American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell took things a little too far when speaking about his friend and co-worker Jennifer Lawrence’s work schedule.

UPDATE: O. Russell has now apologized for his comments, telling MailOnline, “Clearly, I used a stupid analogy in a poor attempt at humor. I realized it the minute I said it and I am truly sorry.”

His comments were made at the Australian Academy’s AACTA Awards in Los Angeles when O. Russell spoke to the New York Daily News about how busy Lawrence has been with his films, X-Men, and The Hunger Games franchise.

“I personally think they should give her a bit of breathing room over there because they’re printing money. But she’s a very alive person,” he said, referring to Lionsgate’s series based on the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. “I’ll tell you what it is about that girl — talk about 12 years of slavery, that’s what the franchise is. And I’m going to get in so much trouble for saying that.”

He then compared The Hunger Games series to a “hamster wheel,” presumably to suggest that it’s the same thing over and over again.

Since the comments were made on January 10, O. Russell has yet to clarify them any further.

At the Golden Globes on Sunday, American Hustle won Best Musical/Comedy. Amy Adams and Lawrence won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for their Hustle roles respectively.

As of now, O. Russell and Lawrence don’t have any plans to work together on another movie. Given their back-to-back award-winning hits, it’s entirely possible that a third film could happen. Lawrence is currently filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and should be finished within a few months.

Thanks, NY Daily News.