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David O. Russell

David O. Russell Books

Film director

David O. Russell, born on August 20, 1958, is a renowned film director from the United States. His works are known for their unique narrative style and profound character portrayal, with notable films including 'Three Kings', 'Flirting with Disaster', and 'American Hustle'. Russell's films often delve into the complexities of human nature and the injustices of society, winning the hearts of audiences worldwide.

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“I did a dance sequence in my second short film, which was my best short film, called 'Hairway to the Stars,' and I think Chris Wink, the founder of Blue Man Group, was in that. It's a black-and-white dance sequence. We were Glorious Food waiters together.”

Thinking Men Together Film Stars Black White Groups Blue Glorious Black And White Founders Sequence Waiter Short Films Best Short

Author:David O. Russell

“I had various jobs, I taught a SAT class, I was a bartender, I had a day job at an office and was making short films. I got grants from NYSCA and NEA for an idea, which later became 'Huckabees,' about a guy in a Chinese restaurant who had microphones on every table and heard every personal conversation and would write perversely personal fortunes.”

Writing Ideas Jobs Film Guy Class Heard Taught Conversation Office Tables Fortune Various Chinese Sat Restaurants Grants Microphones Day Jobs Bartender Short Films

Author:David O. Russell

“I think I land somewhere between Scorsese and Capra in what I'm drawn to emotionally; I'm drawn to very intense emotion. Capra freaked people out when they saw Jimmy Stewart lose it in 'It's a Wonderful Life.”

People Thinking Loses Emotion Saws Wonderful Land Intense Jimmy Wonderful Life Scorsese It's A Wonderful Life Jimmy Stewart Intense Emotions

Author:David O. Russell

“I would say that when I came into this chapter of my filmmaking career, starting with 'The Fighter,' there was this sense that you have to go from your instincts and you have to go from your gut, and you have to not hesitate and you have to not hedge.”

Careers Instinct Starting Fighter Guts Chapters Filmmaking

Author:David O. Russell

“I'm always looking for a way to surprise audiences. That's, I feel, my job as a director. I felt that Amy Adams playing a tough woman in 'The Fighter' was a surprise. People saw her as a princess.”

People Way Feels Jobs Felt Audience Saws Directors Tough Surprise Fighter Princess Amy Tough Women

Author:David O. Russell

“One of the things I've discovered at my age is I must have enchantment. And that was not clear to me in my earlier years. When I look at my favorite films, the Frank Capra - even Scorsese, even 'Goodfellas,' what makes that movie so remarkable is there's enchantment in their world.”

World Years Looks Age Film Clear My Favorite Remarkable Frank Enchantment Scorsese

Author:David O. Russell

“Some of Jimmy Stewart's performance in 'It's A Wonderful Life' is some of the most disturbing performance he ever did, when he falls apart and when he breaks down.”

Life Is Fall Break Wonderful Performances Breaking Down Falling Apart Disturbing Jimmy Wonderful Life It's A Wonderful Life Jimmy Stewart

Author:David O. Russell

“The whole trick is to make it feel like you're spying on real people's lives as they get through the day. When I'm writing, I have to trick myself as a writer. If I consciously say, 'I'm writing,' I feel all this pressure and somehow it doesn't feel as real as when it doesn't seem to count as much.”

People Ifs Feels Writing Real Whole Seems Like You Pressure Tricks

Author:David O. Russell

“What do we have in life, really? If we're lucky we get to a certain age, and we have each other. We have the food we like. We have our crazy little rituals. And we have each other.”

Ifs Littles Age Certain Crazy Lucky Ritual

Author:David O. Russell

“When I write an email where I outlined a whole scene, it just came out of my unconscious, it comes from a deeper place. The same thing happens when the actors go, take after take, and just get lost in it. When you're in a house, you don't think about being in the house; you're just there.”

Thinking Writing Whole Happens Actors House Lost Scene Deeper Things Happen Unconscious Email

Author:David O. Russell

“You know, veterans come home and they may not be bipolar, but after they've been through a war with PTSD or a head injury, their families have a handful when they come home.”

Knows May War Home Injury Coming Home Veteran Ptsd Handful Bipolar Head Injuries

Author:David O. Russell

“If you just work on your craft hard, that's your only hope of doing anything worthwhile.”

Hard Crafts Worthwhile

Author:David O. Russell

“You can't force a movie to happen. Movies happen when they're supposed to happen. Everything happens in God's time. I really believe that.”

