The screaming, angry and abusive director is a Hollywood stereotype, but after video evidence of flipping out on Lily Tomlin (of all people!) on the set of I Heart Huckabees [watch the trailer] surfaced, David O. Russell has earned his reputation as a difficult man to work with. It would appear that James Caan agrees with that assessment, as he's left Russell's satirical Jessica Biel comedy Nailed, citing "creative differences."
Needless to say, the publicists downplayed the strife, but one can't imagine James Freakin' Caan taking any crap from a guy like Russell, who actually browbeat George Clooney into a fistfight on the set of Three Kings [watch the trailer]. which Clooney described in 2000 as "the worst experience of my life." The fight was apparently started when Russell was harassing the extras and Clooney, ever the stand-up guy, stood up for them, which apparently prompted an angry response from Russell which included grabbing Clooney by the throat, and Clooney "went nuts." Naturally, Russell remembers it differently, but who ya gonna believe, Captain Charity Work or the guy who threw stuff around the set and called Lily Tomlin a "bitch" and a "c**t?"
Apparently, that's all blown over now, although Clooney would still not work with Russell anymore, even if he respects his talent. A younger Caan would likely have smacked Russell around himself in that situation and current Caan could hire a younger guy to do it for him, but there's no further detail yet on what Caan's specific situation was.
UPDATE: THR is saying the Caan/Russell dispute was over the manner by which his character was to choke to death on a cookie. Make of that what you will.
Watch clips of I Heart Huckabees:
Sex Life
Back in the Bag
Awkward Elevator Ride
Blanket Truth
Garbage
Pure Being
