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The catfight between I Heart Huckabees director David O. Russell and NYT writer Sharon Waxman (some background here) might yet develop into the bloodletting cockfight that we'd secretly hoped for. Russell informed Waxman that he won't allow the use of photos of him and George Clooney in her upcoming book, Rebels on the Backlot, and when she ignored him, Russell had his lawyer reinforce the message. Waxman wasn't pleased:

"Having your attorney call me? How Hollywood of you . . . and for a zen Buddhist yet. I think you'll regret your nasty behavior when you read the book. But that'll be way late in the day. I've obviously given you too much credit for being a classy human being, not the jerks I deal with all day long in this industry."

Nicely played, Ms. Waxman, branding the director with the dreaded "Hollywood" label, knowing that "douchebag" would never get past the copy desk. Hopefully, Russell will further escalate the conflict with a volley of outraged invective, and we can upgrade Round Three from "cockfight" to "pitbull deathmatch in the back room of a Tijuana brothel."