Believe Happens Force Things Happen

Author:David O. Russell

“The cinema that I make is a cinema about people, emotion, humanity and passion. It's not just about what they struggle through, but what they live for. That's what I love. The music they love, the people they love, the clothing, the hair and the life that they love”

People Humanity Passion Emotion Struggle Hair Cinema Clothings

Author:David O. Russell

“The great lesson about filmmaking is never take "no" for an answer, especially if you have a lot of passion and inspiration to do something.”

Ifs Inspiration Passion Answers Lessons Filmmaking

Author:David O. Russell

“You learn by trying and failing. Just a lot of hard work and mistakes.”

Trying Hard Mistake Failing Hard Work Trying And Failing

Author:David O. Russell

“There's always hope. Never give up. Walk slowly and drink lots of water. It ain't a sprint.”

Giving Water Walks Drink Giving Up Never Giving Up Sprint

Author:David O. Russell

“That's just how I see things. I think things that are the most dramatic or tragic can also look the most ridiculous and funny. That's part of being human.”

Thinking Humans Looks Ridiculous Dramatic Tragic Being Human

Author:David O. Russell

“The romance is essential. I love the love. I don't love just people struggling. I love what people are struggling for. That moves me. I love watching people be loving, and I find it enchanting, magical and transporting. It's one of the reasons that I go to the movies, and that's why I like putting it in movies.”

People Reason Romance Moving Struggle Essentials Enchanting

Author:David O. Russell

“What we assert, very often can become our reality. To some degree, everybody can try to shape and control their fate. Everybody picks an identity.”

Trying Reality Fate Identity Shapes Degrees Picks Often Can

Author:David O. Russell

“I make every movie and every scene like it could be my last. That's the only way I know how to make cinema that stands on its feet. I have to treat it like that. It has to be life and death stakes.”

Knows Way Lasts Know How Feet Scene Treats Cinema Life And Death Stakes

Author:David O. Russell

“The holy trifecta of directing and filmmaking is character emotion, camera movement and music. When you hit those three, that's magical. That's what I'm trying to do.”

Trying Character Three Emotion Movement Holy Cameras Filmmaking Trifecta

Author:David O. Russell

“The gift of life is the gift to suffer sometimes and to embrace it, heartbreak and all.”

Sometimes Life Is Suffering Embrace Gifts Of Life

Author:David O. Russell

“I think film was my passion without it being declared like a job that I could have, or a career that I could have.”

Thinking Jobs Film Passion Careers My Passion

Author:David O. Russell

“As people, [my parents were] very colorful, very talkative, passionate, they really loved each other. But that also meant heated, it meant there was a lot of drama in the house. Which is good for a filmmaker, I think.”

People Thinking House Parent Drama Passionate Filmmaker Colorful Talkative

Author:David O. Russell

“You should always make it like it's your last film. That's my personal belief. Every filmmaker is going to have another belief... That's the only way I know to try to make a film that might be good. You got to take it real seriously like it's your last thing.”

Knows Way Should Trying Real Might Lasts Film Belief Be Good Filmmaker Personal Beliefs

Author:David O. Russell

“Life just happens the way it's supposed to happen. It delivers you to where it delivers you.”

Author:David O. Russell

“There's nothing better than having a collaborator that you have a great shorthand with and a great comfort with who's shepherding the project along. I mean, that's the best thing that can happen in cinema where there's many cooks in the kitchen.”

Mean Happens Comfort Projects Cooks Best Things Cinema Kitchen Collaborators Shorthand Cooks In The Kitchen

Author:David O. Russell

“David O. Russell's best films are thrilling high wire acts that run the moment to moment risk of tumbling to the ground. In his latest, "Joy," Russell has more trouble than usual keeping his balance on the wire.”

Moments Running Film Joy Risk Trouble Balance Usual Wire Thrilling Best Film Tumbling

Author:David O. Russell

“Sadly, this picture [ Joy] does not go from strength to strength. It sinks into a morass of tedious obstacles to this woman's success. Joy the person may be able to surmount all barriers, but the film with her name on it is not so fortunate.”

May Persons Doe Able Film Joy Names Obstacles Fortunate Barriers Tedious

Author:David O. Russell

“If something - if you have a good rapport then you're friends and you're offered projects together or you discover stories together. Jennifer and I discovered this story together, and it was evident to us we would only do it with each other.”

Ifs Stories Together Projects Evident Jennifer Rapport

Author:David O. Russell

“You know, you have Scorsese who worked with De Niro and - or DiCaprio. You have William Wyler who worked with Bette Davis. You have George Cukor who worked with Katharine Hepburn. I just - people get to be friends and then there's a - that's a - you can take risks together and each time out you take a different risk.”

