I HEART HUCKABEES Outtakes

by Andre Soares | | 3 Comments     

 

i heart huckabees (2004) directed by David O. Russell, starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi WattsAfter some debating, I’ve decided to post a link to two video clips showing behind-the-scenes battles between Lily Tomlin and director David O. Russell during the making of the dreary I Heart Huckabees. The 48-year-old Russell has a reputation for being difficult, and has reportedly gotten into a brawl with George Clooney during the making of The Three Kings.

One clip shows Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Mark Wahlberg, and (I believe) Naomi Watts in a car. Tomlin and Russell go for each other’s throats, though this particular clip is borderline humorous because of Huppert’s presence. She looks bored out of her wits with the bile being spilled out all around her.

The other clip, which shows Russell and Tomlin on an office set, is even more unpleasant than the film itself. Some have found it funny. It isn’t. It’s vile — though I must admit that while watching the clip the first time around, I did ask myself, Is this for real?

If indeed it is for real …

Barring murder and physical assault, those two clips are samples of both filmmaking and human behavior at their very worst. Perhaps that’s why Russell’s “existentialist comedy” came out as a meandering, unfunny, unintelligent mess.

Here’s wondering if the Ernst Lubitsch touch of warmth, lightness, sophistication, and wit could have been accomplished in such an ugly work environment…

The clips can be found at Whip It Out Comedy.

i heart huckabees parody with Paul Rudd and Michael Showalter

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by Andre Soares | March 20, 2007 | Filed Under Actors, American Cinema / Hollywood, Directors, Film, Video 

Comments

3 Responses to “I HEART HUCKABEES Outtakes”

  1. Marcus Tucker on March 21st, 2007 8:55 am

    Regardless of who initiated the arguments, Lily Tomlin was the one who came out looking bad. She’ll have a have time living this down because the footage made her look like an argumentative diva. The clip in the car definately makes her look like an ass especially in the car as everyone else seemed to simply try to get through the scene.

  2. Andre Soares on March 26th, 2007 1:43 pm

    Marcus,

    This is what Lily Tomlin had to say (source: “Miami New Times”):

    “Adults have fights and go through stuff. I know some people are more dignified in the world, that if you transgress against that kind of professionalism, that it’s some kind of great sin, but I don’t see it that way.”

    Now, how often have you “transgressed against that kind of professionalism” at work by flipping your boss off and yelling obscenities at him/her, without any regard for those around you? How often has your boss “transgressed” by throwing objects about the office, screaming obscenities at the top of his/her lungs, and calling you unprintable names?

    Indeed, what happened on the “i heart huckabees” set wasn’t “a great sin” — it was just a minor, petty display of pathological behavior.

    Some people believe that great works of art can only be created through tension. That (silly) logic surely doesn’t apply to “i heart huckabees.”

    Full text of the “Miami New Times” post:
    http://www.miaminewtimes.com/blogs/?p=365#more-365

  3. Jim M. on April 9th, 2008 1:48 pm

    I hated i heart huckabees. Now I can see why it was so rotten.

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