A major film chronicling the life and career of an NFL legend was recently announced, but controversy is affecting the upcoming movie just weeks into production.
"Madden" will star Nicolas Cage as former NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden, and Christian Bale will star alongside him as former Raiders owner Al Davis.
TMZ says that an actor has quit the film following controversial language from director David O. Russell.
Five members of the cast and crew say that the director used the N-word while talking to the departing actor on set.
The actor and director were working on an impromptu monologue, and multiple people walked off set after the director uttered the slur.
Sources from Amazon Studios, one of the production companies behind the film, say that the actor wanted the word to be used in the scene after speaking with Russell about it privately.
Furthermore, the Amazon sources say Russell did not say the word during the shooting of the scene and they noted that it will not be included in the final cut of the film.
The cast and crew tell TMZ that the day before the incident with the alleged racial slur, the same actor who left the film refused to shoot a nude locker room scene.
Russell's reaction to the actor's refusal was allegedly "unprofessional," but sources from the studio say that an intimacy coordinator was present on set to make the actor more comfortable during the scene.
"David, calmly, said he didn't have to be in the shot," the studio sources claim, explaining that the director assured the actor that his inclusion in the scene was not necessary to the film.
Amazon announced the film earlier this month, giving a first look at Cage and Bale in their roles as Madden and Davis.
The studio describes the movie as a biopic that "follows Madden's remarkable journey - from his Super Bowl-winning partnership with Al Davis and the Raiders, to creating ‘Madden NFL,' and becoming one of the most iconic voices in football history."
Russell, who worked on "American Hustle" and "Silver Linings Playbook," is writing and directing the film. John Mulaney, Kathryn Hahn and Sienna Miller are also confirmed to appear.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM.