Christopher Nolan Was Physically Assaulted With A Chokehold. (Photo Credit – Instagram)
Advertisement
Acclaimed director David O. Russell has developed a reputation for alienating most of the actors in his movies. The director who once got into a fistfight with George Clooney on the set of “Three Kings” once also put Christopher Nolan in a headlock after Jude Law dropped out of Russell’s film I Heart Huckabees for a role offered by Christopher Nolan.
David O. Russell’s 2004 existential comedy I Heart Huckabees featured Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin as a pair of “existential detectives” hired by various clients to explore the purpose of their pointless lives. The actors included Jude Law, among others.
Pre-production for the film was derailed after several cast members who were tapped to star in it dropped out. According to the New York Times, Gwyneth Paltrow was the first to drop out, followed by Jude Law.
At the time, multiple reports confirmed that Law had been offered a role in Christopher Nolan’s 2000 thriller Memento. An irate David O. Russell, who was frustrated with his actors dropping out of his films, reportedly physically assaulted Christopher Nolana after he ran into him at a party.
According to The New York Times, when David O. Russell ran into Christopher Nolan at a Hollywood party, he put him in a headlock by wrapping his arm around the Dark Knight Trilogy director’s neck. Russell reportedly demanded that Christopher Nolan show “artistic solidarity” and give Jude Law in order to save “Huckabees.”
The next day, Jude Law reportedly called Russell and was back on the film, which crashed at the box office and earned $20M worldwide. Critics also panned the film.
Years later, Russell described I Heart Huckabees as his worst work, saying it was a “mid-life crisis movie.” Russell added, “There was too much worrying around it, and I checked out of it a little bit. If I could do the film again, as proud as I am of many parts of it, I would make it sweaty and intimate.”
Meanwhile, the Christopher Nolan headlock story made waves around Hollywood as one of the most infamous industry fights.
