In the long list of David O. Russell films from the past couple of decades, including “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “The Fighter,” there are those that forget about “Joy,” his 2015 feature starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano. The film did earn critical acclaim and even landed Lawrence another Oscar nomination. But there aren’t many that feel it is his best work. However, what people might not know about the film is the intense behind-the-scenes drama that occurred with the script of the film and the original writer, Annie Mumolo.
Speaking to Variety, Annie Mumolo, who is probably best known for her script for “Bridesmaids” and is the co-writer and co-lead in the upcoming “Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar,” spoke about her experience working on the film, “Joy.” You see, Mumolo followed up “Bridesmaids” with the script for “Joy,” but when the film was eventually released, she is not listed as a writer at all, and only gets a “Story By” credit. Many speculated about how David O. Russell and his infamous personality might have contributed. And while Mumolo doesn’t name names, she definitely alludes to a very difficult situation regarding that script and film.
“Oh boy. That was a toughie. It’s a tough business,” said Mumolo. “Kristen [Wiig] and I have learned that if you can get in the position where you can produce your own stuff and have a voice…Everything that happened with ‘Joy’ and the making of the actual movie is a movie in itself. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say.”
She went on to explain, “Having worn both hats, the writer’s hat and the actor’s hat, they are such night and day experiences. As a writer, you’re treated very differently than you are as an actor, in almost every way. I feel like it’s exponentially harder for that reason alone. The ‘Joy’ movie was a very heartbreaking experience for me, and I had to just sort of separate because of that aspect of things. When it was going in one direction, we got a phone call overnight that there’s a change happening. And then I was asked to do things that were against my morality, and it was very difficult. When I didn’t feel comfortable doing those things that were against my values, I was lambasted. I can’t say too much. I guess probably because I was living in fear.”
She continued, “It’s sort of a testament to the power of how in show business, people have a tremendous amount of power and what they can do with it and how they wield that power. Sometimes, the people who have so much power are people who shouldn’t, and in the normal world, they wouldn’t have that much power they’re being given. Judd Apatow told me, ‘Certain names, if they are studios, if it’s money and numbers, they don’t care what the behavior is. They just don’t.’ And he said that’s a hard thing. He was a very big advocate for me back then. It was tremendously scary and a life lesson. It was a lot of upheavals, and it was just very strange. It’s something I never saw coming.”
While she definitely dances around the details, for obvious reasons, it’s clear that the experience she endured during the development of “Joy” has taught Mumolo some valuable lessons. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of having to experience the seedy behind-the-scenes aspect of Hollywood. What would “Joy” have looked like under Mumolo’s original vision? We’ll never know. But it’s clear that the writer doesn’t think she’ll find herself in that position ever again.