David O. Russell

David Owen Russell, born on August 20, 1958, is a prominent American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His acclaimed career started with directing well-regarded dark comedy films like Spanking the Monkey, Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings, and I Heart Huckabees. However, he gained the spotlight with the critically successful biographical sports drama, The Fighter, and two other hits - the romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook and the crime film American Hustle. The commendable success of these films earned Russell three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Silver Linings Playbook, and a Best Original Screenplay nomination for American Hustle. His other notable work includes the semi-biographical comedy-drama Joy and the comedic mystery thriller Amsterdam. Russell was raised in an upper middle-class household in Larchmont, New York, with parents who worked for Simon & Schuster. His passion for filmmaking started in his teens and led him to study at Amherst College, majoring in English and political science. Russell's reputation extends off-set, with incidents of being combative and abusive towards actors on his films. Despite this, he has made significant contributions to the film industry.