David O. Russell‘s The Fighter has grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, along with two Academy Awards for supporting actors Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. The long-gestating sports drama also snagged nominations for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay, Editing and another supporting actress nod for Amy Adams. This road to acclaim was long and winding, full of peaks and valleys. Darren Aronofsky was attached to direct a bigger version of the story, but dropped out to work on his RoboCop remake and eventually Black Swan. With a restricted budget ($25 million), Mark Wahlberg‘s passion project found a director in Russell, making it his first feature since 2004′s flop I Heart Huckabees.
During this six-year period Russell was struggling to get another film made: Nailed, an unfinished comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel reportedly “one key scene” away from completion. The production was shut down four times due to financial problems, and while making press rounds for The Fighter, Russell said he’d left it for dead.
I now have a reliable source with information that there will be a test screening tomorrow in Los Angeles, billed as “a new comedy from David O. Russell, the Oscar-nominated director of The Fighter, Three Kings and Flirting with Disaster.” While this is no confirmation that it will see theatrical distribution, it is certainly a strong hint there is renewed interest in the project. If Russell is interested in completing that final scene, I’m sure he has the clout to make it happen.
Nailed also stars James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Kirstie Alley and Catherine Keener. The comedy is co-written by Kristen Gore, daughter of Al Gore, who has worked on Saturday Night Live and Futurama.-Joey's Two Cents: I do hope the film gets finished, as it sounds pretty interesting...thoughts?
Fingers crossed the screening goes well...
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I don't know when "Nailed" began shooting, but it seems so weird that actors have to work on something that they left for dead. I don't know how I would feel about that if I was an actor. But anyways I am so happy for Russel, I was one of the few who thought "I Heart Huckabees" had potential. "The Fighter" was the perfect film for him and I am glad he is back on track.
ReplyDeleteIt began filming in April of 2008.
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