“Amsterdam,” David O. Russell‘s first movie in seven years, hits theaters on Friday, and it’s his third team-up with Christian Bale.
17.09.2022 - 00:55 / deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: In a month where awards contenders announced themselves at film festivals, make room for Amsterdam, David O. Russell’s first film in seven years. A murder mystery with intrigue, espionage and crackling dialogue, the film stars Christian Bale, John David Washington and Margot Robbie as a trio of lifelong friends. The title is where their bond is forged, after the soldiers are sent there to heal from WWI combat injuries, and where she is the nurse who patches them up. The men return home to their lives in Manhattan — Bale a doctor who goes out of his way to help wounded vets, and Washington a lawyer — as their nurse pal vanishes, for a while anyway. When they become accused in a murder, leading to growing intrigue and a conspiracy that unfolds at a brisk pace.
The big surprise is the superb cast assembled by Russell. That includes Rami Malek, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola and Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook star Robert De Niro. Here, Russell and Bale explain how they braved five years of indigestion mapping out the film at diner breakfasts and dinners in Santa Monica, with Bale’s order depending on what movie he was fattening up for, or starving himself to play.
Amsterdam has its world premiere Sunday at Alice Tully Hall in New York.
DEADLINE: Your movie is a star-studded shot of life, a surprise in that most terrific fall movies start with a festival launch. David, your DP Chivo Lubezki has invested it with a compelling period look, the dialogue crackled with humor and wit, and every time the door opens and a new character enters, you go, wait, that actor is in this movie too? How
“Amsterdam,” David O. Russell‘s first movie in seven years, hits theaters on Friday, and it’s his third team-up with Christian Bale.
Christian Bale has said he only has an acting career because Leonardo DiCaprio has rejected so many roles.The actor, known for starring in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and American Psycho, claimed DiCaprio was offered “every one” of the roles Bale’s taken before him, even from directors he’s worked with “multiple times”.Asked by GQ about the rumour that he lost at least five roles to DiCaprio in the 1990s, Bale said: “Oh, dude. It’s not just me. Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it beforehand.“It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you.
Every role is designed for Leonardo DiCaprio, according to Christian Bale.
Brent Lang Executive Editor In one corner, a star-studded murder mystery from one of the most acclaimed directors in Hollywood. In the other, a family fable that features a CGI crocodile who sounds a lot like Shawn Mendes. As Hollywood heads into another quiet fall weekend at the box office, David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” is squaring off against “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” and both new releases are facing strong competition from reigning champ “Smile.” Of the two new entrants, “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” seems to be in the stronger position. There haven’t been many movies geared toward kids — the last one was “DC League of Super-Pets” way back in July. The $50 million production will open in more than 4,300 locations, where it should make $15 million or more. Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film, is being more conservative and projecting an opening in the $11 million to $12 million range. That could be enough for a first-place finish, depending on how steeply “Smile,” which opened to $22.6 million, drops in its second weekend of release.
Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy . . .
“Amsterdam” is a star-studded film.Its cast includes (deep breath) Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldaña, Andrea Riseborough, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro (among others). It’s a lively, spirited historical mystery about World War I and a vast right-wing conspiracy on American shores. But the movie becomes even more electric when two stars appear on screen together: Mike Myers and Michael Shannon.The two performers play spies who assist our heroes, first in the title city and later in New York, as they attempt to thwart a growing threat to democracy.
Christian Bale says all actors get Leonardo DiCaprio’s sloppy seconds when it comes to leading roles. In a rare interview with GQ magazine, the “Amsterdam” actor said DiCaprio always has first dibs on Hollywood roles after writer Zach Baron noted that the “Don’t Look Up” star was cast ahead of Bale for his iconic role as Patrick Bateman in the 2000 horror thriller “American Psycho.” When Baron noted that DiCaprio had been cast ahead of him in “at least five roles” in the 1990s, including mega blockbuster “Titanic,” Bale responded: “It’s not just me.” “Any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it before hand. It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you.
Ethan Shanfeld Christian Bale joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year by playing comic book villain Gorr the God Butcher opposite Chris Hemsworth in “Thor: Love and Thunder.” In a new interview with GQ, the actor — who is known for his roles in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, “American Hustle” and “American Psycho” — said he was drawn to the project because he liked “Thor: Ragnarok” and thought Gorr was an “intriguing character.” However, Bale added that acting in front of a green screen for the Marvel project was “monotony,” and that he couldn’t “differentiate one day from the next.” “That’s the first time I’ve done that,” he said of green-screen acting. “I mean, the definition of it is monotony. You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next. They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three.’ Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?'”
