…and then there was one. With Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Andrea Riseborough, Olivia Wilde and Jennifer Lawrence all vying and testing for the coveted female lead role in David O. Russell‘s “The Silver Linings Playbook,” one name has risen above the others. Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence seems to have impressed the director where the others have failed, taking the frontrunner position according to Deadline.
We were definitely bummed when the “Winter’s Bone” star bailed on Oliver Stone‘s “Savages” to make way for “The Hunger Games,” but this finds the actress back into meatier territory after her recent vacations in tentpole land. The plot involves Pat Peoples (to be played by Mark Wahlberg), a former high school teacher who, after being released from a four-year stint in a mental institution, moves back in with his mother; he then seeks to remake himself, finding the titular silver linings in his life. The role that Lawrence will take is that of a depressed neighbour, who after the death of her husband, goes on wild sexual spree, loses her job and eventually becomes friends with and a love interest for Pat.
Of course, Lawrence is currently very busy shooting “The Hunger Games” in the lead role of Katniss Everdeen, but should the contracts get signed, sealed and delivered, she will transition straight to Russell’s film which is gearing up for a fall shoot. It’s certainly a rock solid casting choice for Russell, who could really have chosen anybody he wanted, and for Lawrence, another smart move by the actress who is quickly diversifying her IMDb page.
