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David O. Russell is in the news again, but not for a new project. The director, who's brought audiences such eclectic films as "Spanking the Monkey," "American Hustle," and "Silver Linings Playbook," has built a reputation as one of the most chaotic filmmakers working today, and on more than one occasion, firsthand accounts have emerged alleging that the chaos tends to veer into verbal abuse -- or worse.

Russell still seems to have support in the industry: In 2022, more than two decades after the first reports of Russell's alleged on-set bullying and violence emerged, the filmmaker released "Amsterdam," a star-studded film featuring the likes of such beloved famous folks as Margot Robbie, Anya-Taylor Joy, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, and even Taylor Swift. The movie starred Christian Bale, a frequent Russell collaborator who extolled the virtues of the controversial filmmaker while doing press for the movie.

Throughout his many career ups-and-downs, five-time Oscar-nominated director David O. Russell has carved out a place for himself with a series of singularly eccentric, screwy films. Let’s take a look back at all eight of his films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1958, Russell made his filmmaking debut with the incest comedy “Spanking the Monkey” (1994), which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and brought his Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay victories at the Independent Spirit Awards. The screwball farce “Flirting with Disaster” (1996) quickly followed, which earned him additional writing and directing bids at the Indie Spirits. He achieved a huge critical and commercial success with the Gulf War satire “Three Kings” (1999), for which he competed at the Writers Guild of America in Best Original Screenplay.

He received a more muted response with “I Heart Huckabees” (2004), an existential ensemble comedy that became infamous for leaked...

Nicolas Cage will play the title role of John Madden in David O Russell’s Madden, and here are the details.

Writer and director David O Russell began his career directing dark comedies like Spanking the Monkey, Flirting With Disaster, Three Kings, and I Heart Huckabees, before gaining critical acclaim for biographical sports drama The Fighter. He then directed several award winning dramas, including Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. Despite reports of animosity between O Russell and his actors, he continues to make high profile films, most recently Amsterdam.

His next film will be Madden, a biopic of NFL player John Madden. The film will chart his rise from the head coach of the Oakland Raiders to becoming one of the greatest football reporters in America.

According to Deadline, Nicolas Cage has been cast as Madden. It is the latest in a string of eclectic films for Cage, which...

On a recent day at the beach, actress Nikki Reed was basking in the California sun when a 15-year-old girl approached her. “I would love to take a picture with you!” the young fan exclaimed. Her interest in Reed, however, had nothing to do with her role as vampire Rosalie Hale in the mega-popular Twilight movies.

“Thirteen is my favorite film in the world,” the teenager said. “It actually inspired me to want to write and I already wrote my first screenplay.”

Although she’d long been conscious of the...

Although he never held the household name value that many of his contemporaries garnered over their respective careers, David O. Russell was once among the hottest, highest-rated filmmakers that Hollywood had to offer. But he seemingly unraveled soon into his career, developing a manic mental state that mirrored the mercurial plot points and overall tone of his pictures.

And even when he was able to avoid any negative publicity behind the scenes his given films, David O. Russell couldn’t even kick it in the eyes of critics. There are a few notable examples re: his qualitative shortcomings as a director, but when most film fans think of O. Russell and the general notion of controversy, the first thought that springs to mind undoubtedly revolves around one word: abuse, be it by physical attacks or by spouting vitriol.

Related: The Best Performances in David O. Russell Movies, Ranked

His Behind-the-Scenes...

Taylor Swift has boarded the cast of the next movie from filmmaker David O. Russell. Though the nature of her role hasn't been revealed, Swift has reportedly signed on for the movie's ensemble cast alongside a myriad of other big names. Word is the project has already wrapped filming with plans to be released theatrically via 20th Century Studios, but an official release date has yet to be announced. New Regency had no comment on the new casting news.

As of now, the title of the project hasn't been revealed, though one rumor suggests the title will be Canterbury Glass. What we do know is that it will star an impressive ensemble cast with no shortage of A-list names. In addition to Swift in a prominent role, the movie also stars Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon,...

Last Halloween season, it was announced that Scott Derrickson will direct The Black Phone from a screenplay he wrote with C. Robert Cargill, and now it's been revealed that Jeremy Davies will star in the adaptation of Joe Hill's short story that was included in his collection 20th Century Ghosts.

We have the full announcement below for the new Blumhouse and Universal film, and in case you missed it, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill’s Crooked Highway production company recently teamed up with Blumhouse for a two-year first-look television deal, with multiple projects already in development.

Jeremy Davies has been cast in Scott Derrickson’s upcoming film for Blumhouse and Universal, The Black Phone.

Derrickson and frequent collaborator C. Robert Cargill adapted the script based on Joe Hill’s short story.

Derrickson, Cargill and Jason Blum, for Blumhouse, are producing the film. Universal and Blumhouse will present the Crooked Highway production.

Exclusive: We have learned that Jeremy Davies has been cast in Scott Derrickson’s upcoming film for Blumhouse and Universal, The Black Phone.

Derrickson and frequent collaborator C. Robert Cargill adapted the script based on Joe Hill’s short story.

Derrickson, Cargill and Jason Blum, for Blumhouse, are producing the film. Universal and Blumhouse will present the Crooked Highway production. Joe Hill is an executive producer.

Davies recently won a BAFTA Games Award for his turn in Playstation’s God of War as Baldur. He made his film debut starring in David O. Russell’s acclaimed first film, Spanking the Monkey, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and earned Davies an Independent Spirit Award nomination. His portrayal of Tom Hanks’ interpreter, Cpl Upham, in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning film, Saving Private Ryan, garnered notable critical acclaim for Davies, including a co-nomination for a SAG award...

Rami Malek and Zoe Saldana have joined the ensemble cast of David O. Russell’s upcoming movie at New Regency.

The untitled film, in which plot details are as vague as the moniker itself, also stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. Russell will direct from his own script.

Production is currently underway in Los Angeles. Disney is distributing the film via New Regency’s deal with 20th Century Studios.

Russell is the filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning movies “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook.” He most recently directed “Joy,” the 2015 drama starring Jennifer Lawrence. His other film credits include “Spanking the Monkey,” “Flirting with Disaster,” “Three Kings” and “I Heart Huckabees.”

Malek, who landed an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is appearing next in the James Bond sequel “No Time to Die” as the villain Safin. The latest outing for...

John David Washington has joined Christian Bale and Margot Robbie in David O. Russell’s untitled new film at New Regency.

Russell will direct from his own script. Plot details are being kept under wraps.

Executive are planning to start production in Los Angeles in January. Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki will serve as cinematographer. The film will be distributed via New Regency’s deal with 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney. Matthew Budman is producing.

Earlier this year, Michael B. Jordan had been attached to the project, but that’s no longer the case.

Russell was nominated for directing and screenplay Oscars for both “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook.” His most recent directing effort was Jennifer Lawrence’s 2015 drama “Joy” for Fox. His other credits include “Spanking the Monkey,” “Flirting with Disaster,” “Three Kings” and “I Heart Huckabees.”

