News

Veteran character actor James Caan has aburptly left his role in the political comedy Nailed due to what appears to be a rather minor dispute with director David O. Russell of I Heart Huckabees fame.

In the film, Caan was portraying the role of Speaker of the House who choked to death on a cookie. Yes, a cookie. Apparently, while shooting the scene on the film's South Carolina set, Russell directed Caan to cough as he choked, when Caan began to argue that you can't choke and cough at the same time. Instead of shooting the scene with and without coughs, Caan quit. The role will be re-cast. Other cast members include Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel, Catherine Keener and James Marsden.

Reps claim that Caan exited over the proverbial "creative differences" excuse and that his departure was amicable. However, this isn't the first time that Russell has publically clashed with stars of his films. After I Heart Huckabees hit theaters, a profane (yet entertaining) tape of comedienne Lily Tomlin going ballistic and screaming expletives at the director during filming was released online and broadcast several times on Howard Stern's national morning radio talk show on Sirius satellite radio.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.24.08