One of the most-anticipated thrillers of the year, Amsterdam, from acclaimed filmmaker and five-time Oscar nominee David O. Russell, has finally made its way to Disney+ Hotstar. With an epic story spanning eras, the comedic thriller follows three close friends and everyone they encounter on their adventure with a fascinating and richly intricate tale that brilliantly weaves historical fact with fiction for a timely, cinematic experience. The movie boasts brilliant performances from an A-list cast led by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington and the three are joined by celebrities like Alessandro Nivola, Andrea Riseborough, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Taylor Swift, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldaña, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro.
David O. Russell is known for his unique approach to filmmaking which brings out the best in the actors he works with. Christian Bale, who plays the role of Burt, a doctor, describes the process that Russell follows, saying, “The way David works, it’s not like a linear thing. He’s not somebody off the set. He’s right there feeling it, living it, breathing it, and talking, throwing out suggestions, throwing out lines. It isn’t really improvisation because they are his ideas and his lines, but it’s the ability not to get thrown by that and keep rolling with it.”
Bale, further talking about how Russell’s script evolves as they work on the film, says, “There’s his script, which is really good, and some days we might follow it, or David might decide to change everything, or we might go back to it, who knows? Or we might do every version. On ‘American Hustle,’ I think we had like 180 pages of script, and we filmed every single of them, which is quite unusual.”
Margot Robbie, who plays one of the three friends Valerie in Amsterdam, explains what it was like to work with such a different method of movie-making, saying, “There wasn’t a script that was set in stone so it is a strange process when you work with David, but he is incredibly collaborative. We spent years talking about the conspiracies and the U.S. history that he built into the script, and about art and his experiences and my experiences and who Valerie is and her family, etc. It was a really unique and intriguing experience; I loved it.”
Russell himself speaks about his approach to films and why he does it the way he does. He explains, “Part of the magic of filmmaking is that you want choices, especially in an epic story and at the ending of an epic film. You get different performances, you get different chemistries, you get different feelings. That’s what we’re all there for. Actors are called players because we are playing with the moments we’re creating and the interactions we’re creating and the world we’re creating.”
Amsterdam is produced by two-time Oscar nominee Arnon Milchan, Matthew Budman, Oscar® winner Anthony Katagas, and David O. Russell, with Academy Award nominee Michael Schaefer, Sam Hanson, GRAMMY Award® winner Drake and Adel serving as executive producers.
Amsterdam is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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