and I’m looking forward to see what he’s cooked up here. Hit the jump to check out the images and synopsis.

UPDATE: We’ve been asked by the studio to take down the images. Sorry if you missed them

Warner Bros. Wants Brad Pitt for Doug Liman’s ALL YOU NEED IS KILL and David O. Russell’s THE MISSION

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 23rd, 2011 at 3:31 pm

You know who wants Brad Pitt for their movie?  Everybody.  Vulture reports that Warner Bros. wants Pitt to star in Doug Liman’s All You Need Is Kill after deciding to put the kibosh on Liman’s far more expensive sci-fi heist flick Luna once co-fiancier Skydance dropped out.  All You Need Is Kill is based on the manga by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and it doesn’t have a bad premise: “A young Army recruit who, despite being killed in the first day of intergalactic alien invasion of Earth, is continually resurrected Groundhog Day–style to the day before he was killed.”  So you have the same worthwhile thematic ground as Source Code and Johnny Got His Gun—the soldier we can’t let rest in peace.  There were reportedly some third act problems where the protagonist “dispatches aliens in the same rote way as a twelve year old who’s played too much XBox 360,” but those problems have reportedly been resolved to the studio’s satisfaction.

Hit the jump for why this kind of interest is irrelevant for someone of Pitt’s stature.

Jennifer Lawrence Is the Frontrunner to Star Opposite Mark Wahlberg in THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: July 20th, 2011 at 8:09 pm

David O. Russell is attached to several hundred projects, but by all accounts, his follow-up to The Fighter will be an adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook.  Russell tapped frequent collaborator Mark Wahlberg to star as a delusional former high school history teacher: “Believing that he’s only been away for a few months instead of the four years he just spent in a mental institution, the teacher sets about wooing back his ex-wife.”  Angelina Jolie is reportedly in talks, presumably to play the ex-wife.  Russell tested several young actresses — including Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Andrea Riseborough, and Olivia Wilde — for a coveted role.  According to Deadline, Jennifer Lawrence bested the lot to become the frontrunner to star opposite Wahlberg as “an eccentric neighbor with problems of her own.”

Production on Silver Linings is slated for the fall, which gives Lawrence time to wrap The Hunger Games.  I’m going to see every movie starring Lawrence and every movie Russell directs in the near future.  If they do team up, I’ll have enough ticket money to see it twice!

Read the synopsis of the Matthew Quick source novel after the jump.

Warner Bros. Wants to Send David O. Russell and Brad Pitt on THE MISSION

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 29th, 2011 at 11:50 am

Killing Osama Bin Laden hasn’t just been great for America’s morale.  It’s also been great for Hollywood.  Columbia Pictures will distribute Kathryn Bigelow’s Kill Bin Laden next year, Relativity recently up picked up the Navy SEALs film Act of Valor, and now Warner Bros. is getting in on the military-men-on-a-mission game with the appropriately titled The Mission.  Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is fast-tracking a film based on the real-life six-year mission between American and Columbian covert operatives to free 15 hostages from the Columbian jungle.  David O. Russell is reportedly circling the director’s chair and Brad Pitt is being courted to star.  The movie won’t focus on the hardships of the hostages but instead on “the numerous governments, diplomats and intelligence services and a vast network of spies, military advisers and soldiers plus high-tech surveillance measures.”

Hit the jump for more on O. Russell and Pitt’s current projects and likelihood of signing on for The Mission.

David O. Russell Testing Actresses for THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Including Rachel McAdams and Olivia Wilde

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 23rd, 2011 at 12:24 pm

Director David O. Russell is readying his follow-up to last year’s The Fighter, and he’s begun searching for his lead actress. Russell will next tackle an adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook, which already has Mark Wahlberg set to star as a former high school history teacher who has just been released from a mental institution and plans on reconciling with his estranged wife.

Now Risky Business reports that Russell will be testing a number of actresses throughout the weekend to find his leading lady. Those meeting with Russell include: Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Andrea Riseborough and Olivia Wilde. Jennifer Lawrence is also mentioned, but her status is unclear. Filming is set to start in August. Angelina Jolie had recently been mentioned as a possibility as well, but she’s not included in this report. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the book.

David O. Russell Circling MALEFICENT, Talks About Upcoming Projects and Why He Left UNCHARTED

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 14th, 2011 at 6:58 pm

When a director is coming off an Oscar nomination, or better yet a win, he or she automatically has some clout in choosing his or her next project.  It’s a tough decision, and you may only get once chance, so you best choose wisely. David O. Russell, coming off his Oscar nomination for The Fighter, seems to be circling 1,000 projects at the moment, and another one has just been added to the list.  THR reports that Russell is currently one of the directors being considered to helm Disney’s fantasy flick Maleficent. Angelina Jolie is attached to star, and Tim Burton was previously set to direct before backing out last month.