Washington broke into the entertainment business as part of the main cast...

David O. Russell is one of the most well-respected directors currently working in Hollywood. Ever since making a name for himself with the offbeat 1994 indie comedy Spanking The Monkey, O. Russell has written and directed eight additional feature films to go along with a handful of shorts.

Related: Christian Bale: His Top 10 Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Despite a lack of plot details, O. Russell's new untitled comedic film project is currently in pre-production with Christian Bale, Michael B. Jordan, and Margot Robbie attached to star. In anticipation of his newest endeavor, here are all of David O. Russell's movies ranked from worst to best, according to their IMDb score.

When David O. Russell made “Three Kings” in 1999, it was one of the most definitive films on the Gulf War. At the time, the director had worked on shorts “Hairway to the Stars” and “Bingo Inferno: A Parody on American Obsessions.” He had also worked on features “Spanking the Monkey” and “Flirting with Disaster.” The film came after “Courage on Fire,” and with a distinctive look courtesy of Dp Newton Thomas Siegel, provided an incredible satirical look at war.

Speaking at the Santa Barbara Film Festival this past weekend, Russell attended a post-q&a screening to mark the film’s 20th anniversary. “It was considered a strange thing,” Russell told Roger Durling, the film festival chief.

Strange as it might have been, the film opens with a great moment as Mark Walhberg runs into the frame, saying, “Are we shooting?” It’s not precisely clear, but then he repeats, “Are we shooting people or what?...

On Oct. 2, 1999, Warner Bros. unveiled the Middle East actioner Three Kings in theaters, where it would go on to gross $107 million globally. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below: 

Three Kings is a hugely ambitious movie. Writer-director David O. Russell, whose previous films were the dark comedies Spanking the Monkey and Flirting With Disaster, not only has designed an action-adventure laced with incendiary humor but a movie that wants to explore race, politics, war, the media and U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.

In large measure, he pulls it off with breathtaking aplomb. Plus, this Village Roadshow production ...

On Oct. 2, 1999, Warner Bros. unveiled the Middle East actioner Three Kings in theaters, where it would go on to gross $107 million globally. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below: 

Three Kings is a hugely ambitious movie. Writer-director David O. Russell, whose previous films were the dark comedies Spanking the Monkey and Flirting With Disaster, not only has designed an action-adventure laced with incendiary humor but a movie that wants to explore race, politics, war, the media and U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.

In large measure, he pulls it off with breathtaking aplomb. Plus, this Village Roadshow production ...

David O. Russell celebrates his 61st birthday on August 20, 2019. Throughout his many career ups-and-downs, the five-time Oscar-nominated director has carved out a place for himself with a series of singularly eccentric, screwy films. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all eight of his films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1958, Russell made his filmmaking debut with the incest comedy “Spanking the Monkey” (1994), which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and brought his Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay victories at the Independent Spirit Awards. The screwball farce “Flirting with Disaster” (1996) quickly followed, which earned him additional writing and directing bids at the Indie Spirits. He achieved a huge critical and commercial success with the Gulf War satire “Three Kings” (1999), for which he competed at the Writers Guild of America in Best Original Screenplay.

He received a more muted response with...

Who got signed, promoted, hired or fired? The Hollywood Reporter’s Rep Sheet rounds up the week in representation news. To submit announcements for consideration, contact rebecca.sun@thr.com.

Veterans

Innovative has signed:

Jeremy Davies, who won a guest-acting Emmy for playing Dickie Bennett on FX's Justified and most recently was seen as the big bad on The CW's three-part Elseworlds crossover in December. His other notable credits include ABC's Lost (where he was series regular Daniel Faraday), Starz's American Gods, Showtime's Twin Peaks and CBS' Helter Skelter on television as well as Saving Private Ryan, Spanking the Monkey and Solaris in film. Eion Bailey, whose ...

Who got signed, promoted, hired or fired? The Hollywood Reporter’s Rep Sheet rounds up the week in representation news. To submit announcements for consideration, contact rebecca.sun@thr.com.

Veterans

Innovative has signed:

Jeremy Davies, who won a guest-acting Emmy for playing Dickie Bennett on FX's Justified and most recently was seen as the big bad on The CW's three-part Elseworlds crossover in December. His other notable credits include ABC's Lost (where he was series regular Daniel Faraday), Starz's American Gods, Showtime's Twin Peaks and CBS' Helter Skelter on television as well as Saving Private Ryan, Spanking the Monkey and Solaris in film. Eion Bailey, whose ...

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane just added a medical menace to its staff: Jeremy Davies will portray the nefarious Dr. John Deegan in The CW’s upcoming DC crossover event that will draw Green Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl to Gotham City.

The annual DC/Wbtv crossover is a three-night event that kicks off with The Flash at 8 Pm on Sunday, December 9, followed by Arrow at 8 Pm December 10 and capped off with Supergirl on December 11.

Davies was a recent regular on Fox’s Sleepy Hollow. He also appeared in the season finale of the critically acclaimed Starz production of American Gods and in Showtime’s relaunch of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. He can be seen in November in Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built.

Davies may be best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of a rural Kentucky outlaw named Dickie Bennett on the F/X series Justified.

David O. Russell cringes at first when revisiting his 1996 film “Flirting with Disaster.”

“The first half, all I see is me as a beginning filmmaker,” Russell told the audience Friday night at AFI Fest’s 20th anniversary screening of the movie, sponsored by FilmStruck, Miramax, and IndieWire. “But the movie is like a runaway wagon, and it does just take off. It reminds me of the comedies that inspired me.”

Read More: AFI Fest 2016: 14 Movies We Can’t Wait to See at the Festival

Russell was joined by “Flirting” star Lily Tomlin, who said she joined the movie (Russell’s second) partly because she loved the director’s first film, “Spanking the Monkey.”

“When I read the [‘Flirting’] script, I laughed every time,” she said. “It was just so hilarious.”

Russell said “Flirting” was very much a movie of its time: “In the mid-’90s, sexual dysfunction and family dysfunction was all the rage.

It’s always been difficult to start a business, but in someways, it’s never been harder than right now. Entrepreneurship is at an all-time low in this country and the future of the American economy depends on young people who wish to innovate with vision and tact. The new film “Generation Startup” takes us to the front lines of the new generation of American entrepreneurship, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, the film honestly examines the risks and struggles of launching a startup and how no one is ever really prepared to start. “Generation Startup” celebrates bravery, urban revitalization, and diversity, while striving to inspire a whole new crop of entrepreneurs to make their own way. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Oscilloscope Buys ‘Contemporary Color,...

Long before he was cranking out reliable Oscar-season fare like "Silver Linings Playbook," David O. Russell was a struggling indie writer-director with one squirmy comedy about incest ("Spanking the Monkey") under his belt.

