| David O. Russell | |
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Russell at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival |
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| Born | David Owen Russell August 20, 1958 New York City, United States |
| Other names | David O'Russell David Russell |
| Occupation | Director Writer |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Influenced by | Mike Nichols, Luis Buñuel, Hal Ashby, John Waters, Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Mel Brooks |
| Spouse | Janet Grillo (1992-2007) |
David Owen Russell (born August 20, 1958) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been praised for the loose, comic energy that characterizes his work.
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Russell was born in New York City, New York to a Jewish father and an Italian American Catholic mother, and was raised in an "atheistic" household.[1] He graduated from Amherst College in 1981, majoring in Political Science and English.
His first directorial effort was the independent dark comedy Spanking the Monkey in 1994, starring Jeremy Davies as a troubled young man. Despite the controversial subject matter, the film received critical acclaim[2] and won him Best First Screenplay and Best First Feature from the Independent Spirit Awards, as well as the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.[3]
His next project was another independent comedy, Flirting with Disaster (1996), about a neurotic man (Ben Stiller) who travels with his wife (Patricia Arquette) and a high-strung caseworker (Téa Leoni) to find his biological parents. The film was well-received by most critics.[4] Roger Ebert said of the direction, "Russell finds the strong central line all screwball begins with, the seemingly serious mission or quest, and then throws darts at a map of the United States as he creates his characters."[5] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a 'B' and declared it "...one of the ha-ha funniest comedies currently at a theater near you."[6]
The success of those two films led to the Gulf War thriller Three Kings, starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze. Adapted from an earlier script by former stand-up comic John Ridley, the film follows three American GIs who devise a plan to steal hidden Kuwaiti gold during the 1991 Iraqi uprising against Saddam Hussein. Filmed in the deserts of Arizona, California and Mexico, and featuring actual Iraqi refugees as extras, Russell used several unique cinematic techniques to achieve a feeling of realism. He filmed using handheld cameras and Steadicam, and shot on Ektachrome slide photography stock that was cross processed in colour negative chemicals, to reproduce "the odd colour of the newspaper images [of the Gulf War]." He also insisted on filming all of the explosions in one shot, as opposed to a typical action film.
Three Kings was released in 1999 and was his biggest critical and financial success. It grossed $60 million in the United States and over $100 million worldwide.[7] It holds a 94% at Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus "Three Kings successfully blends elements of action, drama, and comedy into a thoughtful, exciting movie on the Gulf War."[8] It ended up being the first of several collaborations with Mark Wahlberg.
After a six-year hiatus Russell returned with The Fighter, a biographical sports drama produced by and starring Mark Wahlberg. The film focuses on junior welterweight boxer Mickey Ward's rise to claim the WBU Light Welterweight title, as well as his difficult relationship with his mother, Alice Ward (Melissa Leo), and his older half-brother Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale). The film became a major critical and financial success, grossing $125 million,[9] and appearing on several critics' year-end top ten lists.[10] The Fighter also received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Russell, the first of his career,[11] and earned awards for both Bale and Leo, for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.
Nailed is a political comedy co-written by Kristen Gore which stars Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tracy Morgan, Catherine Keener, Paul Reubens, Josh Brolin and Kirstie Alley. Production was delayed or shut down four times because of financial troubles that led IATSE to shut down production because the crew was not getting paid.[12][13] [14] The movie revolves around the character of Alice Eckle (played by Jessica Biel) who gets accidentally shot in the head with a nail by a clumsy workman, eliciting wild sexual urges. The uninsured Eckle goes on a crusade to Washington to fight for the rights of the bizarrely injured. She meets an immoral congressman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who takes advantage of her sex drive and capitalizes on her crusade as Eckle heads into her own career in politics.[15]
Russell is set to direct The Silver Linings Playbook, adapted from the serio-comic novel by Matthew Quick.[16] Mark Wahlberg was originally attached to star in the lead role, but departed due to a scheduling conflict. Bradley Cooper will play Pat Peoples and Robert De Niro, who starred with Cooper in Limitless, is co-starring. Jennifer Lawrence has been confirmed for the lead female role. This cast also includes the veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher.[17] It has begun filming and is tentatively set for release sometime in 2013. [18]
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