Disney is looking at a number of directors for the job (Darren Aronofsky and David Yates have been mentioned) and Russell has plenty on his plate already, so this deal is far from a sure thing, but it appears Russell is on the list of candidates.  The Fighter director recently dropped out as director of Uncharted, and today he explained a bit about why he left that project.  Hit the jump to check out what he had to say, which includes updates on a number of his upcoming projects.

Quasi-Casting Call: Jolie May Star in O. Russell’s THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; Williams May Join HYDE PARK ON THE HUDSON

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 8th, 2011 at 10:53 am

We have two stories that are almost casting news, but nothing has been confirmed for either film.  First up, Angelina Jolie hasn’t settled on her next acting project yet.  Her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey is set for December 23rd, she’s attached to star in Cleopatra, and Salt 2 recently got the greenlight.  Now Just Jared reports that Jolie is meeting with director David O. Russell to discuss his adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook.  Mark Wahlberg is already attached to play at Pat Peoples, a former high school history teacher who has just been released from a mental institution and plans on reconciling with his estranged wife.  However, Pat believes he’s only been in the institution for a few months, when actually he’s been inside for several years.  Presumably, Jolie is interested in playing Peoples’ wife.  However, even if she takes the role, it’s unknown where it fall into her schedule.  Cleopatra and Salt 2 are both looking for directors.

Hit the jump for casting news regarding Hyde Park on the Hudson.

Sony Ditches David O. Russell’s UNCHARTED Script; New Details on His Departure

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 27th, 2011 at 10:41 am

Yesterday, we reported that director David O. Russell had left Sony’s adaptation of their hit video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.  No reason was given at the time but it looked like O. Russell was moving on to direct an adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook instead.  Today, 24 Frames has new details on O. Russell’s departure from the project.  It appears that O. Russell’s script was so long, ambitious, and perhaps most damning (from Sony’s perspective), it added plenty of characters who weren’t in the video game.  As we reported last year, O. Russell had apparently changed Nathan Drake from a lone adventurer to a participant in a family of treasure hunters.  That change wasn’t totally surprising considering that most of O. Russell’s filmography explores family dynamics, but for fans and for Sony, such a change is probably anathema to what they want: their video game faithfully transplanted to the big screen.

Sony will hire a new director and screenwriter to work from an earlier draft by Conan the Barbarian screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer.  Mark Wahlberg has most likely left the project and a summer 2012 release looks doubtful.

David O. Russell No Longer Directing UNCHARTED

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 26th, 2011 at 1:15 pm

David O. Russell has dropped out of directing the adaptation of the video game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.  The news doesn’t come as a total surprise since a couple weeks ago we learned that O. Russell was keen to adapt the novel The Silver Linings Playbook with Mark Wahlberg attached to star.  Deadline reports that Sony is hiring a new writer and they’re still determined to make the movie.  A new writer makes sense since O. Russell’s take on the material wasn’t a straight adaptation of the video game but rather recast protagonist Nathan Drake (played by Wahlberg) as part of a family of treasure hunters that would include his father and uncle with Wahlberg keen to have Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci play those roles.

Presumably, if O. Russell is out, then Wahlberg might leave the project as well and he has plenty of other movies he could make instead.  If that’s the case, then expect fans to renew their cries that Nathan Fillion should play Drake.

Mark Wahlberg to Star in David O. Russell’s Adaptation of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 8:11 am

Filmmaker David O. Russell has had a wealth of projects to choose from since the success of The Fighter.  Now it looks like he’s finally zeroing on his next film as Vulture reports that Mark Wahlberg is set to reunite with O. Russell for The Silver Linings Playbook.  In December, we reported that O. Russell was circling the adaptation of Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel with possibly Bradley Cooper and Anne Hathaway to star presumably because Cooper and Hathaway are getting offered every role in Hollywood.  There’s no word on Hathaway’s current status in regards to the project, but Wahlberg will play “a delusional former high school history teacher who’s just been released into the custody of his mom. Believing that he’s only been away for a few months instead of the four years he just spent in a mental institution, the teacher sets about wooing back his ex-wife.”

So where does this leave O. Russell’s adaptation of the popular video game Uncharted?  Most likely on the backburner as Vulture reports that Playbook will probably be O. Russell’s next film.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.

Director Craig Gillespie Talks PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES; Will Use David O. Russell’s Script

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 19th, 2011 at 10:00 am

The adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s novelty book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has been cycling through directors for over a year.  In December 2009, David O. Russell came on board to write and direct, but left the following October.  Then in November, Mike White (Year of the Dog) signed on to direct, but he dropped out last January.  Now Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) has the gig and he has given his first interview on his plans for the film.

The most interesting fact he provides is that he’ll use O. Russell’s script, because “it has such a great mix of humor and horror. I just love being able to juggle those two aspects.”  Hit the jump for more on what Gillespie had to say about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

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