Responding to rumblings that he is responsible for a viral video of director David O. Russell profanely berating Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees, George Clooney — who famously clashed with Russell on Three Kings — has denied any culpability, and is willing to put his money where his mouth is. "Neither the sound man... nor yours truly [leaked] the David O. Russell tape," Clooney says in a statement. "I saw it when we were working on Ocean's 12 [back in 2004], and there have been quite a few copies traveling around town for the last couple of years. Any rumor that either of us put it on the Internet is simply false. And I'd offer a million bucks to anyone who would prove otherwise." And just like that, I Heart Huckabees becomes interesting.
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Producer Tony Krantz (24) and writers Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers) have a pilot commitment to adapt Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, a 1974 thriller starring Gene Hackman, into a weekly series for ABC.... Also per Variety: David O. Russell (Three Kings) is teaming with Josh Lieb (The Simpsons) on an hourlong FX dramedy envisioned as a sort of Upstairs, Downstairs set in a Los Angeles country club.... John Corbett, Charlotte Ross, Ashley Williams and Diane Ladd will star in Montana Sky, a Lifetime movie based on the best seller by the amazing Nora Roberts.
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