David O. Russell

[MacGuffin]

So that there's an actual purpose for this thread being brought up...you may or may not have heard already that Three Kings will be released again this fall, primarily for political reasons. It will be accompanied by a documentary on the Iraq war (I'm guessing both of them) by Russel, which will be expanded to a feature length extra feature when Three Kings is re-released on DVD after the theatrical run.

Warner Bros. Rejects Anti-War Documentary

Filmmaker David O. Russell planned to distribute a new anti-war documentary along with an upcoming Warner Bros. DVD release of his 1999 movie "Three Kings." But studio executives now say his finished documentary isn't what they had in mind, so they're giving it back to him.

The move by Warner Bros. is notable in a year when the Walt Disney Co. cited political sensitivity for its refusal to distribute Michael Moore's blockbuster "Fahrenheit 9/11."

"Three Kings" starred George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube as three American soldiers searching for gold in Iraq during the Gulf War of the early 1990s.

The heads of Warner Bros. rejected the documentary this week, The New York Times reported Thursday, saying it was inappropriate to distribute a documentary about the director's personal political views in conjunction with his 5-year-old drama.

"This came out to be a documentary that condemns, basically, war," Warner Bros. spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti told the newspaper. "This is supposed to be a special edition of `Three Kings,' not a polemic about war."

Brogliatti said the studio made the decision after seeing the completed documentary, which features interviews with Iraqi refugees and veterans of the current war in Iraq.

The studio expected follow-up stories to the real lives of Iraqi extras and advisers who worked on "Three Kings." Brogliatti said the documentary cost about $180,000 and the studio was planning to give it to Russell to distribute independently.

"It was definitely a surprise and a disappointment," Russell said. "But they are being very gracious and letting me take it back."

[Chest Rockwell]

That's a bummer. Will it still make it to the DVD?

[Ghostboy]

That's a bummer. Will it still make it to the DVD?

Probably not. here's a New York Times article about the whole thing.

And for all the people who avoid clicking on the link because they don't want to sign up...seriously, it's the NY Times for free, it's worth it.

[pete]

has anyone else hear this rumor that David O Russel supposedly stole the Three Kings script from his writing partner and never gave him the credit for it?

[Ghostboy]

John Ridley wrote the original script and did get story credit, but I think he tried to sue for screenplay credit as well. David O Russell says he completely rewrote the Ridley's script, which was more of a gung ho action film.

[MacGuffin]

More details:

Warners "Kings" Controversy

Three Kings minus one documentary equals a budding controversy.

Warner Bros. has scrapped plans to distribute filmmaker David O. Russell's new anti-war documentary that was supposed to be screened this fall with the rerelease of his 1999 Gulf War flick, Three Kings.

After seeing the completed 35-minute film, titled Soldiers Pay, Warners bosses deemed it too much of a political hot potato to release ahead of the November election. The suits were also concerned that the film could end up violating federal election laws.

"We felt that it's inappropriate to put out a personal political statement and attach it to the film," said Warner Bros. spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti. "We just felt that this was a personal political view, it didn't have a place."

The $180,000 doc features interviews with Iraqi refugees, human-rights officials and veterans of the Iraq conflict. While it takes an anti-war stance, it avoids taking sides in the presidential race and doesn't mention either candidate.

Soldiers Pay was due to be screened along with Three Kings when Warner Bros. reissued the film to hype the release of a new special-edition DVD. But now, studio execs say they have not only pulled the plug on the doc's theatrical release, but it's unlikely they will include Soldiers Pay as an extra when the disc hits stores.

The decision comes a month after Russell told the New York Times that he thought he "could perhaps make a difference before the election," as well as show "what war does to people."

The remarks didn't go over so well with the studio's legal eagles. They advised Warners brass against releasing Soldiers Pay, saying the filmmaker's lopsided point of view could raise red flags with the Federal Election Commission.

Russell, however, says Warners is overreacting. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the writer-director said the film is "far from a polemic."

"It takes a point of view that questions the way the war went down...but it's not black and white, it's not Michael Moore," he said.

Russell had been pushing Warner Bros. to rerelease Three Kings--a critically hailed dark comedy about three soldiers, played by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube, hunting for looted Kuwaiti gold after Operation Desert Storm--in theaters given the ongoing conflict in Iraq. He began working on the documentary as part of the value-added material for a new DVD, beginning by catching up with several Iraqis who played extras in the original film.

But eventually he grew more ambitious and included interviews with people outside the frame of the movie, including Democratic California Senator Barbara Boxer--something the studio felt uncomfortable with considering his comment about influencing the election.

Russell, who was informed of Warners' decision earlier this week, said he was taken aback and disappointed by the studio's reaction.

The flap over Russell's doc comes months Disney dumped Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 because the Mouse House was concerned about appearing partisan, much to the dismay of its Miramax unit, which backed the film.

The studio ended up selling Fahrenheit back to Miramax honchos Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who teamed with Lions Gate and IFC to distribute the film. The controversy helped propel the movie into the box-office stratosphere and made it the top-grossing documentary of all time.

Hoping to avoid a similar fiasco, Warner Bros. said it will allow Russell to seek a new distributor for his film after it recouped its initial costs.

"If we wanted to censor somebody, we would've said fine, we'll take it and throw it in the vault. We didn't," said Brogliatti. "David asked that if he could release it and...put it out [himself]. We said, 'Yes.' "

Russell said he's pleased to have the opportunity to release Soldiers Pay and is considering various avenues of distribution--including via MoveOn.org or other Internet site, or perhaps on a cable network like HBO--in the hopes of getting it out before the election.

"It was definitely a surprise and a disappointment," Russell told the New York Times. "But they are being very gracious and letting me take it back."

Russell, whose credits also include the 1994 incest-themed indie hit Spanking the Monkey and the quirky comedy Flirting With Disaster, recently wrapped I Heart Huckabees for 20th Century Fox, a project that is drawing some early Oscar buzz.

[meatwad]

i just found out Spanking the Monkey was filmed in my town

[meatball]

i just found out Spanking the Monkey was filmed in my town

That's cool, wad.

[MacGuffin]

Director Russell's Anti-War Film Finds Distributor

Film director David O. Russell's anti-Iraq war documentary "Soldier's Pay" has found a new distributor in independent film company Cinema Libre Studio after Warner Bros. balked at sending the movie to theaters or packaging it in a DVD.

In a statement, Cinema Libre said it will release Russell's movie in theaters along with "Uncovered: The War on Iraq" as a political documentary double bill.

Cinema Libre said the films compliment "each other with strong arguments about the consequences of the war and the lies that were told to get there."

"Uncovered" was made by documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald, and attempts to deconstruct President Bush 's case for invading Iraq. It has been playing in theaters since mid-August.

Russell's 35-minute film, which was made with Tricia Regan and Juan Carlos Zaldivar, was set to be shown in theaters with a rerelease of Russell's fictional Gulf War movie "Three Kings" from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. film studio.

It also was supposed to be part of the "Three Kings" DVD package, but Warner Bros. decided against releasing it out of concern it might put the studio in violation of U.S. election laws during this presidential election year.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times quoted a Warner spokeswoman as saying the studio did not think it was appropriate to attach "this polemic to an entertainment piece."

[MacGuffin]

Movie Director Russell "Receives Threatening Email" From Journalist

Director David O. Russell has allegedly received a threatening email from his long-term enemy, movie journalist Sharon Waxman, vowing to ruin him in her new book. The New York Times movie industry reporter and the Three Kings director have been feuding since Waxman wrote a scathing magazine profile of Russell on the set of his latest film I Heart Huckabees, falsely claiming the material was for her book Rebels On The Backlot: Six Maverick Directors And How They Conquered The Studio System. Russell's anger was exacerbated when she tried to obtain photographs of him and George Clooney for the tome - he sent her an email threatening legal action if she attempted to use the pictures, reports website Pagesix.Com. Waxman's email response reportedly read, "Having your attorney call me? How Hollywood of you...and for a Zen Buddhist yet. I think you'll regret your nasty behavior when you read the book. But that'll be way late in the day. I've obviously given you too much credit for being a classy human being, not the jerks I deal with all day long in this industry."

[UncleJoey]

What is she going to do? Prove that his brilliant films actually, in fact,  suck? Good luck Sharon.

[Pubrick]

he didn't want to do her. his films didn't want to do me. i did 3 kings tho.  i can relate.

she is fat. forget what she says..

[modage]

What is she going to do? Prove that his brilliant films actually, in fact,  suck? Good luck Sharon.

no i think she was just going to talk about how he acts like an asshole when he is onset.  

if this hasnt been mentioned, his documentary Soldiers Pay, will air on Sundance Channel in the next week or so before the election.

[Stefen]

I dont think people really give a shit about what filmmakers do. You could molest a little tiny baby boy and then make Jeepers Creepers and people would still see it. Aside from involving urine, I don't see how she could ruin his career.

[soixante]

I wonder who the six directors are besides Russell -- perhaps the two Andersons, Alexander Payne, Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola?