Jennifer Lawrence is starting to do the rounds for both Mockingjay 2 and Joy, so we should get some interesting interviews in the coming weeks and months. I hope we get some new photos too because she’s staying outta sight lately, and the same photos are getting lots of play, but I do covet this blue dress from Comic-Con. Not that I’d have anywhere to wear it besides to hang in front of the laptop working, but a girl can dream.
This interview is interesting because JLaw seems acutely aware that anything she says can and will may be held against her in a court of the gossip-reading public. She doesn’t speak about one of her favorite subjects, food, and she doesn’t say anything super sarcastic. She admits to feeling put down by people’s reactions to her candid goofiness and fart-loving ways. Oh, and she says she definitely isn’t too young to hit her 40s in Joy. I love JLaw, but she’s going too far with that one:
The pressures of stardom: “I picture myself drowning. Outwardly, I look like I’m having a blast, and I am, at least on some levels. There I was – burp, burp, burp – just a little gal from Kentucky getting discovered by big ol’ Hollywood. But inside I’m terrified. In an instant – boom – everyone’s listening, everyone’s looking.”
She’s different from fame: “You want to know how I’ve changed? I’m so scared to say anything now. I can see every negative way that people can take it, and I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. ‘Oh, she’s so conceited now. Oh, she’s so jaded now.’ It probably comes from Googling myself. If it were up to me, I would not talk. I would just act … You try being 22, having a period and staying away from Google. I once Googled ‘Jennifer Lawrence Ugly.’ [Laughs] Do I sound bitchy? I can’t think of a more wasteful use of my time than to worry about this. Why do I care what people think? But I do. I just can’t pretend I don’t care. I get really insecure about it. The world makes an opinion of you without ever meeting you. That worry should not bother me, but it does. It bothers me.”
How she copes: “I find a certain peace by thinking of me in public as sort of an avatar self. You out there can have the avatar me. I can keep me. And I just try to acknowledge that this scrutiny is stressful, and that anyone would find it stressful. So I’ve got to try to let it go, and try to be myself, and focus on important things, like picking up dog poop.”
On being a mother of two in Joy: “David gets visions. He’s in his own beautiful, amazing world. Those kinds of silly questions don’t really matter to him. It’s not like I was old enough for American Hustle. And I was way too young for Silver Linings” That’s why I almost didn’t get it.”
[From New York Times]
Well, all I have to say about Jennifer playing older roles is that I hope she enjoys it while it lasts. Because there’s always a younger actress waiting in the wings for her turn as the ingenue. Jennifer has a lot of talent, and perhaps one day, she’ll be one of the fortunate ones to stick around long after age 40. She has what it takes, for sure. Competition is always fierce though, and she peaked so early in her career that constant financial and critical acclaim may be hard to maintain forever.
JLaw would do well to stop googling herself, especially about the “ugly” thing. Why would you want to do that to yourself? She’s so wacky.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News & Fame/Flynet
Is she between the ages of 36-45 then she is to young. The mom part I’m fine with. I can’t with this girl.
She’s playing a 16 year old in Mockingjay, so I guess she just has an amazing range as an actress. Maybe next year she can play a toddler in one movie and a grandma in another.
Yeah I’m missing this amazing talent as I’m still waiting to be blown away by a performance.
Lol. A toddler.
lmao
lmao…she’s just such an acting genius.
Lol Benjamin Button 2.0
Yeah, THIS. Have yet to be “blown away” by anything this girl does. To me she WAY overemotes and opens her eyes VEERYYYY WIIIIDE. If that’s what you call acting, then, ok…
She’s playing a 27 years old woman
She was terribly miscast in “American Hustle”, IMO. She looked so awkward with the rest of the cast.
Agree! She did a good job with the role but you could absolutely tell she was younger than the character–I have a hard time believing there were no suitable 30-40 year old actresses available. JLaw is a very good actress but she is not so massively better than any other actress out there that this kind of miscasting is justifiable.
Is she lying about her age? Is she in her 30s? One wonders… 🙂
And people wonder why “older” actresses in Hollywood have problems getting roles…because they cast 25 year old for a 40 yo character.
It explains why I don’t go to movies. She was miscast in Silver Linings Playbook. The age gap between them is glaring.
I find her so annoying
She looks so great in that blue dress, head to toe.
Really???
I think she looks painfully ordinary?
I genuinely like JLaw, but I actually think that dress is really unflattering. She has a beautiful figure, but the dress bunches up in all the wrong places. And the slit on the side is just weird, and falls on her leg in a really awkward way. The whole dress doesn’t do her lovely body any justice, IMO. But she still looks radiant, I’ll give ya that. Great hair, great smile.
I agree mia, I think she looks great. She is in amazing shape.
Her body looks amazing, but she looks like a real housewife in that dress.
I’m not so sure about the dress…. It looks like she might be at an airport? If so, that is a weird outfit for an ordinary day. Looks sorta cocktailly. (Yes, I made up that word!)
Not so sure about the dress either but it DOES show off her amazing body. Like seriously amazing.
The dress look a size or two too small
I thought this was Reese Witherspoon…so I guess she can play a 40-year old mom?
I don’t get the dress, but I do think she has a better figure than top A-list actresses of the past. (Other actresses have been slim, but her figure looks like it could actually be used for modelling).
Because there is such a dearth of actresses who actually are in that age range. Nice to see she’s willing to forgo young roles to age herself so. For art obviously.
exactly.. this reminds me of Anne Hathaway who said that she is losing 40something year old female lead roles to actresses in their 20s. Did everyone already forget that? Unimpressed, and over JLaw.
Her face is round and youthful and beautiful. Yes, yes. But I seriously found it distracting during her American hustle and silver linings acting. My Brain would switch on during pivotal scenes and I would think wait she’s too young for this kinda life experiences……
I felt the same way. I think she’s talented, but she was miscast in that movie. It was like a little girl playing dress-up when she was on the screen.
Yup, I love JLaw but it was incredibly distracting. It made both characters totally different, especially in American Hustle. Every scene she was in, all I could think about was how her back story could be written for it to make sense that her character was where she was. I could never come up with anything coherent, and it took me way out of the movie.
I agree. Plus, it was only supposed to be a small role too and it was inflated to the point where it threw the whole film out. DOR just writes oscar friendly sketches for his chums and why his films keep getting so may nominations is beyond me. Hopefully the bubble will burst, DOR will redirect his considerable talent and we will never again have to put up with a Lawrence-Cooper partnership; I actually quite like her, but I can’t stand him.
Yeah, I found her teenage appearance in silver linings distracting, but I was like “okay she got married in high school….” Hey, she got an Oscar for it and who are we to question the wisdom of the Academy?
> I would think wait she’s too young for this kinda life experiences……
I felt the same. I couldn’t suspend the disbelief. And that makes a movie unwatchable.
Same. I thought her performance in SLP was great, but it just didn’t make sense for her to be so young. She couldve been the female encarnation of Marlon Brando in that movie and I still wouldn’t buy it.
What I kept thinking during “Silver Linings Playbook” (which I love) is that Julia Stiles–who was 31-years-old in 2012 when the film was released, and certainly more of an ‘age’ match for Bradley Cooper than Jennifer–was closer to the age of Tiffany in the book and was stuck playing the ‘older’ sister to a 21-year-old ingenue.
Ooo good point. I wonder if she felt a tiny bit of resentment on the inside about that.
@WinnieCoopersMom, who wrote: “Ooo good point. I wonder if she felt a tiny bit of resentment on the inside about that.”
I’ve wondered that as well. I’ve also wondered about the Director cutting scenes with just Tiffany and Veronica (Lawrence and Stiles … which he did) and why he did so.
Observations like Emma’s make me want to boycott Hollywood altogether. I rarely see in theater movies any more , but I do plan to see the final Mockingjay on opening weekend. I’m kind of obsessed with the series, and regardless of one’s feelings about JLaw, the franchise has an amazing cast of truly brilliant actors. One of whom is tragically gone now.
Yes!! Oh I am so happy I’m not alone in this feeling. I think she’s great, but her baby face in Silver Linings was distracting. It was even worse in American Hustle where she really looked like a little kid playing dress up in her mom’s clothing. So miscast. I like her and think she’s funny and personable, but I think she gets too much credit for her acting. She’s great, but she’s playing roles that are just too old for her right now. I’m not convinced. It’s a GOOD problem to have, looking youthful and pretty so girlfriend needs to stop Google-hating on herself. Oy vey. Why are some actors so insecure?!
Well get those roles and that money while you can, sweetie. Because if AnnE at 32 is already considered elderly, Hollywood will do the same to you soon.
am I blind? Where does she say she’s not too young? She seems to be acknowledging she is technically too young but that it doesn’t matter to the director.
She said David isn’t concerned with “silly questions” like that. She’s acknowledging that she’s not the right age but that it’s silly to fret over it.
I don’t think she actually thinks they’re silly questions, David thinks they’re silly while he’s in his little dream world. She wouldn’t say she was way too young for a role if she thought it was silly.
An award winning director throws what will inevitably get you an Oscar nomination, you don’t turn it down. Why would you? To be honorable and hope it went to someone more age appropriate? It’d just go to Rooney Mara or some other young ingenue type. Strike while the iron is hot, I say.
I was wondering if I was blind too. I kind of got the impression she wasn’t really giving her opinion, but the director’s opinion. I also thought she said she was too young for the other role.
Well when she hits forty I hope she doesn’t complain about 20 year old actresses taking all the good roles for actresses in her age group while she’s only left the option of playing the mother character to her 40 year old male co-star’s character.
This ^^^^
Anne H. said something along these lines (in the article 2 days ago), that while she did realize she was taking the roles from older actresses, not at 32 y.o. younger actresses ( and she specifically hinted at JLaw) are taking the roles from her.
I love Jen but deeming the age thing “silly questions” is a bit ridiculous. It’s interesting how she mentioned the public can take something in a negative way and how she’s hyper aware of it. I think Taylor Swift can be obnoxious and the whole Nicki thing was Taylor’s fault, but there’s been a couple of times where she’s been completely harmless and it seems like people and blogs went out of their way to interpret something she’s done as negative. Whenever someone’s at the top the tabs and public always want to tear them (especially women) down, and I think she realizes that. The Steven Spielberg film sounds way more interesting than Joy though.
In the Spielberg film she is too young for that aswell
No, she’s not. That photographer was in her twenties when she was in the warzone. You know the time on which the movie will concentrate on.
