Want To See David O. Russell Go Completely Ballistic on Lily Tomlin?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy
Holy moley. I've no idea why it took this long for this piece of video to hit los intranettos, but now that it has, I can think of one Hollywood honcho who's probably feeling a little bit embarrassed about his behavior right now. Picture this: Lily Tomlin is reciting some lines on the set of David O. Russell's I Heart Huckabees, and she's having some problems with the directions she's being given. She states her problem to the director and then tries to get back to work. Seems like a perfectly normal, if perhaps a bit icy piece of on-set collaboration. A few minutes later, all holy hell breaks loose.
The director just flips the **** out on the respected actress/comedienne, behaving like an infantile bully in front of dozens of crew members. You really have to see this behavior to believe it. (I guess this partially explains why George Clooney is not a big fan of Mr. Russell's. Their battles are well-documented.) Obviously I don't want to vilify Davey too much. This is, after all, the guy who gave us the hilarious Flirting with Disaster and the really brilliant Three Kings. And I'm sure we all have our little "flipouts" every once in a while, emotional snaps that we'd hate to see broadcast on a global arena, but ... yowch. This clip's just too juicy to dismiss. It also looks like Ms. Tomlin can dish it out just as much as she can take it. Here's another clip, in which she sits alongside Dustin Hoffman and Isabelle Huppert, and pretty much loses her you-know-what with her Huckabees director. I know I probably shouldn't enjoy this stuff so much ... but I do.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-21-2007 @ 12:34PM
ben said...
I find it funny that people that claim to be "Artists" can get away with behavior like this. Say I'm at work managing some underlings that are supposed to be doing something businessy when one of them asks me too many questions and I go off on them like that. I would be canned by the company so fast I probably wouldn't even be finished with the tirade by the time I hit the street. I think we need to hold up a higher standard for the industry and instead of just going, "Oh, he's temperamental, he's an Artist." Say, "No, this is unacceptable anywhere. We're all humans here and no one should be treated like that. Get your act together and treat your people well or we won't support you."
Besides the fact that this is the entertainment industry makes it even sillier. Not like they are out there saving lives or anything.
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3-21-2007 @ 4:27PM
Elrond Hobbert said...
Completely reprehensible behavior on David O. Russell's part. I am so glad this movie bombed. It *doesn't* matter how your actors are 'behaving', as a director you are there to support them 100%- not crap on them. If you can't do that, you are not a director. After seeing this I and will never, ever see a film by David O. This world has enough tyrants in it.
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3-21-2007 @ 2:23PM
blake said...
jeez. i watched both of these:
http://joblo.com/best-deleted-scenes-ever
and it certainly makes it out like tomlin was the one being overly aggressive, at which russell flips out later.
either way... i wouldnt want to work with either.
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3-23-2007 @ 4:43PM
Erin said...
I have to agree with previous comments. There's more to being a director than just being an 'artiste', you need to be able to manage a set (or at least, surround yourself with people who can work with you and manage your set).
This kind of set explains why Huckabees pretty much suuuuucked.
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3-23-2007 @ 6:07PM
Ryan said...
First off, running a movie set and being responsible for so many egos (including your own), as well as the financial responisbilities of making a movie, is very stressful. Then to think that one is trying to make a coherent piece of art, on top of the other strains. So I think folks should cut Russell some slack (particularly when the film that resulted was so innovative and incredible).
Second, I wouldn't feel too bad for Lily. She seems like an extraordinary, and wonderfully nice, person...but she's worked Hollywood for 30+ years so she's probably used to it. In addition, she made comments about the footage at the Miami New Times web site, saying it didn't bother her.
Also, she worked with Robert Altman on several occasions...brilliant as that dearly departed director was, he was notoriously abusive/neglectful to his actors and, to top it off, was a sloppy and violent drunk.
Good art doesn't give an artist an excuse for being an a-hole...however, artists do tend to be unstable adn when you get a bunch of 'em together the results are going to be chaotic, possibly cruel, and overly dramatic.
If the results, though, are films like 3 Kings, I Heart Huckabees, The Player, Short Cuts, or Nashville...than its all worth it.
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3-24-2007 @ 12:36PM
dave said...
in her career i'm sure lily has heard much worse coming from the mouths of vastly more talented directors. but russell has no excuse for that behavior. normal people don't act like that, but if they do crack up on a rare occassion, they would feel crushing embarassment and humility as a result of their actions. in this case however, i think his massive and infantile ego will shield him from any possibility of self-realization. i don't think he learned a damned thing from his own script, do you?
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