I’m sure this is one of many, many Sony Hack stories we’re going to have over the next week or so. Just FYI. As previously mentioned, Wikileaks has published the entire cache of hacked documents from the Sony Hack, and while none of the new revelations are as OMG scandalous as the Angelina Jolie stuff, there’s still some damaging stuff in here. And I for one don’t feel bad at all about discussing it, mostly because some people deserve to be outed as miserable, terrible bullies and a—holes. People like David O. Russell.
Russell is rather famous for being a douchebag, although in recent years, his PR has maintained that he has “changed” and become a kinder, gentler person. But he’s still the same director who berates crew members. He’s still the same guy who berates actors and actresses. He’s still the same guy that George Clooney famously tried to choke (for good reason) on the set of Three Kings. Well, Russell directed American Hustle, the same film where Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams got paid significantly less than their male costars (Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner). In newly discovered emails from journalist Jonathan Alter to Sony CEO Michael Lynton, Alter tells Lynton a secondhand story from the set of Hustle about Russell’s behavior:
Former Batman Christian Bale may have just been unmasked as a real-life do-gooder. The actor stepped in to defend his “American Hustle” co-star Amy Adams from a barage of “abuse” by the film’s director, David O. Russell, according to an internal Sony email exchange that’s been published by WikiLeaks.
The revelation came in the form of an email from journalist Jonathan Alter to his brother in law, Sony Entertainment CEO and chair Michael Lynton, detailing a source’s account of chaos on the set of the 2013 Oscar-nominated film.
“Are you guys doing anything else with him?,” Atler wrote to Lynton in a Sept. 12, 2014 email. “I know he’s brilliant but we have someone on our show who worked closely with him on ‘American Hustle’ and not only are the stories about him reforming himself total bulls-t but the new stories of his abuse and lunatic behavior are extreme even by Hollywood standards.”
Among the litany of off-screen drama allegedly unleashed by O’Russell detailed by Alter: “He grabbed one guy by the collar, cursed out people repeatedly in front of others and so abused Amy Adams that Christian Bale got in his face and told him to stop acting like an a—hole.”
Though at first cagey in his response, Lynton eventually seemed to confirm the incident to his wife’s brother in another email.
“Next film for fox,” he wrote. “Trust me I know all about the other.”
When Christian Bale is telling you to chill out because you’re acting like an a—hole, then it’s pretty bad. Bale is not some easy-going dude. Bale is intense, and he has his own history of prickly, douchey behavior. But in this instance, I’m glad Bale lost it and stepped up. I’ve always gotten the feeling that there’s a lot of love and respect between Bale and Adams in particular, and they bring out the best in each other professionally and perhaps personally too. Why would you even yell at Amy Adams in the first place? She’s like Miss Teacher’s Pet. Directors love her because she’s always prepared, professional and easy to work with. Only a douche-pig like David O. Russell would treat Amy like dirt.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Getty, WENN.
She looks like she’s cringing on the inside in every pic with Russell. And damn if Christian bale hasnt won me over in the past few years.
Yes yes!!! Bale is winning me over too. Love to hear when a douche is called out. Maybe he will change. And I agree. Amy looks like she’s cringing in these pics
Well, Bale is no white knight. Listen to this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFvxmB8vi6M
Clooney appears to be the only one who has made a point to never work with Russell again.
Valiant
No one is calling him a saint. He has his moments and no one here needed a link or reminder. And he has his great moments too. Calling up sick kids as Batman. Visiting them in person (as batman). Loads of donations under the radar and standing up for someone tha tmany only have the best to say about.
Bale apologized PROFUSELY after the Terminator meltdown. I give him great kudos for that – he went on a mission to apologize and “explain” (where there really is none for that kind of behavior, but props for massive apology). He quietly does good now (it seems).
Weird. Amy was the only good thing about AH. Russell is such a dick and I’m not here for the people who will bounce out to defend him.