Then, 20 years ago this week, on March 22, 1996, he released the comedy "Flirting With Disaster," starring Ben Stiller, and... crickets. (It would be another three years before "Three Kings" scored Russell his first mainstream hit.)

It's too bad, since "Flirting" is a very funny film, marked by the breakneck pacing that Russell's fans have come to appreciate. But let's face it, not all comedies find their audience right away, and not all worthy comedies even become cult favorites later. Here are seven outrageously funny films worthy of rediscovery now.

The Spirit Award for Best First Feature has previously gone to noteworthy filmmakers like Paul Haggis ("Crash," 2005), Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich," 1999), David O. Russell ("Spanking the Monkey," 1994) and Spike Lee ("She's Gotta Have It," 1986), to name a few. This year Marielle Heller is the frontrunner to win for "Diary of a Teenage Girl" according to our combined predictions. She would be the first woman to win since Patty Jenkins for "Monster" in 2003. -Break- Subscribe to Gold Derby Breaking News Alerts & Experts’ Latest Oscar Predictions We've polled Expert film journalists, Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, the Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year's Spirit Award winners and more than 1,000 total Users who make up our largest and often savviest bloc of predictors. Twelve out of 13 experts predicting the Sp...'...

Success is the Best Revenge: Russell’s Embellished Portrait of the Miracle Mop

Director David O. Russell has been often praised for the depictions of women throughout his filmography, beginning with an unforgettable Alberta Watson in his debut Spanking the Monkey (1994). Amy Adams, who starred in The Fighter (2010) and American Hustle (2013), publicly thanked the director for his generous roles for actresses, and he’s finally anchored a film around the perspective of a woman with Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence in their third collaboration together (she won her Oscar for his 2012 title The Silver Linings Playbook). You wouldn’t know it up front, though the opening credits announce a dedication to spirited women everywhere, basing this on one perseverant woman in particular, but Russell is relaying the (exaggerated) story of Joy Mangano, the person behind the invention of the Miracle Mop. Recalibrated for Russell’s particular flavor of odd, broken...

Bob Balaban with Celia Weston at La Grenouille Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At the La Grenouille celebration for David O. Russell's Joy with Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Isabella Rossellini, Elisabeth Röhm, Dascha Polanco, David O. Russell, Diane Ladd and Virginia Madsen, Bob Balaban, the narrator of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom and Kent Jones' documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut shared memories of working with François Truffaut on Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind with me. Bob recalled meeting the Spanking the Monkey director, when he was filming The Last Good Time with Armin Mueller-Stahl and Maureen Stapleton and unfortunately, having never met Alfred Hitchcock.

When I told him that I was presenting Fantastic Mr. Fox at the Alliance Française later that afternoon, he exclaimed "Oh, mon dieu! I love that movie!"

Fantastic Mr. Fox event poster at the Alliance Française

Anne-Katrin Titze: I very much liked your narration in Hitchcock/Truffaut.

Maybe all great auteurs are a little crazy. What does it take, after all, to keep creating movies year after year that entertain and surprise and bear an inimitable authorial stamp? David O. Russell has grown on me since I saw his first film, "Spanking the Monkey," which broke out at Sundance in 1994. I attended a festival press conference, notebook in hand, and somehow Russell intuited from my facial expressions that I didn't much like his movie. And he remembers it to this day! My take at the time was that he was an ambitious New York filmmaker who intended to shock Hollywood with his well-acted incestual family drama audition piece. Well, it worked; he got their attention and then some. Eight films later, his movies are of a piece. They don't fit comfortably into genre structures, although "Silver Linings Playbook" is a romantic comedy and "Three Kings" is a war movie,...

It’s getting less attention right now than movies with Jedi or cowboys or bear attacks, but one of the most exciting films hitting theaters in time for Christmas is “Joy,” starring Jennifer Lawrence as a single mother and entrepreneur battling to make her mark on the world. And one of the reasons it’s so exciting is that it’s the latest movie from director David O. Russell. It’s the eighth movie credited to Russell (there’s a ninth, as we’ll see, of murkier origins) across his 21-year career, and he’s had one of the more fascinating ones in modern cinema. Breaking out with comedy “Spanking The Monkey” in 1994, Russell came up alongside Tarantino and co., but has always marched to the beat of his own drum, with a distinctly vibrant, fleet-footed comedy vibe. Early in his career, he got something of a reputation as an enfant terrible,...

Totally and tragically unconventional, Peggy Guggenheim moved through the cultural upheaval of the 20th century collecting not only not only art, but artists. Her sexual life was -- and still today is -- more discussed than the art itself which she collected, not for her own consumption but for the world to enjoy.

Her colorful personal history included such figures as Samuel Beckett, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp and countless others. Guggenheim helped introduce the world to Pollock, Motherwell, Rothko and scores of others now recognized as key masters of modernism.

In 1921 she moved to Paris and mingled with Picasso, Dali, Joyce, Pound, Stein, Leger, Kandinsky. In 1938 she opened a gallery in London and began showing Cocteau, Tanguy, Magritte, Miro, Brancusi, etc., and then back to Paris and New York after the Nazi invasion, followed by the opening of her NYC gallery Art of This Century, which became one of the premiere avant-garde spaces in the U.S. While fighting through personal tragedy, she maintained her vision to build one of the most important collections of modern art, now enshrined in her Venetian palazzo where she moved in 1947. Since 1951, her collection has become one of the world’s most visited art spaces.

Featuring: Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Arshile Gorky, Vasil Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Fernand Leger, Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Jean Miro, Piet Mondrian, Henry Moore, Robert Motherwell, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Kurt Schwitters, Gino Severini, Clyfford Still and Yves Tanguy.

Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Director and Producer)

Lisa Immordino Vreeland has been immersed in the world of fashion and art for the past 25 years. She started her career in fashion as the Director of Public Relations for Polo Ralph Lauren in Italy and quickly moved on to launch two fashion companies, Pratico, a sportswear line for women, and Mago, a cashmere knitwear collection of her own design. Her first book was accompanied by her directorial debut of the documentary of the same name, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (2012). The film about the editor of Harper's Bazaar had its European premiere at the Venice Film Festival and its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, going on to win the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival and the fashion category for the Design of the Year awards, otherwise known as “The Oscars” of design—at the Design Museum in London.

"Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict" is Lisa Immordino Vreeland's followup to her acclaimed debut, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel". She is now working on her third doc on Cecil Beaton who Lisa says, "has been circling around all these stories. What's great about him is the creativity: fashion photography, war photography, "My Fair Lady" winning an Oscar."

Sydney Levine: I have read numerous accounts and interviews with you about this film and rather than repeat all that has been said, I refer my readers to Indiewire's Women and Hollywood interview at Tribeca this year, and your Indiewire interview with Aubrey Page, November 6, 2015 .

Let's try to cover new territory here.

First of all, what about you? What is your relationship to Diana Vreeland?

Liv: I am married to her grandson, Alexander Vreeland. (I'm also proud of my name Immordino) I never met Diana but hearing so many family stories about her made me start to wonder about all the talk about her. I worked in fashion and lived in New York like she did.

