George Clooney is still feuding with David O. Russell exactly 25 years after their infamous fight during the production of 1999 film “Three Kings.”
Clooney told GQ UK in a joint interview with his “Wolfs” co-star Brad Pitt that no film is “worth” working with a “miserable fuck like David O. Russell.” In short, don’t count on a “Three Kings” anniversary reunion between the actor and director.
“The older you get, time allotment is very different. Five months out of your life is a lot,” Clooney said of how he selects projects now. “And so it’s not just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go do a really good film, like “Three Kings,” and I’m going to have a miserable fuck like David O. Russell making my life hell. Making every person in the crew’s life hell.’ It’s not worth it. Not at this point in my life. Just to have a good product.”
Clooney infamously got into a physical altercation after Russell allegedly was berating extras on set. The actor/director detailed the altercation to Playboy in 2000 where he called the “Three Kings” production “the worst experience of my life.”
Clooney told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 that he tried to bury the hatchet with Russell.
“I saw David a few weeks ago at a party… and I felt compelled to go over and go, ‘So, are we done?’ And he goes, ‘Please’. And I said, ‘OK,’” Clooney said at the time. “We made a really, really great film and we had a really tough time together, but it’s a case of us both getting older. I really do appreciate the work he continues to do, and I think he appreciates what I’m trying to do.”
Yet Clooney’s experience with Russell is far from the first issue with the director that has been made public. Russell verbally abused Lily Tomlin on the set of “I Heart Huckabees” in a viral video, and also has been a controversial figure given his unorthodox directing style. While promoting Russell’s “Amsterdam,” Margot Robbie revealed that Russell refused to call “cut” and extended the crew’s work hours during production.
IndieWire has reached out to reps for Clooney and Russell for additional comment.