Side note: Didn’t Christopher Nolan also treat Amy pretty crappily during promo for Interstellar? What are you guys doing…she’s so talented and seems like such a nice woman. Stop abusing the crap out of her!
+ 1
That would be hard to do since she wasn’t anywhere near Interstellar.
I don’t think Amy Adams was in Interstellar…that was Jessica Chastain…
Ugh ya’ll are right, my bad. Well, I feel the same about Jessica who is also criminally underrated so my point stands. 😛
But Amy Adams isn’t in Interstellar?
O’russell needs to be in a padded cell. But I can’t help noting that of all his bullied stars, Amy is the one who needed someone to come to her rescue. JLaw and Lilly Tomlinson didn’t need rescuing they fought back. She’s lovely but everything about her is just so …..simpering. Even hearing her voice, it’s like a little girl in a grown woman’s body. I want to scream “you are a damn star, know your worth and fight for it b*tch”
@First off, there are witnesses on other sites saying that she fought back and told him where to shove it. None of us were there and it’s really no one’s right to imply one way or the other that she didn’t stand up for herself.
Two, I’m sorry but that’s some victim blaming BS that has no place in this convo. Women who are abused by men, in circumstances that we are not privy to, are not “weak” bc they don’t respond in the way you want them to nor are they not strong bc they don’t rewind in the way you want them to. That’s extremely unfair to Amy and I’m kind of disgusted by it.
I think all of the A-list actresses have somehow a strong personality even if they appear to be vulnerable or sweet. I mean they can be that way to the public or in their personal lives but all of them, to make it big in a ferocious business like Hollywood, have to know how to stand for themselves. I bet all of them experienced a douche director or worse
@Kate
Read again Amy Adams’ interviews for American Hustle or the press conference .Except Cooper,anyone didn’t hide that the filming was “complicated” .
According to Anne Thompson and Kris Tapley,the filming was so messy that Bale and Lawrence didn’t want to work with DOR anymore because of his behavior( since her Oscar nod,Jennifer changed her opinion contrary to Bale)
Some people find it hard to respond back, those ones are usually the best to be around.
Don’t kill me..
It was noted Jlaw changed her stance only for award season because she had to. Here and there she slipped up and you could read into her answers/lack of she still didn’t like him. The nomination was just to play ball as she was instructed to. Award show buzz is some of the best promotion you can get for a movie.
@FLORC
I would find it hard to call him out, publicly. I don’t think that’s the kind of person I am. I’m the type that would say vaguely nice things, and then do my best to never be in a position to work with him. Ever again. But JLAw has a window of immense popularity. She’s ambitious. Maybe she wants to win an Oscar, so she can ride that out for year…and it seems to do that, she has to do it with Russell. The Academy seems to think his films are the bee’s knee’s. Only one I’ve found great/I would watch more than once is “The Fighter”. Other than that, his other movies are meh, with good casts who did their best. “Silver Linings Playbook”, imo, was unwatcheable.
My criteria for movies is that I don’t want to get up and turn it off in ten minutes. With SLP, I did. SOMETIMES, I have to watch movies several times to actually GET IT (I did with “Fight Club”..thought it was the biggest waste of a movie the first time I saw it, then watched it again four years later and was amazed)……
@T.O.P.- Why do you infer she “needed” rescue? If Bale voiced a protest, couldn’t it be because he was a bystanding witness & stuck up for a long-time colleague? Maybe she defended herself or maybe she finds public scenes with a personality-disordered person distasteful? Some of us know people whose bad behavior escalates if challenged during tirades & short-circuit that by not responding.
We weren’t there, didn’t see it, but you’re making ill-informed assumptions.
Nice people are easier to treat like crap and get away with it.
Or people who hate confrontation. I’ll put up with way too much just to avoid a scene.
I liked the film and all of the performances, but yeah, Adams was the standout of the film. Bale gave as good as he always does, but Adam’s character was really the heart of the movie.
Some people just don’t know how to value the good things that come their way.
Amy was amazing in the movie and has never looked sexier. I hate fact that she got paid less. I loathe the fact that the a-hole director was abusive.
I think David O. Russell is highly overrated. His films are okay, nothing life changing in the industry. The fact people put up with his antics constantly is very telling. If DOR would have been a woman, she would have been shunned and crucified. Also, Amy Adams seems like the ultimate docile sweetheart. I agree, who would want to be rude to her?!
Agree. Silver Linings was so annoying, everybody acting “great acting”, I hated it.
I thought Silver Linings Playbook was an excellent film, for what it was – an intelligent, comedic character study. Hustle has good moments, mainly from Adams and Lawrence, but is seriously flawed. His earlier films are decent, especially Three Kings. However, nothing in his CV justifies this type of behaviour, and in any case it wouldn’t be justified if he was a genius like Alfred Hitchcock (who also treated his actresses appallingly…)
DOR is so unbelievably overrated… His movies are pure crap and I cannot understand why somebody so talented and amazing like Amy wants to work with him again… She didn’t even get paid properly for that sh** movie. Oscar nominations? Are those really worth it? And nevertheless, she got 3 nominations without him. He should keep working with his fellow douche, JLaw. They really hit it off. Good for them…
She got two nominations with him.
What in earth has J-Law ever done to deserve being called a ‘douche’?
@Lilcflowers: I know. Plus 3 for other movies.
@jbap: Almost every single thing that she says is seriously problematic. It’s easy to find if you want to and get through that media hype that surrounds that perfect PR product.
@Alex: WTF?…C’mon, Jennifer Lawrence does not deserve that label. The word “douche” I usually think of Penn, Innaritu, Cameron, etc., not Jennifer Lawrence. Christ almighty that was unwarranted.
Alex, I’ve seen some of that stuff thrown around about Lawrence, and I found it utterly unconvincing – the usual bile thrown around about young, successful female actors. I wouldn’t take it seriously for a second.
Oh come on, she said really really problematic stuff. And while she’s nowhere near Russell, she is quite douchy.
@JBAP: Spot On…totally agree.
Franca, I’ve never read about anything that Lawrence has said or done that has been remotely douchey. Sure, she’s cracked a few jokes that have been a little off-colour, but the desperate attempts of her haters to present that as evidence that she’s vile have been pathetic. Also, like Amy Adams, it’s clear she’s well-liked in the industry – in contrast, it’s never hard to identify the true dohchebags.
Franca, what did she say that is deemed problematic?
http://yourfaveisproblematic.tumblr.com/post/45661326649/jennifer-lawrence
just a few examples… Media paint her practically as a world’s saviour because she’s the REALEST but you really don’t have to search deep for evidence.
I’ve seen that tumblr post before – everything on it is a deliberate and nasty distortion of some passing wisecracks by J-Law. Whoever put it together really must have issues…
That tumblr post is what I had in mind in my post above. It’s pure bile.
So basically it’s bile because it’s about your fave? You can drag other celebrities for sh** like that (or even not nearly that bad) but God forbid saying something wrong about precious JLaw who apparently can do no wrong. And “nasty distortion”? She said those things. Stop being delusional and come to terms with the fact thet your perfect fave is way from being perfect. And @Jbap “young, successful female actors” are far from being unprivileged gropu in Hollywood.
I like Lawrence, but she isn’t a special ‘fave’ of mine. In fact, she annoys me a little when she goes on about farting, reality TV etc. However, I’m happy to stand up for her about this tumblr nonsense. A few off-colour joles and the odd badly phrased comment, usually from when she was 20 or so, and she’s supposed to be a douche? I see this as the usual hate-stirring that young female stars automatically attract.
“Usually when she was 20 or so”- you say it like she is in her 30s now. She is 24 or 25 now (I think) and her age is not an excuse for saying dumb stuff. Tumblr can be oversensitive sometimes (well, probably very often) but she really said offensive things that were swept under the carpet. She wouldn’t get so much hate if she wasn’t shoved down people’s throats. Her schtick is so obvious and so well-made. And I don’t think female actresses attract hate. They are actually painted as those cool, normal girls that are just like the rest of us (wow!!!) and that people just have to love. And try to think otherwise…
That tumblr post gets desperately worked up over a few mildly offensive J-Law jokes. So much wasted energy! Nothing in it makes me think less of her. However, maybe for her own good she should try to be more dull and boring in future and cut back on the one-liners . Obviously there are some super-sensitive souls out there.
@Alice D: Lol, yeah, she’s so cutting edge when she says “pizza”. Groundbreaking. Best one liner in the history. Probably posts like that get thousand of notes on Tumblr. Maybe she should remind us how “fat” she is once again and what reality show she watches now because she’s really getting dull…
Alex, wow you really don’t like her, do you? We’ll just have to agree to differ. I think she’s consistently hilarious and quick-witted, and not just because she makes the odd reference to piazza. Most Hollywood actors bore me. However, I have time for both Lawrence and Adams. In different ways, they are smart, talented, ambitious and seem like good company, unlike most of the people I read about on this site.
To be honest, that stupid tumblr just makes me like all those people more.
David is an excellent director.
This truth.
Although I find JLaw problematic too, she’s not like DOR. And she has more talent than he does and more pleasant to interact with going by how people talk about her.
JLAW is a stupid kid people! She will learn and grow over time. Honestly she is no worse than the annoying self-righteous Shailene Woodley! UGH! They are young kids, they have no idea what they are even talking about. Their lives exist in a Hollywood bubble. Their youth outside of the spotlight is minuscule…they are doing all their awkward growing up in the public eye. But placed up against other young 20-somethings the would sound as profoundly immature and stupid, no worse! However, if we are still having this conversation about them 10 years from now, then maybe we have a problem.
J. Law has said some pretty stupid stuff in her past, but it’s pretty ridiculous to compare her to somebody who has physically and verbally abused people in the past. She’s at least young enough that she can grow up at some point and learn to shut her mouth. He is well past the point where he should have learned his lesson about how to treat people.
I’m not defending Russell – but if the even worse stories going the rounds about Inarritu (who of course won the Oscar this year are true), this is obviously a general problem in Hollywood
what are those stories?
Inarritu and David Fincher have many in common. Read what Fincher says on the actors or the habit of 100 takes.They are total control freaks
There’s a Reddit feed all about Inarritu’s behaviour on the Revenant shoot he’s just finished – apparently he’s the biggest bully in town.
@ Alice K – Seriously!
A director in Hollywood who has a reputation as being difficult? Oh wow, I’ve never seen that before.
Kitten, you should check out the stories from the Revenant shoot – even by Hollywood standards, they are exceptional. The blind item about Hardy attempting to choke him out is apparently 100% true, and dozens of tech crew walked out/ were fired at random.
What are the rumors about Fincher? I’ve never heard any rumors that he was an abusive a-hole. I know that he likes to take a million takes, but that’s about it.
An acquaintance of mine is an academy award-winner who has worked on many major film crews, including a few with Fincher and the one with Bale where he lost it.
Although my friend is very discreet, understandably so, he did say that Fincher is very exacting. This is something my friend appreciates in a director because it makes his job easier, but it’s hard on the actors (in this case, RDJ and Gyllenhaal).
By comparison, my friend said that Doug Liman was difficult because he didn’t know what he was doing then. He had to rely completely on his crew to get the movie finished, though maybe he has improved in the years since.
Anyway, that brings me to the set of Terminator, and though my friend did not reveal details, I believe he witnessed Bale’s tirade, and I think I guessed correctly…
Sidenote: As a set PA once years ago on a low-budget indie film, I accidentally walked by as a scene was filming, and I knew right then that I’d made a mistake. Fortunately, the director and crew were very nice about it, but to this day it reminds me that a professional would and should always know better.