Sl: In one of your interviews you said that Peggy was not only ahead of her time but she helped to define it. Can you tell me how?

Liv: Peggy grew up in a very traditional family of German Bavarian Jews who had moved to New York City in the 19th century. Already at a young age Peggy felt like there were too many rules around her and she wanted to break out. That alone was something attractive to me — the notion that she knew that she didn't fit in to her family or her times. She lived on her own terms, a very modern approach to life. She decided to abandon her family in New York. Though she always stayed connected to them, she rarely visited New York. Instead she lived in a world without borders. She did not live by "the rules". She believed in creating art and created herself, living on her own terms and not on those of her family.

Sl: Is there a link between her and your previous doc on Diana Vreeland?

Liv: The link between Vreeland and Guggenheim is their mutual sense of reinvention and transformation. That made something click inside of me as I too reinvented myself when I began writing the book on Diana Vreeland .

Can you talk about the process of putting this one together and how it differed from its predecessor?

Liv: The most challenging thing about this one was the vast amount of material we had at our disposal. We had a lot of media to go through — instead of fashion spreads, which informed The Eye Has To Travel, we had art, which was fantastic. I was spoiled by the access we had to these incredible archives and footage. I'm still new to this, but it's the storytelling aspect that I loved in both projects. One thing about Peggy that Mrs. Vreeland didn't have was a very tragic personal life. There was so much that happened in Peggy's life before you even got to what she actually accomplished. And so we had to tell a very dense story about her childhood, her father dying on the Titanic, her beloved sister dying — the tragic events that fundamentally shaped her in a way. It was about making sure we had enough of the personal story to go along with her later accomplishments.

World War II alone was such a huge part of her story, opening an important art gallery in London, where she showed Kandinsky and other important artists for the first time. The amount of material to distill was a tremendous challenge and I hope we made the right choices.

Sl: How did you learn make a documentary?

Liv: I learned how to make a documentary by having a good team around me. My editors (and co-writers)Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng were very helpful.

Research is fundamental; finding as much as you can and never giving up. I love the research. It is my "precise time". Not just for interviews but of footage, photographs never seen before. It is a painstaking process that satisfies me. The research never ends. I was still researching while I was promoting the Diana Vreeland book. I love reading books and going to original sources.

The archives in film museums in the last ten years has changed and given museums a new role. I found unique footage at Moma with the Elizabeth Chapman Films. Chapman went to Paris in the 30s and 40s with a handheld camera and took moving pictures of Brancusi and Duchamps joking around in a studio, Gertrude Stein, Leger walking down the street. This footage is owned by Robert Storr, Dean of Yale School of Art. In fact he is taking a sabbatical this year to go through the boxes and boxes of Chapman's films. We also used " Entre'acte" by René Clair cowritten with Dadaist Francis Picabia, "Le Sang du poet" of Cocteau, Hans Richter "8x8","Gagascope" and " Dreams That Money Can Buy" produced by Peggy Guggenheim, written by Man Ray in 1947.

Sl: How long did it take to research and make the film?

Liv: It took three years for both the Vreeland and the Guggenheim documentary.

It was more difficult with the Guggenheim story because there was so much material and so much to tell of her life. And she was not so giving of her own self. Diana could inspire you about a bandaid; she was so giving. But Peggy didn't talk much about why she loved an artist or a painting. She acted more. And using historical material could become "over-teaching" though it was fascinating.

So much had to be eliminated. It was hard to eliminate the Degenerate Art Show, a subject which is newly discussed. Stephanie Barron of Lacma is an expert on Degenerate Art and was so generous.

Once we decided upon which aspects to focus on, then we could give focus to the interviews.

There were so many of her important shows we could not include. For instance there was a show on collages featuring William Baziotes , Jackson Pollack and Robert Motherwell which started a more modern collage trend in art. The 31 Women Art Show which we did include pushed forward another message which I think is important.

And so many different things have been written about Peggy — there were hundreds of articles written about her during her lifetime. She also kept beautiful scrapbooks of articles written about her, which are now in the archives of the Guggenheim Museum.

The Guggenheim foundation did not commission this documentary but they were very supportive and the film premiered there in New York in a wonderful celebration. They wanted to represent Peggy and her paintings properly. The paintings were secondary characters and all were carefully placed historically in a correct fashion.

Sl: You said in one interview Guggenheim became a central figure in the modern art movement?

Liv: Yes and she did it without ego. Sharing was always her purpose in collecting art. She was not out for herself. Before Peggy, the art world was very different. And today it is part of wealth management.

Other collectors had a different way with art. Isabelle Stewart Gardner bought art for her own personal consumption. The Gardner Museum came later. Gertrude Stein was sharing the vision of her brother when she began collecting art. The Coen sisters were not sharing.

Her benevolence ranged from giving Berenice Abbott the money to buy her first camera to keeping Pollock afloat during lean times.

Djuana Barnes, who had a 'Love Love Love Hate Hate Hate' relationship with Peggy wrote Nightwood in Peggy's country house in England.

She was in Paris to the last minute. She planned how to safeguard artwork from the Nazis during World War II. She was storing gasoline so she could escape. She lived on the Ile St. Louis with her art and moved the paintings out first to a children's boarding school and then to Marseilles where it was shipped out to New York City.

Her role in art was not taken seriously because of her very public love life which was described in very derogatory terms. There was more talk about her love life than about her collection of art.

Her autobiography, Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict (1960) , was scandalous when it came out — and she didn't even use real names, she used pseudonyms for her numerous partners. Only after publication did she reveal the names of the men she slept with.

The fact that she spoke about her sexual life at all was the most outrageous aspect. She was opening herself up to ridicule, but she didn't care. Peggy was her own person and she felt good in her own skin. But it was definitely unconventional behavior. I think her sexual appetites revealed a lot about finding her own identity.

A lot of it was tied to the loss of her father, I think, in addition to her wanting to feel accepted. She was also very adventurous — look at the men she slept with. I mean, come on, they are amazing! Samuel Beckett, Yves Tanguy, Marcel Duchamp, and she married Max Ernst. I think it was really ballsy of her to have been so open about her sexuality; this was not something people did back then. So many people are bound by conventional rules but Peggy said no. She grabbed hold of life and she lived it on her own terms.

Sl: You also give Peggy credit for changing the way art was exhibited. Can you explain that?

Liv: One of her greatest achievements was her gallery space in New York City, Art of This Century, which was unlike anything the art world has seen before or since in the way that it shattered the boundaries of the gallery space that we've come to know today — the sterile white cube. She came to be a genius at displaying her collections...

She was smart with Art of the Century because she hired Frederick Kiesler as a designer of the gallery and once again surrounded herself with the right people, including Howard Putzler, who was already involved with her at Guggenheim Jeune in London. And she was hanging out with all the exiled Surrealists who were living in New York at the time, including her future husband, Max Ernst, who was the real star of that group of artists. With the help of these people, she started showing art in a completely different way that was both informal and approachable. In conventional museums and galleries, art was untouchable on the wall and inside frames. In Peggy's gallery, art stuck out from the walls; works weren't confined to frames. Kiesler designed special chairs you could sit in and browse canvases as you would texts in a library. Nothing like this had ever existed in New York before — even today there is nothing like it.

She made the gallery into an exciting place where the whole concept of space was transformed. In Venice, the gallery space was also her home. Today, for a variety of reasons, the home aspect of the collection is less emphasized, though you still get a strong sense of Peggy's home life there. She was bringing art to the public in a bold new way, which I think is a great idea. It's art for everybody, which is very much a part of today's dialogue except that fewer people can afford the outlandish museum entry fees.

Sl: What do you think made her so prescient and attuned ?

Liv: She was smart enough to ask Marcel Duchamp to be her advisor — so she was in tune, and very well connected. She was on the cutting edge of what was going on and I think a lot of this had to do with Peggy being open to the idea of what was new and outrageous. You have to have a certain personality for this; what her childhood had dictated was totally opposite from what she became in life, and being in the right place at the right time helped her maintain a cutting edge throughout her life.

Sl: The movie is framed around a lost interview with Peggy conducted late in her life. How did you acquire these tapes?

Liv: We optioned Jacqueline Bogard Weld’s book, Peggy : The Wayward Guggenheim, the only authorized biography of Peggy, which was published after she died. Jackie had spent two summers interviewing Peggy but at a certain point lost the tapes somewhere in her Park Avenue apartment. Jackie had so much access to Peggy, which was incredible, but it was also the access that she had to other people who had known Peggy — she interviewed over 200 people for her book. Jackie was incredibly generous, letting me go through all her original research except for the lost tapes.

We'd walk into different rooms in her apartment and I'd suggestively open a closet door and ask “Where do you think those tapes might be?" Then one day I asked if she had a basement, and she did. So I went through all these boxes down there, organizing her affairs. Then bingo, the tapes showed up in this shoebox.

It was the longest interview Peggy had ever done and it became the framework for our movie. There's nothing more powerful than when you have someone's real voice telling the story, and Jackie was especially good at asking provoking questions. You can tell it was hard for Peggy to answer a lot of them, because she wasn't someone who was especially expressive; she didn't have a lot of emotion. And this comes across in the movie, in the tone of her voice.

Sl: Larry Gagosian has one of the best descriptions of Peggy in the movie — "she was her own creation." Would you agree, and if so why?

Liv: She was very much her own creation. When he said that in the interview I had a huge smile on my face. In Peggy's case it stemmed from a real need to identify and understand herself. I'm not sure she achieved it but she completely recreated herself — she knew that she did not want to be what she was brought up to be. She tried being a mother, but that was not one of her strengths, so art became that place where she could find herself, and then transform herself.

Nobody believed in the artists she cultivated and supported — they were outsiders and she was an outsider in the world she was brought up in. So it's in this way that she became her own great invention. I hope that her humor comes across in the film because she was extremely amusing — this aspect really comes across in her autobiography.

Sl: Finally, what do you think is Peggy Guggenheim's most lasting legacy, beyond her incredible art collection?

Liv: Her courage, and the way she used it to find herself. She had this ballsiness that not many people had, especially women. In her own way she was a feminist and it's good for women and young girls today to see women who stepped outside the confines of a very traditional family and made something of her life. Peggy's life did not seem that dreamy until she attached herself to these artists. It was her ability to redefine herself in the end that truly summed her up.

About the Filmmakers

Stanley Buchtal is a producer and entrepreneur. His movies credits include "Hairspray", "Spanking the Monkey", "Up at the Villa", "Lou Reed Berlin", "Love Marilyn", "LennoNYC", "Bobby Fischer Against the World", "Herb & Dorothy", "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present"," Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child", "Sketches of Frank Gehry", "Black White + Gray: a Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe", among numerous others.

David Koh is an independent producer, distributor, sales agent, programmer and curator. He has been involved in the distribution, sale, production, and financing of over 200 films. He is currently a partner in the boutique label Submarine Entertainment with Josh and Dan Braun and is also partners with Stanley Buchthal and his Dakota Group Ltd where he co-manages a portfolio of over 50 projects a year (75% docs and 25% fiction). Previously he was a partner and founder of Arthouse Films a boutique distribution imprint and ran Chris Blackwell's (founder of Island Records & Island Pictures) film label, Palm Pictures. He has worked as a Producer for artist Nam June Paik and worked in the curatorial departments of Anthology Film Archives, MoMA, Mfa Boston, and the Guggenheim Museum. David has recently served as a Curator for Microsoft and has curated an ongoing film series and salon with Andre Balazs Properties and serves as a Curator for the exclusive Core Club in NYC.

David recently launched with his partners Submarine Deluxe, a distribution imprint; Torpedo Pictures, a low budget high concept label; and Nfp Submarine Doks, a German distribution imprint with Nfp Films. Recently and upcoming projects include "Yayoi Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots", "Burden: a Portrait of Artist Chris Burden", "Dior and I", "20 Feet From Stardom", "Muscle Shoals", "Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present", "Rats NYC", "Nas: Time Is Illmatic", "Blackfish", "Love Marilyn", "Chasing Ice", "Searching for Sugar Man", "Cutie and the Boxer"," Jean-Michel Basquiat: the Radiant Child", "Finding Vivian Maier", "The Wolfpack, "Meru", and "Station to Station".

Dan Braun is a producer, writer, art director and musician/composer based in NYC. He is the Co-President of and Co-Founder of Submarine, a NYC film sales and production company specializing in independent feature and documentary films. Titles include "Blackfish", "Finding Vivian Maier", "Muscle Shoals", "The Case Against 8", "Keep On Keepin’ On", "Winter’s Bone", "Nas: Time is Illmatic", "Dior and I" and Oscar winning docs "Man on Wire", "Searching for Sugarman", "20 Ft From Stardom" and "Citizenfour". He was Executive Producer on documentaries "Kill Your Idols", (which won Best NY Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival 2004), "Blank City", "Sunshine Superman", the upcoming feature adaptations of "Batkid Begins" and "The Battered Bastards of Baseball" and the upcoming horror TV anthology "Creepy" to be directed by Chris Columbus.

He is a producer of the free jazz documentary "Fire Music", and the upcoming documentaries, "Burden" on artist Chris Burden and "Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots" on artist Yayoi Kusama. He is also a writer and consulting editor on Dark Horse Comic’s "Creepy" and "Eerie 9" comic book and archival series for which he won an Eisner Award for best archival comic book series in 2009.

He is a musician/composer whose compositions were featured in the films "I Melt With You" and "Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Radiant Child and is an award winning art director/creative director when he worked at Tbwa/Chiat/Day on the famous Absolut Vodka campaign.

John Northrup (Co-Producer) began his career in documentaries as a French translator for National Geographic: Explorer. He quickly moved into editing and producing, serving as the Associate Producer on "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" (2012), and editing and co-producing "Wilson In Situ" (2014), which tells the story of theatre legend Robert Wilson and his Watermill Center. Most recently, he oversaw the post-production of Jim Chambers’ "Onward Christian Soldier", a documentary about Olympic Bomber Eric Rudolph, and is shooting on Susanne Rostock’s "Another Night in the Free World", the follow-up to her award-winning "Sing Your Song" (2011).

Submarine Entertainment (Production Company) Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production, and distribution company based in N.Y. Recent and upcoming titles include "Citizenfour", "Finding Vivian Maier", "The Dog", "Visitors", "20 Feet from Stardom", "Searching for Sugar Man", "Muscle Shoals", "Blackfish", "Cutie and the Boxer", "The Summit", "The Unknown Known", "Love Marilyn", "Marina Abramovic the Artist is Present", "Chasing Ice", "Downtown 81 30th Anniversary Remastered", "Wild Style 30th Anniversary Remastered", "Good Ol Freda", "Some Velvet Morning", among numerous others. Submarine principals also represent Creepy and Eerie comic book library and are developing properties across film & TV platforms.

Submarine has also recently launched a domestic distribution imprint and label called Submarine Deluxe; a genre label called Torpedo Pictures; and a German imprint and label called Nfp Submarine Doks.

Bernadine Colish has edited a number of award-winning documentaries. "Herb and Dorothy" (2008), won Audience Awards at Silverdocs, Philadelphia and Hamptons Film Festivals, and "Body of War" (2007), was named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. "A Touch of Greatness" (2004) aired on PBS Independent Lens and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Her career began at Maysles Films, where she worked with Charlotte Zwerin on such projects as "Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser", "Toru Takemitsu: Music for the Movies" and the PBS American Masters documentary, "Ella Fitzgerald: Something To Live For". Additional credits include "Bringing Tibet Home", "Band of Sisters", "Rise and Dream", "The Tiger Next Door", "The Buffalo War" and "Absolute Wilson".

Jed Parker (Editor) Jed Parker began his career in feature films before moving into documentaries through his work with the award-winning American Masters series. Credits include "Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart", "Annie Liebovitz: Life Through a Lens", and most recently "Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides".

Other work includes two episodes of the PBS series "Make ‘Em Laugh", hosted by Billy Crystal, as well as a documentary on Met Curator Henry Geldzahler entitled "Who Gets to Call it Art"?

Credits

Director, Writer, Producer: Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Produced by Stanley Buchthal, David Koh and Dan Braun Stanley Buchthal (producer)

Maja Hoffmann (executive producer)

Josh Braun (executive producer)

Bob Benton (executive producer)

John Northrup (co-producer)

Bernadine Colish (editor)

Jed Parker (editor)

Peter Trilling (director of photography)

Bonnie Greenberg (executive music producer)

Music by J. Ralph

Original Song "Once Again" Written and Performed By J. Ralph

Interviews Featuring Artist Marina Abramović Jean Arp Dore Ashton Samuel Beckett Stephanie Barron Constantin Brâncuși Diego Cortez Alexander Calder Susan Davidson Joseph Cornell Robert De Niro Salvador Dalí Simon de Pury Willem de Kooning Jeffrey Deitch Marcel Duchamp Polly Devlin Max Ernst Larry Gagosian Alberto Giacometti Arne Glimcher Vasily Kandinsky Michael Govan Fernand Léger Nicky Haslam Joan Miró Pepe Karmel Piet Mondrian Donald Kuspit Robert Motherwell Dominique Lévy Jackson Pollock Carlo McCormick Mark Rothko Hans Ulrich Obrist Yves Tanguy Lisa Phillips Lindsay Pollock Francine Prose John Richardson Sandy Rower Mercedes Ruehl Jane Rylands Philip Rylands Calvin Tomkins Karole Vail Jacqueline Bograd Weld Edmund White

Running time: 97 minutes

U.S. distribution by Submarine Deluxe

International sales by Hanway...

American Hustle director to give talk in London in December.

Award-winning director, producer and writer David O Russell is to deliver BAFTA’s David Lean Lecture at BAFTA’s London headquarters on Dec 19.

The David Lean Lecture aims to inspire and inform practitioners and the public, by providing an insight into the experiences and outstanding creative achievements of some of the world’s most compelling filmmakers.

Previous speakers include Robert Altman, Paul Greengrass, David Lynch, Lone Scherfig, Oliver Stone and Peter Weir.

Russell is a two-time BAFTA-winner and five-time Oscar-nominee. Dame Pippa Harris, chair of the BAFTA Film Committee, described the director as “a passionate and inspirational filmmaker”.

“Russell’s ability to coax extraordinary performances from his cast is truly exceptional, as is the range, wit, originality and sheer brilliance of the films he makes,” she added.

“We are extremely fortunate to have this chance to benefit from his insights into the industry.”

Russell’s first...

Even before abandoning the troubled movie in 2008, American Hustle director David O Russell was notorious for on-set drama. Now, with the director riding high, the failed film has returned – with a new name – and it’s close to a disaster

There are lots of surprises about David O Russell’s new film. It is, in one sense, David O Russell’s old film, since it was shot in 2008. It is also not really his film at all: his name is nowhere to be found on Accidental Love, which is credited instead to Stephen Greene, presumably a distant relative of Alan Smithee (the name usually invoked when directors disown a movie). Fans who have followed Russell’s career closely, though, will recognise the distinctive plot about a waitress (Jessica Biel) who campaigns for better healthcare after a nail-gun accident relieves her of all sexual inhibitions. She travels to Washington in the...

David O. Russell makes fashion statement on the Oscars' Red Carpet David O. Russell: Fashion statement and Oscar nomination David O. Russell, a Best Director Oscar nominee for the surprisingly successful boxing drama The Fighter, makes both a fashion and a facial statement upon his arrival with guests at the 2011 Academy Awards held on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. This was his first Best Director nomination. About five years ago, David O. Russell made headlines thanks to leaked videos showing him having a volcanic, expletive-filled confrontation with Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees – an ambitious all-star comedy that turned out to be much less successful than the bizarre behind-the-scenes video clips. (Check out Paul Rudd in a parody of the 'I Heart Huckabees' blow-up.) Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees alumnus Mark Wahlberg has said that he had to fight with Paramount...

Some of the most intricate, oddly endearing (no matter how gruff or selfish or disturbed) characters to grace movie screens in the past few years have been introduced to audiences by David O. Russell. A former mental patient and his deeply troubled girlfriend. A quartet of soldiers out to steal gold during the Persian Gulf War. Conmen, FBI agents, and well-intentioned politicians navigating the New Jersey mob. Existential detectives. The list goes on. A new supercut by Jacob T. Swinney highlights the consistently “cool, calm, [and] neurotic” characters unique to Russell’s filmography. Swinney asserts, “Russell's characters tend to possess a variety of contradicting qualities that spin and twist throughout the duration of the film. It started in 1994 with the quirky, baby-faced pre-med student who just so happens to have an incestuous relationship with his mother (Spanking the Monkey),” Russell’s first feature (which isn’t actually used in the supercut). He continues,...

Character actress Alberta Watson passed away on Saturday due to cancer, her agent has reported. Watson was 60.

Watson began her acting career in Canada with national broadcaster CBC, gaining notice for a key role in the 1978 feature In Praise of Older Women. Watson went on to a variety of roles in movies such as 1981’s Black Mirror and 1983’s The Keep, as well as guest stints on shows such as Kane & Abel.

Watson got her first major television role in Buck James, following that up with guest appearances on shows such as The Equalizer and Street Legal. As the 90s came around, she became a more prominent fixture in television, appearing on shows such as Law & Order and The Outer Limits. Watson also appeared in David O. Russell’s 1994 feature Spanking the Monkey, garnering acclaim for her role of Susan Aibelli. She followed that up with roles in the 1995 feature Hackers,...

Canadian film and television actress Alberta Watson has died. She was 60.

Watson – who was best known for her role as special agent Erin Driscoll on the Fox drama 24 – died Saturday at Kensington Hospice in Toronto after a lengthy battle with cancer, her agent confirmed to People.

"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of the luminous Alberta Watson," agent Pam Winter wrote in a statement. "Alberta died in the arms of her beloved [husband] Ken."

Watson was diagnosed with lymphoma just as she was settling into the role of Senator Madeline Pierce in the second season of La Femme Nikita,...

Back in November, we reported that David O. Russell’s ill-fated, romantic satire "Nailed" would actually see the light of day, thanks to producers determined to reshoot, finish and release the picture in whatever marketable form they could. Now dubbed "Accidental Love," the first trailer for the film plays like a goofy rom-com of the McConaughey-Hudson era, albeit with hints of Russell’s biting perspective. What was dead is now reborn… as something far more generic. Is this how Nicole Kidman felt in "Birth"? "Accidental Love" follows Alice (Jessica Biel), the recent victim of a nailgun shot to the head, as she crusades to Washington D.C. in defense of all those afflicted by "weird conditions they can’t afford to fix." Ditched by her fiancée (James Marsden), Alice hooks up with an eager, young politician (Jake Gyllenhaal) and antics ensue. Though he’s turned his attention to more traditional drama fare,...

Starting with 2010’s The Fighter, filmmaker David O. Russell began kind of remaking himself as a director. While his previous films like I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings, and Spanking the Monkey were odd and irreverent, The Fighter marked the beginning of more mainstream material from the director, and was followed by the awards friendly Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. However, Russell shot an unreleased film before The Fighter, one that sounds like it might be the last “old Russell” picture that he ever made. The health care satire Nailed starred Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal and revolved around three people with serious health issues that stormed Washington D.C. to demand treatment, including a woman with a nail stuck in her head. The production of Nailed was contentious on account of the financier. It was shut down a whopping 14 times, but Russell was able to shoot all but one...

Jeremy Davies (Justified) and Robert Knepper (Prison Break) have been cast in History’s miniseries Texas Rising (working title) from A+E Studios and ITV Studios America. Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys) is exec producing the project, which will detail the Texas Revolution against Mexico and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers. Davies, repped by Paradigm, Silver Lining Entertainment and attorney Karl Austen, will play Sgt. Ephraim Knowles, a shifty rogue whose only thought is for his own survival who reluctantly joins the Rangers to avoid being executed for desertion. Knepper, repped by Innovative Artists and Kramer Management, will play Empresario Buckley, an unshaven bombastic slob. He is the only law in the town of Victoria, and he abuses his position to further his own agenda and make himself rich in the process. Davies won an Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy for FX’s Justified. He recurs on NBC’s Hannibal...

David O. Russell is a filmmaker on fire, telling compelling stories about fascinating characters that are completely flawed and human. With his last three films – The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle – receiving 25 Oscar nominations between them, and his actors giving star-making performances in their roles, it’s no surprise that he was recognized as the Outstanding Director of the Year at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff). Collider was there to cover and attend the event, and we’ve compiled the highlights of what he had to say, both on the press line and during the Q&A. While there, writer/director David O. Russell talked about what this ride has been like for him, when and how he started making films, how he learned the craft of filmmaking, the affect Sundance had on him, how starting out with short films led to him making his first feature Spanking the Monkey,...

This afternoon, the Sundance Film Festival will look back at its impressive 1994 slate, which included first-time filmmaker David O. Russell’s Spanking the Monkey and the gripping basketball documentary Hoop Dreams. That year also marked the debut of Kevin Smith by way of his low-budget Gen-x gem Clerks, and this year’s festivalgoers will be treated to a midnight screening tonight in celebration of the movie’s twentieth anniversary. News of Smith’s success out west — he won the festival’s Filmmaker Trophy — spread quickly to his home state of New Jersey, and by the time his film arrived in theaters on October 19, 1994, even unlikely Garden Staters were lining up to see if the local boy had made good. One of those people was Maris Kreizman, a Vulture contributor who also created the popular Tumblr mash-up Slaughterhouse 90210. This is her story.Until Harvey Keitel’s penis entered the picture, I...

Jennifer Lawrence wins Golden Globe 2014: Best Supporting Actress for ‘American Hustle’ (photo © HFPA: Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe winner Jennifer Lawrence, with Tom Hanks) Jennifer Lawrence, as expected, has taken home the 2014 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in David O. Russell’s American Hustle, a crime comedy-drama set in the ’70s, which also stars Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and Jeremy Renner. In her acceptance speech, Lawrence reminisced: Years ago, I watched a movie called I Heart Huckabees [2004] and I was so in awe and floored by this completely unchartered humor. So I googled who made it and I saw that it was the same director as Three Kings and Flirting with Disaster and Spanking the Monkey, and I just thought that this is the most brilliant man in every single way. And so by some weird twist of fate, this is the same man that made my career.

‘American Hustle’ and David O. Russell movies box office: Russell’s latest has stronger than expected wide-release debut, could become the director’s top-grossing movie (photo: Amy Adams in ‘American Hustle’) Directed by David O. Russell, and starring Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jeremy Renner, American Hustle opened with a better than expected $19.1 million after expanding to 2,507 North American locations, according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. Some pundits had been expecting a debut in the low-to-mid teens. For comparison’s sake: Three years ago, David O. Russell’s The Fighter, which also featured American Hustle‘s Christian Bale and Amy Adams, expanded to 2,503 locations, grossing a considerably more modest $12.56 million. Comparisons to last year’s Silver Linings Playbook — also directed by Russell, and featuring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence — are impossible to make, as that film expanded to 2,523 locations only on its tenth...

Hooray for second acts. Now, I’m not just referring to the “legitimate stage”, since most plays are in two acts (with musicals usually going to three). Well, we could apply this to films and not necessarily those based on said plays (like the upcoming August: Osage County). I’m referring to the second acts (or second chances) in one’s life, specifically in a career. A prime example is triple threat (writer/producer/director) David O. Russell. Hard to believe, but it’s been nearly twenty years since he exploded onto the scene with the low, low-budget art-house hit Spanking The Monkey. The studios soon came calling, and he delivered a couple of modest hits. And then there was I Heart Huckabees, a misfire accelerated by unflattering video footage of the director losing his cool on the set which was leaked to the internet (no doubt an early “viral...

It’s a very exciting time to be a film junkie. Gone are the days when a film’s art house appeal meant it had to be subtitled. Now we have our very own cadre of American filmmakers all jockeying for the spot of top dog. David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, and P.T. Anderson are all in contention for the title of our generation’s greatest director. However, there is a filmmaker that is quietly lobbying for a prime spot on that list, and some say he has already arrived – David O. Russell. His last two films, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook garnered fifteen Oscar nominations total. American Hustle has already been making a splash on the awards circuit. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globe awards and early buzz for Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams has been deafening.

David O. Russell on the set of “The Fighter.

American Hustle continues a recent string of much-feted films in the career of director David O. Russell. After the relative obscurity that went along with 1994’s Spanking the Monkey and 1996’s Flirting with Disaster, the relative success of 1999’s Three Kings—which, by the way, is still his best film—and back to relative obscurity again with 2004’s misunderstood existential comedy I ♥ Huckabees, he was then shot into the relative stratosphere with the dual critical and artistic successes of The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. That’s a lot of relativity to speak of, but it’s necessary when talking about the particular merits of Russell’s films, especially considering American Hustle may be his most high profile release yet.

You see, Russell is an enigma, a Steven Soderbergh-type chameleon without the distinct freedom of that filmmaker but one who can seemingly blend into the genres he chooses to tackle.

Ranked: David O. Russell, From Worst to Best A look back on the "American Hustle" director's stumbles and successes. By Alex Dueben David O. Russell is part of the generation of filmmakers who started their careers in independent films, made an impression at Sundance, and then went on to work on the edges of the studio system to varying degrees of success. Russell often works with an ensemble cast and has become known as a great director of actors–for his last two films, seven different actors received Oscar nominations and three of them won. His seventh feature film, American Hustle, opens this weekend and to commemorate this, we looked back on his oeuvre from worst to best. 6. Spanking the Monkey (1994) This feels like a debut film. It’s about incest, which means it’s creepy and can make an audience squirm in a way that [...]...

When I first met David O. Russell in 1994, he had just finished his first feature film, "Spanking the Monkey," a serious, yet darkly humorous film which dealt with the taboo subject of incest. But even back then, he was reluctant to categorize his work, saying "to call 'Spanking the Monkey' a film about incest, is like calling 'Ordinary People' a film about teen suicide or 'Drugstore Cowboy' a film about theft." Since then, he has taken on a wide array of projects that have, to Russell's credit and his pleasure, defied categorizations. Tackling difficult subjects such as adoption, mental illness, war and drug abuse, Russell consistently injects humor and manages to find the core element of humanity in his characters. With "American Hustle," he's once again turned the camera on complicated characters who, like Russell's films, defy categorization. We recently attended the "American Hustle" press conference and learned...

Given that David O. Russell's "American Hustle" (December 13) is one of the final films to arrive into the already-crowded awards fray, the last film festival of the fall season, AFI Fest 2013 (November 7-14), gets to promote the presumed Oscar contender via Special Tribute on Friday, November 8. (The advance buzz on the movie, which Russell is tinkering with, per usual, is strong.) The tribute will look over Russell's body of work, from 1994's breakthrough Sundance entry "Spanking the Monkey" and comedies "Flirting with Disaster" and "I Heart Huckabees" to Kuwait war drama "Three Kings" and "The Fighter" and "Silver Linings Playbook," starring Oscar-winners Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence, respectively. They also star in "American Hustle," which will be screened in part but not in its entirety during the evening.   ...

The 2013 AFI Fest announced a Special Tribute to three-time Oscar nominated writer/director David O. Russell, whose latest film "American Hustle" opens Dec. 13. The tribute will take place Nov. 8 at 9pm in the Egyptian Theater. Below find more info courtesy of the fest: Special Tribute: An Evening with David O. Russell A conversation with the critically acclaimed filmmaker, celebrating his renowned work and new film "American Hustle." The tribute presentation will feature scenes from Russell's body of work, including "American Hustle" Together, Russell's latest two films, garnered a total of 15 academy-award nominations. Russell's prior filmography includes "I Heart Huckabees" (2004), "Three Kings" (1999), "Flirting With Disaster" (1996), and "Spanking the Monkey" (1994). The festival runs Nov. 7-14.

War is hell, for sure, but war can make for undeniably brilliant movie-making. Here, the Guardian and Observer's critics pick the ten best

• Top 10 action movies

• Top 10 comedy movies

• Top 10 horror movies

• Top 10 sci-fi movies

• Top 10 crime movies

• Top 10 arthouse movies

• Top 10 family movies

10. Where Eagles Dare

As the second world war thriller became bogged down during the mid-60s in plodding epics like Operation Crossbow and The Heroes of Telemark, someone was needed to reintroduce a little sang-froid, some post-Le Carré espionage, and for heaven's sake, some proper macho thrills into the genre. Alistair Maclean stepped up, writing the screenplay and the novel of Where Eagles Dare simultaneously, and Brian G Hutton summoned up a better than usual cast headed by Richard Burton (Major Jonathan Smith), a still fresh-faced Clint Eastwood (Lieutenant Morris Schaffer), and the late Mary Ure (Mary Elison).

Parachuted into the German Alps, they have one...

Ravenous

Directed by Antonia Bird

Written by Ted Griffin

Czech Republic, UK, and USA, 1999

“I said no food. I didn’t say there was nothing to eat.”

Director Antonia Bird’s Ravenous is a bizarre amalgamation of humor and horror that explores cannibalism with warped nuance. The strangely cacophonous score builds up tension as craven outcasts face a glutinous and depraved attacker whose strength seems fortified by his consumption of human flesh. Set during America’s westward expansion, the metaphor of humanity’s insatiable appetite for power is plain to see but its execution indulges in such eccentricities that it is still a gruesome pleasure to behold.

Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce of Memento and L.A. Confidential) is a reluctant soldier who plays dead in a battle during the Mexican-American War and ends up at the bottom of a pile of corpses. The blood of his more heroic comrades...

The rave reviews and positive audience reception of Silver Linings Playbook have earned director David O. Russell some special honors at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival. He will be the festival’s Guest Director and will also receive the event’s Spirit of Independence Award.

In Russell’s role as Guest Director, he will host a screening of his 1999 film Three Kings, starring George Clooney. He will also attend the 12th annual Filmmaker Retreat at George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch in northern California, a gathering for filmmakers who have movies in the L.A. festival.

The Spirit of...