David O Russell Page 3

After starring together in Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro have reunited for Joy, the true story of inventor Joy Mangano. This time De Niro is playing Lawrence’s father and thanks to their close bond, the actress couldn’t think of anyone more suited to play her on-screen dad.

Jennifer Lawrence in Joy

“Bob is so paternal and lovely to me,” Lawrence said. “He's just always been so nice to me, so it felt really natural that he would play my father, because in some ways he was this paternal figure that I had, raising me through this certain element of my life, through movies and fame.”

Continue reading: Jennifer Lawrence Talks Working With Her 'Theatrical Father' Robert De Niro In 'Joy'

Jennifer Lawrence has teamed with director David O. Russell again this time for biopic, Joy, the amazing true story of 'miracle mop' inventor Joy Mangano. The film follows Mangano as she overcomes the odds (and her family) to fulfil her dreams, after finding the confidence to finally believe in herself.

Jennifer Lawrence in Joy.

“This particular woman has her own dreams and has her own aspirations that she's put on hold for her entire life and I think that’s a huge reason why the story spanned for so long, for four generations,” Lawrence said of her character.

Continue reading: Jennifer Lawrence Talks The Inspiring True Story Of Joy Mangano

"It's fascinating and terrifying working for him because he's a mad-scientist genius," she explains. "He's inspired by anything." Lawrence isn't remotely bothered by Russell's reputation. "I always see the wide eyes of people who've never worked with him before," she laughs. "I tell them, 'You have to let go of all your s--t.' Working on his sets is like the Olympics of acting. Everything moves so fast. It's like watching someone do a giant abstract painting or sculpture and you go, 'Where is this going?' And then all of a sudden you're like, 'Oh, it's a pegasus. It's beautiful!'"

Robert De Niro co-stars in Joy

She was on the set of The Hunger Games when she had a 4am phone call from Russell asking if she wanted to play the woman who invented the Miracle Mop. "From that seed he went off into David land," she says, "and it developed and changed, and now it's a completely different story. Usually it's about the fight on the way to success and the happy ending. David goes on to tell the struggle that comes after that, along with all the sacrifices that come with finally getting what you want."

Continue reading: Jennifer Lawrence Calls Joy Director A 'Mad-Scientist Genius'

The Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, set the stage for the latest instalment of the awards season program, playing host to some of the biggest names in showbiz and paying tribute to some of the year's biggest films for the 19th annual Critic's Choice Awards.

Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron and star Sandra Bullock both took home awards

The latest instalment of the awards show schedule to pass us by offered another indicator of what films will continue to find success over the course of the next few months, with Gravity, American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave dominating proceedings.

Continue reading: Santa Monica Tastes Hollywood Glamour As Stars Come Out For Critics Choice Awards [Photos]

On the same day as the nominations for this year's Academy Awards ceremony were revealed, the latest instalment of the ongoing awards season went by at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, where the 19th annual Critic's Choice Awards honoured the cast and crew of some of last's year's biggest and best films.

Gravity soared to success at the Critic's Choice Awards

The big winner on the night was the space thriller Gravity, which soared to success with seven wins by the end of the night. Among it's credits the film earned Alfonso Cuarón the award for Best Director and the award for Best Editing, shared with co-editor Mark Sanger. The film also earned Sandra Bullock the award for Best Actress In An Action Movie and was crowned as crowned the Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie. The film also scored recognition for Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Score.

Continue reading: 'Gravity,' 'American Hustle' And '12 Years A Slave' Scoop Major Wins At Critic's Choice Awards: Full Nominees & Winners

Anchorman 2: The Lengend Continues has been lighting up cinema screens since Wednesday (18 December) this week and looks set to continue its impressive run into next week and emerge as the top grossing film of the weekend. Having opened strongly mid-week, the reunited Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner have maintained their steady rise to the top.

All the gang, plus a secretary and some other guy, are back for the new Anchorman

In just five days since it was released, the film is estimated to have made $61.3 million already (via Box Office Mojo), with a massive $40.1 million coming in over the weekend period alone. Clearly people have recognised that Anchorman 2 is kind of a big deal, and they responded as expected.

Continue reading: 'Anchorman 2' Staying Classy To Top US Box Office This Weekend

In the first of our Oscars 2014 prediction series, we take a look at American Hustle, David O Russell’s follow up to last year’s highly acclaimed Silver Linings Playbook. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence return to add to an impressive cast, but can O Russell build upon steering his leading lady to a Best Actress win?

Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle

The film has a touch of the ‘Argo’ about it – and not the popular British catalogue-based retail chain. No, last year’s winning film – Ben Affleck’s winning film. It chronicles FBI's 1978 ABSCAM sting operation, designed to bring down a series of corrupt public officials.

Continue reading: Oscars 2014 Predictions: David O Russell's 'American Hustle'

It’s difficult to escape the notion that David O Russell is turning into one of the biggest American movie director because, well, he is. With The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook under his belt, American Hustle is set to propel him into Oscar stardom, if he needed any more propelling, that is.

David O. Russell and Christian Bale film scenes for American Hustle

Director-actor partnerships are fun - they define careers. Think Martin Scorsese/Robert de Niro, Quentin Tarantino/Christoph Waltz, Danny Boyle/Cillian Murphy, Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe and Wes Anderson/Bill Murray – if there’s one thing brilliant directors do, it’s keep hold of their favourite actors.

Continue reading: The Great David O Russell: The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook And Now 'American Hustle'

Silver Linings Playbook has been out a few months, racked up some fine box office figures and is heading towards the Oscars with a chance of glory – but Robert De Niro still gets teary-eyed thinking about its content matter.

De Niro was with director David O Russell and co-star Bradley Cooper on Katie Couric’s show Katie, to talk about the Oscar-nominated film, which deals with issues of bipolar disorder. O Russell’s son suffers from bipolar, and De Niro was asked if he felt a greater responsibility in the film because of that. "Of course, I um –- I understand," replied De Niro said while becoming dewy-eyed. "I don't like to get emotional," the usually stoic actor said, while getting choked up. "But I know exactly what he goes through."

Russell stepped in and confirmed that this wasn’t the first time De Niro had gotten emotional thinking about the subject matter. "When I first was in his apartment and I was talking about the screenplay this what happened," the 54 year-old commented. "And I thought he was having Hay Fever and I realized he was having an emotional reaction. I sat there and I watched Robert De Niro cry for 10 minutes. And I said, Wow, he's really connecting with this material and this could be a beautiful thing if it worked out." And you have to admit that it really has. But to what extent? We’ll find out on Oscars night, February 24.

Continue reading: Robert De Niro Tears Up Discussing Bipolar Disorder On Katie

When Katie Couric invited Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and David O. Russell on to her chat show to talk about the Oscar nominated Silver Linings Playbook, she probably did not expect to be passing a hanky to a crying Robert De Niro. That’s exactly what did happen though, on the show, which aired yesterday. After listening to David speaking about his experiences of having a son with bipolar disorder, DeNiro was unable to answer Couric’s next question, as he was too emotional.

Choking back tears, DeNiro didn’t explain much about his own experiences, but said “I don't like to get emotional, but I know exactly what [Russell] goes through.” Bradley Cooper, sat next to him on the sofa, leant over and patted his co-star on the back to comfort him and appeared to get tearful himself. The movie’s director, David O. Russell picked up the answer, sensing that DeNiro was unable to end the silence himself. “When I first was in (Robert DeNiro’s) apartment and I was talking to him about the screenplay, this is what happened. “I thought he was having hay fever, then I realized he was having an emotional reaction and I sat there and watched Robert De Niro cry for 10 minutes and I said, 'Wow he's really connecting with this material and this would be beautiful thing if it could work out, because I think his heart would be there' and it is there.”

Silver Linings Playbook, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, has been nominated for eight Academy Awards. The awards ceremony is held on February 24, 2013. 

Continue reading: What Made Robert De Niro Cry On Katie Couric Show?

Dame Helen Mirren was among a star-studded guest list at the Palm Springs International Film Festival over the weekend (January 5-6, 2013)

It might not be mentioned in the same breath as the Oscars or the Golden Globes, but one look at the red carpet of the Palm Springs International Film Festival would be enough to dupe you into thinking that you were at either. That's because a huge raft of stars made an early appearance in this season's awards ceremony run, including Dame Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Naomi Watts and Helen Hunt.

Continue reading: PICTURES: Are You Sure It's Not The Oscars? Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper And Dame Helen Mirren Light Up Palm Springs Film Festival

Awards season is getting into full swing now, with pretty much all the main ceremonies bar the Oscars having revealed their shortlists by now - and some of the smaller events have even taken place, with the Palm Springs Film Festival gala the latest to honor the great and good of Hollywood. Among the winners at the event included Ben Affleck, who took the Ensemble Performance Award for Argo, and Bradley Cooper who was honored with the Desert Palm Achievement Actor Award for his role in Silver Linings Playbook. 

Bradley Cooper attends the Palm Springs Film Festival on Sunday (January 6, 2013)

Continue reading: Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper And David O Russell Honored At Palm Springs Film Festival

Oscar winning alumni Marion Cotillard [Left] and Matt Damon [Right, with Luciana Bozan Barroso] were given honorary achievements at the Gothan Awards

One of the most respected independent awards ceremonies on the circuit, the 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards took place last night (November 26, 2012) at the Capriani in New York, seeing both established stars and rising up and comers rubbing shoulders. Firmly in the former camp are Oscar winning pair Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon; the two stars were presented with honorary awards for their time in the film industry. Cotillard, at least, has her eyes on another chance to scoop the ultimate prize, her performance in Rust & Bone being talked up for another best actress win at the Oscars. 

Continue reading: Pictures: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, 'Moonrise Kingdom' Honored At 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Awards

David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook - a stunning dark comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper - appears to have hijacked the Oscars race. Russell was tipped for a golden statuette with The Fighter, though missed out on the directing prize to Tom Hooper (The Kings Speech). His latest movie has certainly thrown a spanner into the works for the greatest film prize of them all, so we've compiled an Oscars cheat sheet for Best Picture in 2013. So read on, before cleverly dropping the information into conversations with your friends.

Who's the frontrunner?

There's still a handful of likely Oscar contenders to be released, though the eight or ten movies most strongly tipped to get nominated for Best Picture are now in place. The list is headed by two movies: Ben Affleck's thriller Argo and Steven Spielberg's historical drama Lincoln. The bookmakers cannot choose between the two, but most give the former's movie the edge as recent history suggests this type of film is likely to please the younger looking Academy. The Hurt Locker famously usurped Avatar in 2009, and Affleck's slick movie has much in common with Kathryn Bigelow's classic Iraq War film. As mentioned, both films are pretty much neck-and-neck in the betting, though Argo is generally available at 3/1 while Spielberg's epic is around 4/1.

Continue reading: Silver Linings Playbook? Argo? Lincoln? Your Oscars Cheat Sheet For Best Picture!