People Knows Different Together Risk Hepburn Scorsese De Niro

Author:David O. Russell

“I hadn't made that movie before and when I ever met the real Joy Mangano, which happened because De Niro insisted we meet her and her father, that's what she felt like to us. She impressed us with her quiet, serene authority with herself.”

Made Real Joy Father Felt Happened Mets Quiet Authority Impressed Serene De Niro Real Joy

Author:David O. Russell

“I think Jennifer Lawrence is that inside of herself. As long as I've known her she's been both 10 years old and 50 years old. And we've watched her grow up since she walked on "Silver Linings Playbook" as a 20-year-old and had not been - "Hunger Games" had not come out. And I've watched her have to take on and deal with a great deal of attention and resources and people.”

People Thinking Years Long Games Grows Deals Attention Known Growing Up Resources Hunger Silver Jennifer Playbooks

Author:David O. Russell

“And that is also what the movie's about, going beyond success, what is success 'cause I think success is misperceived as just a cake and it isn't. There is many things inside that success. There's a maturity and a heartbreak and sadness and broken glass.”

Thinking Causes Sadness Broken Glasses Maturity Cake Broken Glass

Author:David O. Russell

“And if you can come through that and still have some connection to your joy you felt when you were a child that's a very mature kind of a joy that I find inspiring. And Jennifer Lowrence has all that in her, and I've watched her have to go through it even in the last few years.”

Ifs Years Kind Children Stills Lasts Joy Felt Connections Mature Jennifer

Author:David O. Russell

“To be honest, I think that Republicans love terrorism.”

Thinking Honest Republican Terrorism Being Honest

Author:David O. Russell

“It's easier to control people when they're afraid.”

Author:David O. Russell

“The Republicans just want to bankrupt the government. They think that the government should do nothing, except maybe support the military. So terrorism is perfect for them.”

Thinking Want Should Government Perfect Support Military Republican Terrorism

Author:David O. Russell

“Bush was in a shithole on September 10th. 9/11 was the best thing that ever happened to him.”

Happened Best Things September

Author:David O. Russell

“When most people turn on their TVs, they don't expect a frank discussion of philosophical ideas in their practical context. Or any context.”

People Ideas Turns Tvs Philosophical Practicals Discussion Frank Turn-on

Author:David O. Russell

“I think if religion closes discussion or exchange of ideas or curiosity about other views, it's not true to its core.”

Ifs Thinking Ideas Views Curiosity Core Discussion

Author:David O. Russell

“It's not easy to follow Jesus' example, and if you go to church it doesn't mean you're automatically doing it.”

Ifs Mean Jesus Easy Church Example

Author:David O. Russell

“I suppose what I like about Zen is that the teachers are constantly questioning your insight and challenging it, looking for sloppiness or laziness in it, and ways you can go past that.”

Way Past Challenges Teacher Insight Laziness Questioning Sloppiness

Author:David O. Russell

“The investigation of consciousness has come to be regarded suspiciously by most smart people and by most scientists. That's a legacy that began with the Inquisition, which considered non-Christian spiritual inquiry as blasphemous.”

People Christian Spiritual Consciousness Smart Scientist Legacy Investigation Inquiry Smart People Inquisition

Author:David O. Russell

“A thousand years ago, scientists who wondered about consciousness and the nature of reality were burned at the stake. We still haven't recovered from that and it's left us with a culture that no longer investigates consciousness, except on the fringes.”

Years Stills Reality Culture Left Consciousness Havens Thousand Years Ago Scientist Stakes Burned Thousand Years Fringe

Author:David O. Russell

“It's a closing of the mind that happens when you want to be lazy and go with the easiest answers, like the media do all the time in their sound bytes.”

Want Mind Happens Sound Answers Media Lazy Closing

Author:David O. Russell

“Gay marriage is a complete red herring to distract everyone from the economy and the war and health care and education.”

War Care Economy Gay Red Health Care Gay Marriage Herring Red Herrings

Author:David O. Russell

“Quite frankly, the bible is filled with advice that you'd never, want to follow. "Don't cut your hair on a rainy Thursday because locusts will eat your farm" kind of thing.”

Want Kind Cutting Advice Hair Filled Farms Rainy Thursday

Author:David O. Russell

“The religion itself may have some great ideas, but I can't take it seriously if it's blatantly exclusionary.”

Ifs May I Can Ideas Great Idea

Author:David O. Russell

About the Author

Born: August 20, 1958
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 76

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Thinking People Ifs Film Trying Way Happens Ideas Feels Character

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

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