David O. Russell is often regarded as one of American cinema's most able and talented contemporary filmmakers, having manned the camera behind cinematic gems such as The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle in recent years. But talented or not, Russell also has an undesirable reputation in Hollywood as being a bit of a bastard. George Clooney would be the first to advocate that. The two clashed whilst on the set of Three Kings in 1999, with the intense pressure of Russell's first big-budget movie forcing the director into several nasty confrontations with his crew members. Clooney, apparently deciding enough was enough, scolded Russell for his treatment of the filmmaking staff, and the two soon engaged in what was to become a hugely infamous scuffle on set. Russell completely lost it after being confronted by Clooney, and proceeded to slam his head into the star like a furious rhino. Utterly exasperated by the ordeal, assistant director Paul Bernard dumped his camera on the ground and breezed out of the production, whilst Clooney and Russell were pulled apart as the Oscar-winner attempted to choke to Russell into submission. Clooney has since declared that he never wishes to work with Russell ever again.
