'American Hustle' director reacts to Lawrence's wage gap essay

"American Hustle" director David O. Russell has weighed in on actress Jennifer Lawrence's essay about gender-based wage gap in Hollywood.

"I always support all my actors and all their opinions, and I want them all to get what they need," he told The hollywoodreporter.com.

He said this at a fundraiser dinner for The Glenholme School held at NYC's Bryant Park Grillon on Wednesday.

However, the 40-year-old director said that he did not usually talk about financial matters.

"I don't really talk about the minutia of what goes on in my movies, but I believe the spirit of what Jennifer is saying is truthful to her heart. I support her and all women in that," he said.

Russell added that it would be difficult to negotiate salaries in a movie starring a lot of renowned actors and actresses.

"I understand what she's saying, and I think people in the business do too, and I also understand people saying, 'Well, let's talk about the minutia of the deal.' It's hard to make a movie come together with a lot of big stars," he explained. " 'American Hustle' had a lot of big stars in it. We all contributed to help make it happen."

"But I also respect that Jennifer is finding her voice, and I think it's in service of something very important," Russell, who has worked with the actress in "Silver Linings Playbook", "American Hustle" and the upcoming film "Joy", added.