Director David O. Russell has issued a comment recall about the "Hunger Games" series, of which Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen.
Lawrence is said to be Russell's current muse, and has played leading roles in his recent films "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle". In a report by Yahoo! Movies, O. Russell, who confided to Confidenti@l on Friday at Australian Academy's AACTA Awards, said, "I'll tell you what it is about that girl - talk about 12 years of slavery, that's what the franchise is. And I'm going to get in so much trouble for saying that."
In an exclusive statement to Yahoo! Movies, Russell issued an apology, which read, "Clearly, I used a stupid analogy in a poor attempt at humor. I realized it the minute I said it and I am truly sorry."
The mega-franchise has raised concerns from Russell regarding Lawrence's health. The films' action sequences and emotional journey of its characters might have triggered Russell into making the "12 Years a Slave" comparison, most likely pointing to Lawrence's potential pneumonia episode during the awards season last year, the report deduces.
The report also noted Lawrence's absence during the "Catching Fire" press tour and an "American Hustle" premiere could also have been the American director's case to arrive at such comment. Russell could have thought that history could repeat itself as his muse is in production of "Mockingjay", which will be shown in theaters in two parts, while attending to awards season events this year for "American Hustle", a New York Daily News report added.
Russell was known to be difficult on set, Yahoo! Movies has said. A Reddit post cited a IMDB page, which recalled his temper tantrums on the set of the George Clooney-starred "Three Kings." A video clip obtained by TMZ showed Russell having a heated exchange with veteran actor Lily Tomlin on the set of the 2004 movie "I Heart Huckabees."