It depends on what part of the book they focus on. While most of the more prominent action took place in her early to mid thirties, the war photographer was also working in the field in her mid to late 20s. Nowhere near as bad as the age gap in SLP, AH, or even Joy (I’m aware Joy had kids young but she didn’t even the mop until her mid 30s).
@SamLT What the 41 year old photographer who was kidnapped 4 years ago was in her late 20’s?
There is a misconception about Joy’s age because of the Mummolo script where she made Joy well in her thirties when she had kids but in real life she already had three kids when she was 27yo. JLaw is 25 now so I don’t see the problem.
That’s what I was wondering – what’s the time frame of the movie? If it spans 20s to 40, then that’s fine, and with hair and makeup they’ll age her a bit. But if the entire movie is a 40 year old, then that’s not good.
As far as I know, the movie will start with Joy as a child and concentrate on her younger years, marriage etc. before she invented the mop where the movie will end. But we’ll see.
It spans several decades
This isn’t a biopic of Mangano. In the movie her surname isn’t Mangano. It was said on EW, Hollywood Reporter, Variety
I guess for Hollywood, 25 is the new 40.
Anne Hathaway had a point: in Hollywood for a woman in her 30’s is difficult to land a role, even if she has to play a woman in her 40’s, while it’s completely normal for a woman in her 20’s playing a woman in her 40’s . That’s crazy.
It is ridiculous. I’d much rather see a woman who is in her late 30’s – early 40’s play the role instead of a 22 year old.
She still sounds terribly immature. Maybe it comes from having to deal with life as a multi-millionaire, super famous, pretty blonde (not saying there isn’t a lot of pressure on her, it is just different than the rest of us, and it shows in her interviews.) There isn’t a lot of depth to what she says – she has to focus on dog poop, really? I find her attempts at humour unfunny and her self-deprecating voice very fake. And really Jennifer, you think playing a 40 year old is ok? Very curious how you will feel at 40 when the next 25 year old gets the part…
Do you want her to step back from the roles she’s too young for then? That’s immature too. We should focus on directors and producers who cast young women and don’t choose women who are agewise perfect for certain roles. Don’t kill the messenger.
I agree we should focus on the people doing the casting – and the writing and executives too, because I suspect she’s taking roles like this because there aren’t a lot of good roles written for female characters who are 20 somethings. There are so few good roles written for women to begin with.
Thank you, Liv! That’s exactly what I was thinking.
And I’m more interested in what she had to say about how scared she is now to open her mouth in interviews, due to how so many people make a (largely negative) opinion of her without knowing her. When I read most of the comments here, I can see why!
Exactly! If she turned them down, they’d just go to another 25 year old.
She doesn’t want to be famous until it comes time to endorsements and oscars or wanting to show your ex-boyfriend that you’re over him.
Her roles won’t age well if she carries on playing 40 year olds, in the future people are going think it looks odd. But the academy love DOR so they’ll give him oscars for anything, so she’ll carry on working with him.
SO MUCH WORD to your first sentence. You’ve exactly summed up why I don’t like this girl, aside from the fact that I remain unimpressed by her acting.
You know, I don’t think that’s entirely fair. In each of those scenarios, fame is utilitarian and contingent. If she weren’t famous herself, she wouldn’t need the fame. You can’t really separate the two.
For example, you can say JLaw loves fame when it helps her show her boyfriend how over him she is. Okay. But her boyfriend is also famous, and travels a lot and is probably hard to get a hold of…so the press becomes a medium of communication. If she weren’t famous, she could go creep her ex down the street on his front porch. What I’m trying to say is that BEING famous causes you to NEED fame in certain scenarios. I don’t think that’s the same as actively seeking out fame while insisting you don’t like its inconvenience on the other. Ppl always act like a celebrity either needs to never complain about fame or pull a JD Salinger.
I do think she has what it takes to be around for the long haul. However, she is going to defend taking these roles of 40 year old moms because why would she shoot herself in the foot and say she’s too young? She’s an actress, she’s offered a part, she’s going to take it.
That being said. Yes, she’s too young for these roles.
To be honest, I’d probably end up Googling negative things about myself if I was in her shoes. Morbid curiosity, I guess?
Ditto. I’d be aware that it was stupid and I’d regret it … but I’d still end up doing it.
Me too! Who honestly wouldn’t?
Eh, she’s he’s muse. Age, looks, accent abilities etc. always stop mattering when a director has a muse.
It’s just the way it is. Directors get inspired by certain actors, and they create movies for them. Talking about casting a more appropriate actor is fairly pointless, because if the director couldn’t cast their muse, they wouldn’t be making that movie.
Instead of seeing it as though J-Law has taken a role away from an older actress, think about it in terms of her getting a film about a female entrepreneur made. David O Russell is only making this film to work with her again. If she wasn’t in it, there’d be no film for an older actress to be cast in anyway. Russell would be making another movie about a bunch of guys instead.
It is funny, though, how often the muses are gorgeous and under 25…
Always. The excuses are getting more and more ridiculous.
Sooo funny right?
Depp and Burton. DiCaprio/De Niro and Scorsese. Wahlberg and O Russell. Bill Murray/Jason Schwartzman and Wes Anderson. Spielberg and Hanks. Scott and Crowe. Pitt and Fincher. Ford and Wayne.
Katherine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Isabelle Huppert, Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Deitrich, Gena Rowlands, Bette Davis, Shelley Duvall, Frances McDormand, Julia Roberts, Angelica Huston…all these women have been muses, some in their youth, some well into their careers, some for the entirety of their careers. Almovodar has had two older female muses, Carmen Maura and Marisa Paredes.
It’s hardly the sole reserve of young pretty starlets.
heh. its clear she knows theres a strange situation afoot with hollywood and the depictions of womens’ ages. she addresses it & also the “google ugly” rather well. she’s trying to help the regular reader along to gain a sense of empathy with the constant internet judging. we may have all had an experience with a bit of facebook over-exposure. she thinks if her anonymous critical audience turn their imagination to her much larger critical audience & how it would feel to have even just a touch of that – that we may feel less inclined to be whiny, and judgy, or vicious, to the bait of any celebrity. its a good approach.
She isn’t palying a 40 year old mom. Joy isn’t a Mangano biopic (it has been already said on EW, Variety ets..). She is playing a 27 years old woman
I think she knows she’s too young, but she’s smart to take the roles while she can still get them. It’s cynical but financially smart.
What I’d love to see is when she finally ages out of these roles (by 33), she takes the power and money she’s accumulated and uses that to support female actresses in Hollywood, especially those are not young or conventionally beautiful.
She looks exactly like the actress in Bridget Jones. Not as endearing though, clearly.
she is starting to resemble Britney Spears, I just hope she doesnt go the same way. Bad hair, bad dress sense, bad skin, and prattling like a loon.
The irony is at 30 they’ll be saying she’s too old to play the 40 year old Mom. Oh the joys of Hollywood!
I hate that she is cast for these roles. It says everything about how women are viewed in our society. No one wants to look at a woman over 30. Even if they’re supposed to be 40. It’s a shame, because I think most women are at their most beautiful in their 30s and 40s. But all they want is young.
I completely agree with what you say here. It’s not fair of me, but just knowing that makes me angry at J. Law. I don’t blame her for getting it while the getting’s good but I also hope she realizes that she’ll be on the opposite end of this in another 5-10 years. Karma is a bitch.
As you guys may know, I really don’t like JLaw, I find her very annoying and extremely overrated as an actress, but I really don’t see how this is her fault. What is she supposed to do? Not take good roles that are offered to her? Openly complain about the director whose movie she is promoting?
@Franca I can’t see a reply button for her
Brie Larson and Elizbeth Olson are the same age as her and they find great roles where the characters are the young women, but they don’t get nominated for Oscars. Jennifer knows working with DOR will get her an Oscar.
There is nothing wrong with that but look at the postion she’s in she could get the roles that Elizabeth and Brie are playing but it’s easier to work with DOR.
@Franca-Um, did you mean to reply to me? You didn’t read my comment obviously if you said that I’m blaming her.
“I don’t blame her for getting it while the getting’s good but I also hope she realizes that she’ll be on the opposite end of this in another 5-10 years.”
I got that Kitten, but you also wrote karma is a bitch, and what I was saying was that it’s not her fault at all. If anyone should get bad karma it’s the directors and producers who cast these actresses, but that’s not gonna happen. Maybe I misundersttod you.
I didn’t mean to imply that it’s her fault. It’s Hollywood. But I also think she didn’t need to say that ageism is a “silly question.” I think it is a reflection of how much our society fears aging and death, and how we take that out on women to a far greater extent than men. She might not think it’s so silly in 10 years when she can’t get a job playing someone 10 years older than she really is.
@Kitten I get what you mean. What I think Franca was responding to was your anger towards Jlaw. That’s why she felt like you were putting blame on her. But I get it. I get incredibly annoyed with her for doing it. I figure she considers herself quite mature and adept at being able to handle the intricacies of what happens as you age. It annoys me about her, especially when she really doesn’t get it at all. Her commentary, her performances, everything about her shows a great lack of depth. It’s me, me, me night and day. She doesn’t seem to think of issues outside of herself, only the things that really affect her and will only give an issue thought once it affects her. Which is fine, most everyone does that. But she’s also 25 not a teenager.
I’m also trying to be fair because I get that interesting roles for women aren’t out there. What I’m puzzled by is why no one seemed to excuse Emma Stone for choosing to play a person of color, but we can’t criticize Jlaw because it’s not her fault. She’s at an even better place career wise than stone right? She can’ pick and choose her roles no?
Either way I’m still in agreement though that the blame lies on the producers, directors, writers, and casting directors for letting that happen so often. She and Stone are in between a rock and a hard place. They really can’t say much like that because it trashes their movie and performance. They have to promote. I feel for the situation they are in, but I’m still annoyed of her dismissal of it.
To add on to what Korra said, I wasn’t angry towards J Law for getting the roles, my frustration is with how dismissive she seemed towards what is a very prevalent problem in Hwood. I do think that she’ll be on the opposing end of this systemic issue in the future. So maybe “karma” isn’t the right word, but it doesn’t change the fact that she likely won’t be so blasé about it when young women are suddenly the ones getting the roles that she got in her twenties.
*shrugs*
She may be just a cog in that machine, but she still helps to make that machine work in her own small, indirect way.
No one wants to look at women under 30 who are not conventionally beautiful either. Even less after 30. It’s all about looks and the idea of what society says is beautiful. In Hollyweird looks trump talent in a major way, at least with women. A young actress who looks like Miles Teller would never have a career he has.
> young actress who looks like Miles Teller would never have a career he has
I agree with you point. However, I don’t get why people think he is ugly?
Many French men look just like Miles, and they are considered handsome over there.
Because compared to a lot of other guys in Hollywood, he’s not really that good-looking. He looks more like a regular guy you’d see on the street (albeit one who works out). That said, maybe his personality makes him look worse than he actually is.
I don’t really get why Lena Dunham is considered THAT ugly, but her personality probably makes things worse too.
I don’t think he’s ugly at all. His personality might be, but he’s not ugly. I rarely find guys like Chris Hemsworth attractive, they are so boring looking.
But my point was that, while Miles might not be conventionally attractive he gets to play the lead, the boyfriend, the hero, etc. Can anyone name an actress in her 20s who isn’t conventionally pretty and isn’t a comedian but gets to play leads?
I find Lena cute. I really like her face.
True, I’ll change it to they just want young and conventionally beautiful.
I couldn’t agree more.
She doesn’t care because she is benefitting from Hollywood’s ageism at the moment and because she is middle aged men’s wet dream and those run Hollywood and she seems really capable of dealing with them. That’s why they love her, she doesn’t challenge them but plays the dumb cool blonde girl. I’m not saying she is dumb(though she appears rather immature and uneducated) but she is totally playing with that harmless image men love. Reminds me of Britney Spears in the early stages of her career. Only difference JLaw isn’t as naive as Britney.
She keeps working with creeps, David O’Russell who she had a fight with on the set of Joy and Harvey Castingcouch Weinstein.
Totally agree!!!
@Kay the most “right on the money” comment about JLaw that I’ve read. She knows how to play the game to her extreme advantage. Good for her as long as she’s not stepping on people at the same time. She will become the other side of the coin in a few years and we’ll see how she handles it then.
She’s right though. I actually forget that J-Law is in her early twenties because she tends to play roles that are much older than her actual age. It’s kind of disturbing when you think about it because it portrays a totally unrealistic image of real women. Hollywood definitely has a sexism, ageism problem.
Next thing we know she will be considered too old to play 25 y.o. at 23 y.o.
Why is she taking those roles, do they offer more recognition because they are drama and serious and she wants to be a serious actress?
There aren’t that many serious movies about 20 y.o., most of those roles are action and romcom.
Kristen Stewart is doing fine, as far as I know she takes roles around her age range.
JLaw already has an Oscar, and people kiss her bum, I think she can find good roles for her age.
However, I realize that even if JLaw decided to go indie or whatever some other starlet will take her place.
Good point about Kristen. I like her. But didn’t she also signed up for one of silly Woody Allen movies with 30 years ago difference?
I still gag every time I remember Emma Stone and Colin Firth, it was gross. And I love both of them ! I am definitely not watching anything of Woody Allen’s after that. I just can’t get past the trauma )).
Kristen is playing opposite Jesse Eisenberg in the film as there are scenes of them making out.
While I mildly criticized Jen for calling it silly questions, I do feel she probably feels pressured into taking certain roles even though she’s one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. There was an older actress once, whose name I can’t recall, who discussed how turning down a role pissed of her agency. Women have to keep their talent agencies happy and not alienate important actors, producers, and directors…while men have to deal with 1/1000th of that sh*t and feel no compunction in turning down a role.
The people who keep ageism alive are the studios, directors, and producers and not the stars.
There is not much else she can saw. She keeps taking these roles. I think it could come back to bite her one day though. Personally I find it distracting. I didn’t like Silver Linings anyway, but I didn’t feel she fit the character’s backstory at all. But since she won an Oscar ( which she should have gotten for Winter’s Bone instead) people dismiss the age thing.
I felt the same way. She stuck out as a sore thumb in Silver Linings.
And she got an Oscar for it on top of everything! It is just wrong.
Yes Jessica Chastain was totally robbed that year. Her performance in Zero Dark Thirty was not only brilliant but age appropriate. Harvey Weinstein won that Oscar for Jennifer.
At least we got a nice pic of her hot bodyguard.
She is a mediocre whackjob
Wow, that’s particularly harsh and…familiar. Do you know her personally?. I’m guessing no.
It wouldn’t bother me if male actors in their 20s routinely played middle aged men but they don’t. I’m over this sexist double standard and I will NOT pay $$$$ for movies in which young women play characters they are way too young for and/or play a men’s old enough to be their granddad love interest.
Yeah, I’m tired of that as well. It’s both dumb and distracting – I avoid those films.
Where does she say she’s not too young to play a 40 year old mother of two? All I see in the quote is something about David (the director?) having visions…and she kind of just avoids saying anything that could be construed as offensive.
She’s getting roles for older women, but maybe her height helps out. I don’t remember girlish Winona Ryder or Natalie Portman ever playing older than their ages. I wouldn’t say Jennifer Lawrence is an anomaly, but I don’t know if everyone who is in their 20s can get the kinds of roles she does. You have to actually be able to pass for an adult, I think.
I think it’s ridiculous that she’s getting those roles – but why is all the vitriol directed at her? Producers come with succulent job offers that pay well and are award baity. She’s not stealing roles from older women, because older women were never offered those roles. Can you really blame her for taking them? She’s just thinking about the well being of her own career, and I don’t blame her. She didn’t pick herself for the role.
Exactly, if I were offered a job that I knew other people might be more suited for but my employer for some reason chose me, I would’t turn it down. As a matter of fact I didn’t. There are tons of people who would do our jobs better or be more qualified for them but still all of us are not turning the offers down. Get real people!
The the producers/ directors who are her are already well known douche bags ( like Russel) , and apparently it doesn’t hurt them any.
Another inconvenient truth is that audiences are trained to expect perfect and young faces on TV and in the movies, a fantasy. It is especially true now with all the editing and computer graphics and what is not. Even 20-30 years ago people looked more real in the movies. Now they all look like perfect aliens. People don’t want to watch 50 y.o. people playing 50 y.o. people, it depresses them. They want to see young people, which helps them to maintain the illusion of youth for themselves.
Seriously, when you look at what DiCaprio looks like in real life and what he looks like in the movies. you start to wonder what magic happened in between.
I like Jennifer but she is way overexposed. Between her two franchises and DOR films and Dior shilling, she’s constantly everywhere. Girl needs to go away for a year.
Now, like never before, women in Hollywood are being vocal about ageism and sexism in showbusiness. They try to fight it. And she comes up with something like this… “Silly questions”. She should really shut up sometimes. Or forever. But like always, princess of farts will get away with literally anything. I imagine what would happen if other actress said similar sh**.
I think the demographic of those who pay for every feature film that comes down the pipe are the millenials. They want beautiful and cool with special effects. JLAW personally ruined SLP anf American Hustle- her accent sucked in both her character was a high school cheerleader. I’ve never seen any of the sequel movies that just seem too young for my taste.
Casting age appropriatly lies with the director and producers. This critique should be labelled at David o Russell and the likes. It’s none of the actresses fault it’s a problem with the studios and directors.
And let’s face it, even if jlaw passed on the role it wouldn’t go to a 40 something actress, it would at the most go to someone in their late 20s or early 30s, Margot Robbie or someone like that.
@meme: Well, Jennifer Lawrence is actually very good at disappearing…she promotes what she needs to promote and then goes underground. The media will continue to write about her because anything related to Jennifer Lawrence will get clicks.
On another note, I have to laugh at Anne Hathaway and her passive aggressive dig at 24 year old actresses stealing parts from her (and if she was talking about Jennifer Lawrence, why not just say it) when Hathaway admits that she did the same thing at 24. Now, that Hathaway is being effected, she uses an interview to make an argument about ageism and more or less coming off like a hypocrite.
I also get the feeling that Hathaway really isn’t liked and that might also explain why she isn’t getting first choice at scripts.
Since when has likability affected male actors from getting good roles?
Give me a break, this is plain ols sexism and ageism.
JLaw is dissming correct critisicm of her repeatedly playing women who are 15-20 years older than her.
You go after Hathaway yet JLaw is doing the same and then will complain about it in 5 to 10 years.
@kay amen. The double standard people have for Lawrence astounds me. They will cry sexism at the top of their lungs for ANY slight against her and yet tear any other actress a new one for saying something that even SLIGHTLY offends. People want it both ways with lawrence. Or really they want it one way. Nonstop praise for everything she does including herself.
I don’t see her complaining at all about the excessive amounts of praise she gets. She gets that 100x over anything negative. She gets a pass for her complaints. KStew gets torn a new one and Hathaway gets told there’s MUCH more to her problem then her just getting older. Now she wants to complain fine, but then don’t treat her complaints as something special if you’re not doing the same for others. Don’t crap all over hathaway just because you dislike her then treat law with kid gloves because you relate and thinks she’s the coolest, most refreshing anti hathaway out there. Not cool.
10 years from now, 20 years from now. Jlaw will be sitting in an interview going on and on and on about how ageism affects her. That’s what happens as you age, you gain wisdom and experience.
@ Korra
PREACH!!
I totally agree she shouldn’t turn down roles, but DOR needs to expand his “stable” a bit- while in a theater waiting for another movie, a trailer for Joy ran, and once JLaw and BC appeared, someone yelled-“AGAIN?? NOOO-“- the audience cracked up. Doubt if they play love interests in this film, but just seeing them in the same scene? Talk about over-exposure.
Haha. I had the same reaction when I saw the trailer.
Jennifer, you’re fantastic. Pay zero attention to the naysayers and couch-judges. Just keep going, girl.
Too bad the industry isn’t flooded with actual 40+ year old talented actresses available to play this role. *side-eye*
The only way to solve this once and for all is not to blame actresses or even go after producers / directors . The thing that has ultimate power is money – don’t watch the movies with inappropriate casting, don’t watch the movies with directors/ producers that cast 20-30 years younger like Allen and Russell, and the problem will be solved.
Isn’t Jennifer playing Joy Mangano who began her career in her 20s as a young single mom? I don’t think shes being miscast there; Joy Mangano had kids pretty young and was married then divorced early on too so the film is ranging on pivotal moments in her life.
Also, Anne Hathaway was supposed to play Tiffany in Silver Linings with Vince Vaughan and ended up leaving to take the role in Le Mis. I think Ms. Anne needs a better agent or maybe broaden her range? Jessica Chastain hasn’t been on the Rader as long as Anne and has been consistently great and in at least 2 films per year. She’s older as are some pretty solid actresses today.
Didn’t Anne leave because of DOR? And it sure turned out well for Anne, who has range as an actress.
And personally in my opinion, if we’re talking overrated actresses Anne Hathaway is at the top of my list. I think there has been 2 movies ever where she didn’t grate on my last nerve.
Not someone like Paltrow? Who is also an Oscar winner?
I think there are many actresses worse than Anne.
I noticed people don’t like Anne and Natalie Portman, and I agree they are not good in everything, but they have their moments.
I am definitely of the late bloomer variety on my liking of JenLaw but now i can’t help it. I see people stretch really wide to nitpick issues with her – but as an actress, she’s great. And as a young coming of age woman i think she’s done better than expected. I have low expectations maybe? But dealing with it all – I’d say she’s aces. I think during Oscar season round 2 last year it was too far on the food/goofy talk but I always saw it as her way of diverting too much attn on serious conversations. Nervous energy. Now, i hope she just rides the wave. As for the issue with age, I’d agree with you if she was slighting older women actress (i’m assuming you think she’s stealing roles) – but if this part was made for her then I’d disagree. Jen plays 16yo – late 30 yo women. Same as young girls that get cast with 50yo men as their younger but not 20yo love interest. I think in Joy she ages over time so she’s playing from 20 to 40. She said I can play an older actress not she’s better than older actresses.
I like her, but she contributes to Hollywood’s ageism by defending these ridiculous roles. It’s not as if there aren’t some beautiful and wonderfully talented 40 year old women who could play that role.
+a million. She defends David O Russell, his nastiness, and ageism because it works for her. She gets money, fame and awards, so everything’s cool. She’s upholding the system because it serves her self-interest. Once the system stops doing that, she’ll probably complain about it like the rest of them. Then i bet she’ll give one of those it’s not FAIR (to me) interviews and pretend she cares about women in Hollywood or whatever. Only 5 years to go before she ages out. I don’t think she has the talent to be the next Streep either. Enjoy it while it lasts.
I wouldn’t mind if she is playing a forty year old for one or two scenes, they could do her hair and makeup to make her look at bit older. If she ‘s playing a 40 year old throughout the whole movie however, that would be pushing it.
I think she is refreshing and incredibly talented. I really don’t get the negativity towards her. Imagine how people would react if she foolishly turned down these roles and said that the director should hire an older actress! If someone doesn’t like her and has preconceived notions about her they won’t like anything she says.
I wonder if Joy was one of the roles that Anne Hathaway wanted but lost to a 24-year-old?
DOR pushed to get this film made so he could work with Lawrence again. He gave her options, she chose this. The role was always Lawrence’s, without her the film doesn’t get made at all.
So no, Hathaway wasn’t in contention.
I like jlaw, but that sucks. There is not a single good reason why they can’t get an actress in that actual age range. I guess the point is hot blonde cool girl so the men will buy tickets. Oh well. She will be on the other side of this in just a few years…..
If JLaw did not take the role they would have passed it on to the next 25yr old on that list . Sure her comments were a bit belittling of a grave issue but it is not like she is the cause . Absolutely adore her though . Get them paychecks girl ! And do not google yourself hun
Her being, like, 20, ruined Silver Lining for me. It just felt false.
Truthfully the only role that was out of her age range was AH. SLP was aged down for her. Joy is focused on her late 20s. She didn’t say she’s too young for the role, she said it’s something that the casting people (DOR in this case) don’t think about. Hopefully this is her last movie with him so she can work with different people.
Her upcoming roles are all in her age range as well I believe. At the end of the day her being cast or offered roles is not her fault. And it gives her body of work depth. If you want to complain go to the producers who make these movies.
That dress and those shoes are bad! Who is her stylist?? Like, for why did they choose this??
I really don’t get the problem with Lawrence’s casting here. Joy was 34 when she came up with the prototype for her mop, and things very quickly snowballed for her.
The film doesn’t seem to be hugely focused on her years shilling on QVC. It kind of seems like her big success is going to be pretty near the end of the film, and Joy was still just late 30’s at that point. The trailer shows a lot of her at college, getting married, working crappy jobs and being a mom to young children. Lawrence is actually older than Joy was for a lot of that. Part of Joy’s story is that she had ideas for inventions from her teen years and seeing other people successfully market things she’d also thought of spurred her on when she came up with the mop. If they show any of that, the film could be spanning something like 15-40 for Lawrence’s part. Casting a 25yr old is about right considering it’s a lot harder to make a 40yr old look like a teen than to make a 25yr old look like a 40yr old (keeping in mind Joy still looks pretty damn youthful for 59).
Lawrence is exactly the right age for what looks to be a huge chunk of the film and she’s not ridiculously young to be playing mid 30’s, not in a biopic, where playing various ages is generally a requirement.
> Lawrence is exactly the right age for what looks to be a huge chunk of the film and she’s not ridiculously young to be playing mid 30′s, not in a biopic, where playing various ages is generally a requirement.
Yes, she is ridiculously young when there are plenty of actresses in mid-30s competing for this same job and Lawrence with her baby face doesn’t look a day over 22 y.o.
I don’t think it necessarily makes sense for Lawrence to be playing 40 year olds. But when you consider that someone like Natalie Portman, who is a top A-list actress, but is 34 and isn’t really convincing as a fully grown adult, I guess I can see why a certain part might go to Lawrence. Winona Ryder is 40 something, and even now I can’t buy her as an adult. Even someone like Reese Witherspoon seems kind of girlish. That said, I realize there are other 30 somethings those roles could go to.
Sure she can. They age people in roles all the time. But couldn’t she hope that a 40yr old actress could get those type of parts?
But a mid-30’s actress would be playing well over a decade younger than she really is for a lot of the film.
What’s the difference? Either way whoever they cast was going to be the correct age for some of it and too old/young for the rest. As it is with 99% biopics.
The film is only being made now because DOR was looking for a project for Lawrence, and because Lawrence chose this one. Because of her, a film about a female enterprener was made. She didn’t cost a 30-something actress a job, she and DOR created this opportunity for themselves. This isn’t a situation where if Lawrence had passed Amy Adams or whomever would be in it instead, there just wouldn’t be a movie. So why not celebrate the fact that this film, a film about a woman’s life and achievements, is getting serious Oscar buzz (not just for the acting). That doesn’t happen nearly often enough without Streep’s involvement.
She was terribly miscast in American Hustle. She looked like she was playing dress up in her mother’s wardrobe and wigs throughout the movie. I did like her performance in SLP and thought she looked age appropriate in her role.
I will never get the Jennifer Lawrence hype , she’s bland as a pancake without maple syrup.
Reminds me of when Angelina Jolie played Colin Farrell’s mother in Troy. She was 29 and he was 28.
She comes off like stardom is hard despite her smiles it must be difficult having so much scrutiny,was indifferent to her before but I sympathise with her having so much pressure on your shoulders can be truly stressful.
Isn’t the real news that Jennifer is Reese Witherspoon’s superhero alter ego? I kid.
I really liked this interview with her she seemed honest and self aware. I feel like she is growing up and learning.
I don’t know if she should be playing 40 year olds, but she does seem more talented than Julia Roberts was at that age (24).
How about using a 40 year old actress? Why is that so far outside the realm of possibility?
The kind of flippant attitude Lawrence is voicing (sort of on David O. Russell’s behalf, it seems) is so obnoxiously disrespectful to those who are fighting to get important, substantive roles for women over 35. What’s worse, the whole situation feels like it’s only paying lip-service to the topic of conversation without actually hearing or trying to understand the arguments.
“See, Sally Q. Audience-Member?! Look what complicated, interesting, middle-aged women characters we’re including in these stories. I’m hearing you and I’m progressive…”
[aside, to casting director] “…but give the role to the f***able girl. I don’t want to actually LOOK at a woman that age….”
I don’t really fault Lawrence, though. She gets offered good roles. She takes them. Good on her. But the fact that so many people along the production pipeline prefer or insist on this kind of nonsense casting is what really gets under my skin.
I can’t wait until Jennifer Lawrence is 35.
Not only is she going to look a washed up hot mess but she’s going to have some other retarded young over rated actress on her heels saying this dumb s***.
I’ve heard a top (male) producer has private parties for male actors in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s and all the females there are underage. He contends that every man instinctively wants to give a “beautiful young girl her first time, before she’s tarnished, torn, and no longer tight.” Hollywood, the land of amorality.
That’s hardly a Hollywood thing. Women have been treated like sexual objects for most of civilized human history.
I agree. The problem with young people is that they are incredibly short sighted and don’t realize that time goes by very quickly. We all think at the age of 24 that we will look thin, hot, and attractive forever. Before you know it, you are 30, much wiser but not the hottest or fresh faced person vying for attention from the opposite sex. It happens to both men and women, but much faster for women. Jennifer Lawrence is probably at her prime right now, but I can honestly say that she isn’t special in terms of her looks. She is an attractive albeit very normal looking young blonde. I personally don’t think she will age that well. Once she has a few wrinkles or bags under her eyes and she realizes that she looks like someone who could play a mom even though a baby-faced 23-year-old was given the role instead of her, she will regret saying these words.
I have no idea why everybody is giving her so much grief for this. What the heck else do you expect her to say? Criticize the industry heads that are her bread and butter? Put herself in the line of fire when she’s at the height of her career? Her run with O’Russell did well for her professionally. What kind of idiot would she be to critique his casting choices when they’re benefitting her personally?
Actresses in the 35+ range can talk openly about the issue because they’re already losing the roles. Speaking out about the issue can’t hurt them at that point. Anne Hathway fully cops to taking advantage of it when she was J.Law’s age and having to learn to bite her tongue now because it would be hypocritical. In ten years, if J.Law’s bitching about not being cast because she’s too old for Hollywood, then we can sh*t on her lack of self-awareness. But for now? I’m fine with this. Accepting what comes her way is the only smart thing she can do.
Really, it’s the producers’ faults for casting her in those roles rather than hers, but she needs to stop playing roles meant for women 30+. She is part of the problem by auditioning for/accepting the roles and I will roll my eyes so hard if she ever makes so much as a peep about how there are no roles for women aged 35-50 in the future.
The “beautiful visions” David O Russell gets are called the CASTING COUCH. Everyone knows she got the part in SLP by banging David and probably Harvey Weinstein too. She’s such a fraud, Joan Rivers was the only one in the media to call her out.
@Fred84: Hi, AnnE!.
Seriously, enough of that misogynistic bullshit…it’s insane how much of that “pretzel logic” is used to rationalize the talent and success of a young actress.
Enough already, it’s tiresome, useless and played out.
Girl, that dress does NOT fit. And if you’re going to play older, why not go the full 90? I believe putting yourself in those shoes is easier than attempting to figure out how you’ll see things 15 years from now.