The director, McG, could not deal well with actors and apparently has no control over a film crew. As Bale was filming an emotional scene, the person who walked by was the Director of Photography himself. This is disrespectful not only to Bale and other actors but everyone else working on this $200m picture, with time and technical constraints, trying to get the shot. Because when a big-budget movie fails, as this one did, that’s a lot of money wasted – and potentially also jobs lost.
In any case, he and Bale reconciled and resumed working together. Since then, I haven’t heard of Bale acting out like that otherwise, but I could be wrong.
Nevertheless, I’m a fan of his work.
I really got that impression that Doug Liman isn’t a very good director, in terms of being able to get shots in. It was last year? I think when he was promoting some other movie, but brought up that Angelina was difficult, so I looked up the filming for MAMS, and it was notoriously over budget, took way too long (apparently they JUST finished putting the film together a few days before the premiere), and he messed up a crucial shot (something to do with explosions), so much so that the studio refused to give him more $$, so he paid to reshoot it, in a much more pared down style. He doesn’t strike me as knowing what he’s doing half the time–at least from THAT movie…ten years ago. Hopefully he did improve.
Thanks for the info on Fincher. I’ve heard a few whispers on this site that he was difficult to work with–but no one ever specificified REALLY what that difficulty is. There’s a difference between being an A Type hardass and a douchebag. It seems like Fincher is the first. And I’ve been watching a lot more interviews with him and the actors (like Gone Girl), and they all seem to have a great respect for him.
VC, i know, the Liman stuff was surprising to me, too, as he did the first Bourne film, which I thought was great. But I guess he surrounds himself with some very good people who pull it all off when he starts to crack.
Yeah, Fincher is a type-A, notorious for nearing Warren Beatty numbers of takes, though my friend appreciates his direction and attention to detail. Fincher visualizes and communicates how he wants the film to look, and he gets it.
Look, I’m a musician, bibliophile & movie fan. But when are we going to stop excusing the atrocious behavior of unprofessional as*holes because they are “artists” and “geniuses”?? Russell, Woody Allen, Kanye, Polanski…Not a single one of them is necessary or irreplaceable. None of them is going to produce the next Moonlight Sonata or Sistine Chapel. If any of them were a plumber, teacher, IT guy, restaurant manager, ad exec, etc. this kind of behavior would be completely unacceptable. You shouldn’t get a free pass to be a horrible human being because you make lots of money.
I think I love you. Right on.
Haha… IT guys get lots of pass for atrocious behaviour because they rake in mad $$
Where do I sign up for this mystical job? Because most IT people aren’t making bank. You have to either be really high up in a company, or doing something incredibly specialized where very few others are capable of doing this to be able to clean up.
I’m making two bucks above minimum wage here… dealing with people calling in and ripping on me because THEY or someone else f—ed their shit up.
The same needs to be said about the kind of people who call up a support line and bitch out the person answering the phone. You’d be incredibly surprised how many of the ‘average’ folks call up someone and treat them like absolute shit because they have some warped idea that ‘you’ll get what you want if you’re mean enough to the rep’. Note: I have heard MANY people state this out loud – it’s in no way just outliers doing this.
Depending on what IT industry and where, but on average, they can make pretty decent money. I know because I am in the IT field.
I am too, jammypants and I work for a large company. Unless you’re high up or very specialized like I said, you’re not making bank.
So true.
Exactly.
I agree with you. They’re not irreplaceable and it’s sucks that bad behavior is tolerated.
Just to play devil’s advocate, though, I’d point out that putting yourself forward creatively in the entertainment business (- just guessing, here – ) is probably a pretty vulnerable thing to do. My guess is a lot of insecurity comes up for these folks when their work is brought before a commercial market and a critical press. And my guess is a lot of sensitive, talented people just don’t have the stomach for that kind of exposure.
Unfortunately, it tends to be jerks who have the arrogance to risk getting in the game. And atrocious behavior is ALL TOO OFTEN part of how they work with people.