“The world is beautiful, this world is luscious and precise, and it takes specific people to create a living world,” director David O. Russell says in a new exclusive clip about the craft of his latest film, “Amsterdam.” While the film, which comes out this week on October 7, has been lauded for its sprawling, A-list cast—Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, and John David Washington as the three leads, plus a cavalcade of supporting actors like Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro— there are also several superstars below the line who worked on the gorgeous-looking movie.
Taylor Swift in Amsterdam.The actor stars in David O. Russell’s new comedy, which also features Swift in a smaller role and sees her sing alongside Bale and John David Washington towards the start of the film.Bale recalled first hearing the news and telling his family about the forthcoming role alongside Swift, and said his daughter seemed disappointed.“That was a real nice surprise, and I actually didn’t tell anybody about that until afterwards,” Bale said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
A humbling moment. Christian Bale thought he and costar John David Washington were doing a great job singing while filming Amsterdam – until director David O. Russell had Taylor Swift step in to set them straight.
Christian Bale has played Batman in three “Dark Knight” movies, battled lethal machines in “Terminator Salvation” and assassinated gods in “Thor: Love and Thunder”, yet the one thing he’s yet to do is appear in a movie set in a galaxy far, far away.
Christian Bale’s Burt Berenstein character says he “left his eye in France” in David O. Russell’s fanciful, murder-mystery/ larger-conspiracy comedic thriller, “Amsterdam,” a movie named for the city where the films lead trio spends their halcyon years, living, loving and laughing together.
Amsterdam.” It’s a film from established auteur David O. Russell, whose reputation for delivering the goods allowed him to attract a murderer’s row of talent that includes Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Taylor Swift and Robert De Niro. And yet, the film, bolstering more stars than in the heavens, to quote an old line — and a budget that’s upwards of $80 million — is arriving in theaters having been pulverized by the critics who have published so far and hoping to rescue its investment by overcoming the reviews to be a commercial success.
Christian Bale and Rami Malek are stepping out to promote their new movie!
problematic uncle in the industry family, certain to entertain and disturb in equal measure, depending on what one is willing to overlook when the sausage is being made (or even, considering some reports, when he’s away from the factory).That the Oscar-nominated writer-director is in the mix again with the period comedy-adventure “Amsterdam” after seven years away (since 2015’s lumpy “Joy”) indicates a willingness in Hollywood to endure the reminders of his behavioral issues and to bet on the recipe of star power, emotional smarts and provocative farce that forged “Flirting with Disaster,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle.”Only the first ingredient is in evidence with “Amsterdam,” however, and no amount of wattage from Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Zoe Saldana, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek or Robert De Niro — or even an A-list B-team of Taylor Swift, Chris Rock, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Mike Myers and Michael Shannon — can lift this flat, unfunny genre-fluid whatsit from its performative stumbling toward contemporary relevance.At first, when it’s 1933 New York, we sense an eccentric buddy-picture in the making, centered on themes of integration and the treatment of veterans. Bale’s character (and semi-narrator) is Burt Berendsen, a scraggly, half-Catholic/half-Jewish doctor focused on new medicines for wounded Great War soldiers like himself (he lost an eye) and estranged from his status-conscious Park Avenue wife (Riseborough).
Chris Rock may be too funny.
Ethan Shanfeld Frequent method actor Christian Bale typically has no problem morphing into his characters on set. But on his latest film, David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam,” he ran into an obstacle: his co-star Chris Rock. Bale says the director had Rock tell him some stories while on set, but “Chris is so bloody funny” that it prevented him from getting into character. “I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I’m a big fan of his standup,” Bale told IndieWire. “Then he arrives, and he’s doing some things… David [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn’t know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it.”
Christian Bale has said he had to stop talking to Chris Rock on the set of Amsterdam because he was too “bloody funny”.The Dark Knight actor said he had to start ignoring Rock after he started making him laugh on the set of the David O. Russell film, and Bale found he “couldn’t act”.“I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I’m a big fan of his standup,” Bale told IndieWire.