[2] Speaking on an episode of Marc Maron's podcast, actor Jason Schwartzman revealed that after he had finished Rushmore in 1998, he was pitched a project by Russell.
[6] In 2006, Russell was in pre-production with Vince Vaughn on a film titled The H-Man Cometh, about sarcastic radio call-in show host Hume Stevens who takes on the qualities of his neurotic patrons.
[17] In October 2010, Vulture.com reported that Russell had dropped out of directing his adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's horror-comedy-parody Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because star/producer Natalie Portman couldn't meet his intended start date.
In November 2010, it was reported that Ice Cube and Russell were in talks with New Line Cinema to create a potential yet-titled cop drama said to be in the vein of films like Dirty Harry and Death Wish.
[19] On November 24, 2010, an interview with Mark Wahlberg was published by MTV with the actor stating that Russell was currently writing the adaptation of the video game franchise Uncharted and was excited for what he had in store.
In February 2011, Russell revealed that, in addition to simultaneously working on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Silver Linings Playbook and 2 Guns, he was considering directing a narrative film of the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys, with Mark Wahlberg.
[27] It was officially confirmed by the Los Angeles Times in April 2012 that Russell would be directing a biopic of former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci after an arrangement with producer Jane Rosenthal.
[28] In August 2012, Russell was in negotiations with CBS to direct a legal drama written by Danny Strong inspired by a real-life New York father/daughter defense attorney team.
"[30] In February 2013, it was announced that Russell would be reunited with Jennifer Lawrence for The Ends of the Earth, a fact-based love story about a powerful oil tycoon who has everything stripped from him after he is caught in an affair.
[31] In May 2013, Russell agreed to write and direct an adaptation of the JFK conspiracy thriller Legacy of Secrecy, based on the book by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann.
Leonardo DiCaprio was set to star as FBI informant Jack Van Lavinham and Robert De Niro was also attached to play mafia boss Carlos Marcello.
First pitched as an FX series from Russell and writer Josh Lieb in 2006,[37] the show was described as an upstairs-downstairs soap opera set at a private country club.
[41] During a 2015 directors roundtable discussion for THR, Russell revealed that prior to their collaboration on Joy, he had written "about 600 pages" of an epic 2-part family opus for Jennifer Lawrence, which he still hoped to make with the actress.
[42] In August 2016, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Russell was prepping a limited series set to star Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore.
[50] Revealed to be titled Father Stu, Russell would later leave the project as director, with newcomer Rosalind Ross boarding to write and direct for Wahlberg.