Preach on Scarlet Vixen…preach on…
Agree completely about Amy! I’ve never understood all the hate toward Christian. Yes, he lost it once on set, but he apologized. On one hand, while he’s working, he takes it very seriously, but on the other hand, he disdains Hollywood BS and stays completely out of the limelight. I watched at DP 30 interview with him on YouTube, and I have to say, he impressed me more than anyone else. He was incredibly down to earth and really just very open and honest about all of the Hollywood BS that goes on. Totally off track, but if you go back and watch his Oscar and GG acceptance speeches for The Fighter, he’s one of the best – funny, tells good stories, has humility and graciousness and gives credit to everyone else he worked with – all of which seems totally lacking at today’s award shows where people either go up and read 100 names off of a list or act like dimwits. He’s just truly one of the best of his generation, so if he seems overly serious or method, I can forgive it.
@JoJo …Totally agree.
I agree. I think he’s serious and intense about his work and that’s why many directors love him. I thought more came out that made the crew member look not so much the innocent bystander. And the other incident was the altercation with his mom who seems a piece of work. I remember though how he dealt with the Aurora shootings–way different side than normally portrayed. I’m glad he came to Amy’s defense.
I agree completely.
I love those long interviews with him, he’s an interesting guy and when he gets to talk in depth about his work he’s very accommodating. He just seems to despise the press junket side of promotion, which many actors do.
I don’t see Christian as an jerk either. I loved what he did for the shooting victims when TDKR came out.
Excellent post, JoJo. I’ve nothing else to add because you’ve articulated perfectly my feelings for Christian as a Hollywood actor.
I’m a longtime fan of his.
Not that I don’t appreciate what Bale did but I do think it’s important to keep the convo here on the WOMAN that was abused by her male director and not let this turn into some kind of excuse to pat Bale on the back.
From what I’ve read elsewhere, Amy herself got in his face to defend herself but it was only Bale’s involvement that became of note.
Where are the stories that mention Amy fighting back?
This is the same info that came out a while back, right?
Amy and Bale worked with DOR before this on the Fighter, I guess during his “reformed” phase. I bet both of them steer clear from him in the future.
It’s a shame he is such a jerk, I like a lot of his movies and he seems to get great performances out of his actors. But if he’s back to treating people this way, I have no interest in supporting that.
David O. Russell is overrated. His films are so wrongly cast and poorly edited. Complete messes. He isn’t a genius. He is a bully. I hate when bullies win.
Yes.
Smh, I’m sort of waiting for the leak that will change or stop this man but I know that’s not coming.
Actresses will keep lining up to work with him. Studios will keep finding him and absolutely nothing will change unless he punches a baby on the Today show. Sometimes I just get sick of that Hollywood system of continuously trying to work with bad people till the publicity goes sour.
If audience members choose to stop buying tickets because they don’t want to support a director who is known to treat people badly, it’ll change. See that coming?
BTW, he looks like an arrogant prick in that top picture.
Female actors like Adams and Lawrence keep working with Russell because he is one of the few leading directors who writes decent contemporary roles for women. That doesn’t excuse his behaviout – it just explains why they come back and make more films with him.
This is shallow, but she looks stunning in that black lace dress. Hair, face, body are lovely.
She has amazing hair. Also, skin.
I’ve always thought Amy was a stunner. Her eyes just pierce me. Red hair with big blue eyes…big girl crush for me.
@Alex and Franca: I couldn’t disagree more.
Jennifer Lawrence has an excellent rep for being exactly the opposite. Seriously, I have never come across any stories of Lawrence behaving in any way, shape or form to justify such a harsh judgement.
As far as saying “problematic” things, well, everyone is problematic (according to the standards of Tumblr, You’re Fab is Problematic), etc., it’s just that we are not under the glare of the spotlight, where everything we say, do is blown waaay out of proportion, or, taken out of context, or in some cases, possibly made up altogether.
Some of the stuff in Tumblr about Lawrence is frenziedly misogynistic – passing comments by her are viciously distorted in an attempt to generate backlash against her, presumably for the crime of being a young, successful female who doesn’t bother too much about the standards of decorum that Hollywood actresses are expected to observe.
