Not that this should come as a complete surprise to anyone who follows the goings-on in Hollywood, but apparently director David O. Russell (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook) is a bit ol’ meanie, and his wrath was once turned on Amy Adams.
In a recent interview with GQ magazine, A-lister Adams opened-up about the (apparently great) amount of difficulty she had working with the director on the set of American Hustle. Russell is notoriously hard on his actors, which some believe drives them to give the stunning performances that many of his films are known for. However, not everyone responds to his particular brand of tough love. When asked by GQ if the rumors that she cried every day on set were true, this is how Adams responded.
I was really just devastated on set. I mean, not every day, but most. Jennifer (Lawrence) doesn’t take any of it on. She’s Teflon. And I am not Teflon. But I also don’t like to see other people treated badly…it’s not ok with me. Life to me is more important than movies. It really taught me how to separate work and home. Because I was like, I cannot bring this experience home with me to my daughter.
Wowza. There it is.
Adams is not a celebrity who spills the beans at every opportunity – quite the opposite. Most people aren’t even aware that the actress already has five, yes five Oscar nominations to her name, and seems to continue to crank-out incredible work without missing a beat. So who would be mean to her?
Well, a lot of people, as it turns out.
Many of you will remember when, two years ago, Adams was a guest on the Today show, she point-blank refused to weigh-in with an opinion on the controversial Sony Hack, choosing to re-direct the narrative to the reason she was there – to promote her film. The hosts didn’t like the fact that she would not be led down the path that they had chosen for her, and she was all but escorted from the show. I don’t remember if she ever got an apology from the show (I doubt it), but her positive energy and repeated refusal to engage in any negativity ultimately seems to lead the instigators to focus said negativity right back on to her!
That incident wasn’t a one-off either. It’s true that Adams seems to have a definite desire to avoid difficult confrontation when at all possible. And…get this…she has a reputation as an actress who treats others with respect and kindness. In Hollywood. I know, right!?
However, the good folks over at GQ were finally able to get Adams to open-up a little bit about her thoughts on another of Hollywood’s hot-ticket talking points – the pay disparity between male and female actors. Here is what she told them when they asked her if she knew that she was being paid less than her male co-stars.
Yeah, I did. I didn’t speak about it before and I‘m probably not going to speak about it forever, because I disagreed with …not Jennifer per se, but people who had opinions on how women should go about negotiating. The truth is we hire people to negotiate for us on our behalf…men and women. The fact is I knew I was being paid less and I still agreed to do it because the option comes down to do it or don’t do it. So you just have to decide if it’s worth it for you. It doesn’t mean I liked it.
So there you have it. If anything, it sounds like perhaps Adams’ outlook has shifted on account of her David O. Russell experience, and she is not holding back – but in her own way.
The point she made about the criticism that female actresses are getting about negotiating a higher salary is spot-on. She underscores the point that not everyone has a Jennifer Lawrence level of fight in them to go up against The Man, the point (that she made perfectly) about how these negotiations are very much done on an actor’ behalf and are not necessarily reflective of their skills as a negotiator…well, that’s an excellent point, and one that I doubt many of us are even considering.
