*UPDATE* David O. Russell has gone on record about just where he stands in regards to directing American Bullshit, making this statement to Deadline...
Russell: “Reports that I am attached to American Bullshit are premature. It is something I am in early discussions on and I have great respect for Chuck Roven and Christian Bale. I am also developing other projects and have not chosen my next film.”
So if it does happen, he might be re-teaming with Christian Bale? Ok, my interest just kicked up about a dozen notches. The original story is below....
Ever since earning an Oscar nomination for the boxing drama, The Fighter, David O. Russell has seen his name thrown around a lot and attached to many projects which either didn't get off the ground or he ultimately dropped out of. Remember Uncharted: Drake's Fortune? How about 2 Guns? Or The Mission with Brad Pitt? A lot of this stuff has been tied to his buddy, Mark Wahlberg, with the two seeming to have had a falling out of some sort. While Russell is currently putting the finishing touches on The Silver Linings Playbook(which also had Wahlberg attached at one point), he's added another title to his extensive slate of possibilities.
THR says Russell will direct American Bullshit, based on the famous Abscam FBI sting operation that nailed a bunch of politicians for corruption in 1980. The entire operation was run by Melvin Weinberg, a convicted con man the FBI hired solely for this job, setting up a fake Middle Eastern company with which to catch the politicans on video tape. Abscam led to the convictions of six members of Congress and a number of state officials.
Ben Affleck had been circling the Eric Singer(The International) written flick awhile back, but he's got enough government related flicks on his plate with Argo. This one is still in very early stages, so who knows what will come of it. Deadline says that Russell's reps deny his involvement, which to me doesn't sound promising at all. Either way, you can expect a title change at some point.
