It's been one of the most beleaguered productions in recent Hollywood history, but the saga isn't over yet. Director David O Russell has now quit the indie comedy **Nailed{
The film stars Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal, with James Marsden, Catherine Keener and Tracy Morgan in support. Written by Kristen Gore (Al's daughter) it's the story of Sammy Joyce (Biel), a dorky receptionist who undergoes a radical personality change when she's accidentally shot in the head with a nailgun. Heading to Washington to fight for the rights of the peculiarly injured, she falls foul of Gyllenhaal's sleazy congressman.
Production was well underway two years ago, but suffered frequent stops and starts, mostly due (according to The Daily Beast) to producer David Bergstein's preoccupation with fending off creditors after finding his pockets were emptier than he thought. Production eventually shut down completely, with a few scenes, including the one where Biel gets nailed in the head, not yet in the can.
Earlier this year it looked as if the project would be finished sooner rather than later, but Russell, himself not the easiest man in the world to deal with (especially if you're Lily Tomlin), has found himself unable to come to new terms with new financier Ronald Tutor. The specific details aren't yet public, but THR believes Russell's main beef was the slashing of several key players' fees.
"This has been a painful process for me," Russell told THR. "The multiple production delays and stoppages, which were caused by David Bergstein and preceded Ron Tutor's direct involvement with me, have now spanned two years, and the circumstances under which the film would now be completed are much different on several fundamental levels than when we embarked several years ago. I, unfortunately, am no longer involved in the project and cannot call it 'my' film. I wish Ron Tutor well."
Tutor says that he and Russell had "a decent negotiation... no lawyers, no idle threats, just two people trying to clean something up," but that in the end they couldn't reach an agreement. "It was surprising and disappointing, but I understood."
Tutor believes that **Nailed **will ultimately be finished by a new director. Russell's The Fighter, filmed during Nailed's hiatus (and itself taken over by Russell when it lost Darren Aronofsky) is picking up great advance word-of-mouth, and is out in the UK next February.