One of the most anticipated movies still coming out this year is David O. Russell’s mystery comedy Amsterdam, and a new teaser dropped lately, showcasing some exciting new material from the picture. Twenty-First Century’s new trailer, titled “Names,” premieres two months after the first trailer did. Christian Bale, John David Washington, and Margot Robbie star as the three leads of the film, set in Amsterdam. The three leads play longtime friends and professionals in their respective fields: Dr Burt, Nurse Valerie, and Lawyer Harold. The film follows the three as they become the principal suspects in a murder case set in 1930s Amsterdam.
Bale’s character is heard stating, “We need to cleanse our identities” in the new teaser. The additional tape explains how the victim “was killed because of something that they had witnessed,” and how the murder may be related to an “organisation that wants to conquer the globe.” In an increasingly gloomy tone, Robbie’s character replies, “Let’s hope this goes well.” In addition to its three stars, Amsterdam also has a huge ensemble cast, with virtually every major Hollywood starlet making an appearance.
Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and Robert de Niro all-star in the film. While we know some of the characters’ names, we don’t know much about them or how they fit into the storyline. In 2020, it was revealed that Bale, Robbie, and Michael B. Jordan will lead the picture. Later, Jordan had to pull out due to schedule issues, and Washington took his place. Malek, Saldaa, Taylor-Joy, Shannon, Rock, and Olyphant would all join the movie in January 2021, while Swift and the rest of the ensemble would come on later that year, in the summer.
Not everything has gone well with the picture, though, and that is mostly owing to the controversy surrounding the film’s director, David O. Russell. Acclaimed for films like Silver Linings Playbook and Joy, Russell has recently been at the centre of controversy due to reports that he behaves abusively on set. Allegedly, Lily Tomlin and Kurt Russell got into a fight on the set of I Heart Huckabees. The actress Amy Adams has confirmed that he was aggressive towards her while filming American Hustle. Clooney also mentioned that he and Russell had a fistfight during the filming of 1999’s Three Kings, but that they later made up.
Apart from these claims, Russell’s transgender niece, who is a teenager, has filed a police case against the director for alleged sexual assault. The director admitted to the occurrence to the police, but he blames his niece for inviting him to touch her breasts and acting provocatively toward him. Even while the debates raged on, Russell remained mostly out of the spotlight. Russell has not released a movie since 2015’s Joy, but he is about to do so with Amsterdam. Despite 20th Century’s initial intention to release Amsterdam in November, the film’s stellar ensemble cast has generated so much buzz that the release date has been pushed ahead to early October. The film Amsterdam is scheduled for release on October 7.