David Owen Russell (born August 10, 1958) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His early directing career includes the comedy films Spanking the Monkey (1994), with Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, Carla Gallo, Benjamin and Hendrickson; Flirting with Disaster (1996), with Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Richard Jenkins, Josh Brolin, Glenn Fitzgerald, Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin; Three Kings (1999), with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze; and I ♥ Huckabees (2004), with Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Tomlin, Wahlberg, and Naomi Watts.
After Huckabees, Russell worked on a film titled Nailed in 2008, with Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tracy Morgan, Catherine Keener, Paul Reubens, James Brolin and Kirstie Alley. He eventually left the project around 2010 due to various behind the scenes issues, and used a pseudonym for the directing and writing credit. It was retitled Accidental Love and was released on VOD on February 10, 2015 before a limited release on March 20, 2015
In 2010, Russell returned with The Fighter, a biographical sports drama produced by and starring Mark Wahlberg, and co-starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film became a major critical and financial success, grossing $125 million, and appearing on several critics’ year-end top ten lists. It also received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Russell, the first of his career, and earned awards for both Bale and Leo, for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.
Russell then made Silver Linings Playbook (2012), starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, and Julia Stiles. It was a big hit and was nominated for various awards, including eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Russell), Best Adapted Screenplay (Russell), Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (winner, Jennifer Lawrence), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), and Best Supporting Actress (Jacki Weaver).
Russell’s next project was American Hustle (2013), starring Bale, Cooper, Adams, Jeremy Renner, Lawrence, Louis C. K., Michael Peña, and Alessandro Nivola.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Bingo Inferno: A Parody on American Obsessions (1987) – short
- Hairway to the Stars (1989) – short
- Spanking the Monkey (1994)
- Flirting with Disaster (1996)
- Three Kings (1999)
- I ♥ Huckabees (2004) – aka I Heart Huckabees
- Soldiers Pay (2004) – documentary short
- The Fighter (2010)
- Sliver Linings Playbook (2012)
- American Hustle (2013)
- Accidental Love (2015) – credited as Stephen Green, disowned film
- Joy (2015)
- Past Forward (2016) – short
That Geek With The Clip-Ons 