@JBAP: Agreed. Absolutely correct.
In Bale’s defense, he has said that he was in character when he flew off the handle during Terminator filming. It actually makes sense when you think about the kind of emotional energy you have to summon to play a role like that in a big action film. His apology was humble and thorough. He shouldn’t be continually judged for that episode of craziness. I agree that he is one of the best working actors today.
I agree and it’s that incident that people continuously bring up. He gave a sincere apology for that incident. It’s not my job to forgive Christian, but it’s the DP’s job. It seems as if they’ve put the incident behind them and moved forward.
It kind of speaks volumes that in a world populated by assholes, Russell is the douche nobody else can stand. I can see how stars like Lawrence can talk themselves back into working with him because his movies do being in the money and prestige, but there’s a visible trend where they all wake up and admit it isn’t worth it.
It’s kind of counter-intuitive to me. I haven’t seen any of this guy’s films (sorry), but if I met a director who was an arrogant prick, I wouldn’t necessary expect great work from him. I would think sensitive, interesting people = sensitive, interesting work.
What’s funny about Russell is that he creates fabulous parts for women – three-dimensional, fully rounded characters who are always presented sympathetically, even when their behaviour is very questionable.
His films tend to hit or miss with me, but I do think he’s a decently talented director. As for the “sensitive artist” thing…hmm, I dunno, I may be a bit cynical because I’ve known a few in my time, and I don’t generally find that to be true. Most of them aren’t David O. Russell, but I’ve met plenty who produce great work precisely because they are so disciplined and extend that persona to be demanding and controlling of others.
What I kind of getting at is that it’s easy to go back to a toxic situation the first time, especially once you’ve been removed from the situation long enough to forget how stressful it was in the first place. J. Law might have been frustrated and unhappy on set the first time, but then the film does well, gets great reviews, and she starts getting nominated…well, then you start second guessing yourself, right? Especially when you’re in your early twenties and working with older directors with a lot of industry power. Sure, he’s a douche, but he gets results, makes the money, and he writes fun characters – particularly interesting *female* characters, which is a big deal in an industry where women only get 30% of speaking parts. So, yeah, I get why somebody like actors/actresses like her would go back for seconds and suffer the punishment before realizing it really isn’t worth it.
My question why didn’t Amy Adams get in DOR’s face herself? Could she not speak up and give him a piece of her mind? Perhaps she had already done so and Bale was driving the point home, but we don’t know that. I think Amy Adams is a great actress and she doesn’t seem like the type to have any diva-type behavior, but I hope next time a director gets in her face like that she grabs him by the ‘nads and shows him who’is boss!
From what I’ve heard, she DID stand up for herself but as per usual it was more noteworthy to give the credit to the guy.
I know someone who worked closely on his set and I’ve known about this abuse of Adams since the movie was shot. This was truly horrible. Everyone on set was afraid of him. Amy did fight back but he kept abusing her. You have to understand the unreal pressure these women are held to and how different the standards are for women vs. Men. Bale can lose his temper on set and recover from it. Women are labeled “problems” and “difficult” and lose their jobs. I think she did the best she could given the circumstances.
I’m surprised David still gets jobs even if he is talented. Yes, Hollywood excuses a lot of assholes but usually they are at least professional on set (if trying, like Fincher and his thousand takes)
Unfortunately, lots of talented directors are assholes – from Billy Wilder and Hitchcock to Inarritu today. I suspect there’s a Hollywood belief that nice guys lack the ability to get things done, and don’t have the killer instinct.
So glad Bale stepped up to defend Amy, she seems like a sweet and intelligent woman who couldn’t harm a bee even if she wanted. What an ass-ole O.Russel is! Hope he pays for this!
Anything Russell can do, a talented, decent human being can do better. It is long past time to stop tolerating this behavior in the workplace and in our private lives. He enjoys abusing women, that won’t change. He’s made enough money, time to retire.
@Veronica: Absolutely agree.