20 facts you might not know about 'American Hustle'

Eric Warren Singer’s screenplay that served as the original basis for American Hustle was quite well thought of, making the famed “Black List” of unproduced screenplays. Singer’s script had a different title that probably jumped out to people. It was called “American Bulls--t.”

Once Singer’s screenplay was bought, the producers had a director in mind. Namely, Ben Affleck. Affleck wouldn’t take the project, so it went to David O. Russell instead.

The story of American Hustle is loosely based on the Abscam FBI sting operation. However, it got a lot looser once Russell signed on to direct. He rewrote Singer’s script, and instead of using the actual names of the people involved, he made the characters broad caricatures of the people involved. Russell and Singer share screenwriting credit.

Russell has not directed any films with these characters save for American Hustle, but he still sees it as a piece with previous work. He declared it his third film in a “loose trilogy” of movies about ordinary people trying to live lives of passion. The other two films, by the way, are The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook.

Christian Bale has said that there was a lot of improvising while filming the movie. In fact, the improvisation got so rampant Bale asked Russell if he realized that the plot of the film might have to change because of all the adlibs. Russell reportedly responded, “I hate plots. I am all about characters, that's it.”

Renner plays Carmine Polito, mayor of Camden, New Jersey. Russell apparently decided to cast him after seeing Renner host Saturday Night Live. It led the director to realize the actor was more than the action hero Russell perceived him to be.

Bale is infamous for his penchant for body transformation. Usually, he’s losing a lot of weight — like when he dropped 30 pounds to play a drug addict in The Fighter. This time, in addition to getting his hair styled into the combover in the movie, he gained over 40 pounds and slouched. Bale may have bitten off more than he could chew. The actor herniated two disks in his back.

Cooper didn’t go quite as method as his costar. He did decide that his character Richie should have a perm, though, and had the idea for Richie to have curlers in his hair during the scene at his apartment.

Nobody in American Hustle gave a broader performance than Lawrence. To play a housewife from New Jersey, the actress studied housewives from New Jersey. Specifically, she watched the reality show Real Housewives from New Jersey for inspiration.

Before breaking into film, Renner did episodic TV work as many people do. He appeared in one episode of Angel in the first season entitled “Somnambulist.” At the time, Elizabeth Rohm was also in the cast of Angel. In American Hustle, Rohm plays Dolly Polito, wife of Renner’s Carmine Polito.

American Hustle was filmed in Boston and New York City. Unfortunately, the movie was filming in Boston during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. That put the city on lockdown, which delayed the filming of American Hustle.

Microwaves, or “science ovens” in the film's parlance, play a key part in a section of the movie. During that time, the character of Rosalyn says she read an article by science writer Paul Brodeur about microwaves taking all the nutrition out of food. Brodeur, a real writer with a book about microwaves called The Zapping of America, filed a defamation lawsuit saying he said no such thing. However, the California Court of Appeal cited the “farcical nature” of the scene in dismissing the lawsuit.

American Hustle opens with text saying, “Some of this actually happened.” That is true, though liberties were taken. One notable change is Evelyn Knight, the basis for Adams’ character Sydney Prosser, was involved in some of Melvin Weinberg (i.e., Irving Rosenfeld)’s scams but not Abscam. Also, Knight was British; in American Hustle, Sydney is American but pretends to be English for a time.

Renner’s Polito is based on the real politician Angelo Errichetti. Even though the characters in the film are loosely based on real people, a politician is more of a public figure, and Renner may have put some effort into mimicking Errichetti. Apparently, people who knew the late politician said Renner effectively “cloned” Errichetti’s mannerisms and demeanor.

Sometimes you hear about, say, a German word that doesn’t directly translate into English. However, sometimes that goes the other way. The idea of “hustle” didn’t translate, leading to some creative choices in titling the film in other places. Some of the names used include “American Bluff,” “American Dream,” “American Scandal,” and “American Sting.”

American Hustle was made for a budget of roughly $40 million. It made $150.1 million domestically and $101.1 million internationally. Not too shabby for an R-rated crime drama. Due to the Sony hack, it became known that the film, when factoring in marketing costs and such, turned a profit of $27 million.

The Academy Awards took to American Hustle , giving it 10 Oscar nominations. That included nominations for Bale, Amy Adams, Cooper, and Lawrence — not to mention Russell for Best Director and the film for Best Picture.

American Hustle was notably nominated for all four major acting awards at the Oscars. It was the 15th film ever to accomplish that but only the second since 1981. The other movie to do it after 1981? That would be Silver Linings Playbook, also directed by Russell.

Out of those 10 Oscar nominations, the movie took home…zero awards. That’s hard to do. American Hustle is tied for the most nominations without a win. Only Turning Point and The Color Purple with 11 have more.

OK, so the Oscars blanked the movie. While the Golden Globes are now increasingly a relic, the award show did lavish some praise on Russell’s film. It won Best Picture in the Musical or Comedy category. Additionally, Adams won for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, and Lawrence won for Best Supporting Actress.