Articles about Jennifer Lawrence
'Winter's Bone' star Jennifer Lawrence, only 19, shy about her Oscar buzz
This article originally appeared at: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/...
Written by: Victoria Ahearn on June 15th, 2010
TORONTO - The year is not even half over but the film world is already buzzing about potential Oscar love for the gritty mountain drama "Winter's Bone" and its young breakout star, Jennifer Lawrence.
But the Kentucky native is reticent to discuss the big "O" word.
"I can't think about it," said Lawrence, 19, in a recent interview, letting out a nervous laugh and squirming on a couch in her hotel room.
"It's just, it's weird. It's an honour, it really is an honour, but it's just like, that's just too much to think about. Sorry. That's such a weird reaction ... It's just like, bizarre. An honour, but it's like one of those things I just can't think about."
It's perhaps understandable why Lawrence is tongue-tied on the matter. After all, she didn't expect all this attention when she signed on to the film, she said, noting the budget was "very, very small."
"I think I've actually lost money doing this movie," she said jokingly.
"Nobody doing that movie did it for the money, for the fame, for any other reason than passion for the film."
In "Winter's Bone" — which opens in Toronto on Friday and hits screens in Vancouver and Montreal a week later —Lawrence plays Ree Dolly, a downtrodden yet determined teen who cares for her mentally challenged mother and two younger siblings in their ramshackle home in Missouri's Ozark Mountains. When her convict father puts their house up for his bail bond, Ree must find him so the sheriff won't evict them.
The 17-year-old faces constant roadblocks, both from relatives (John Hawkes masterfully plays her hardened uncle) and unbending locals who have a code of silence on mountain matters. Then there's the drug and alcohol abuse that's rampant in the impoverished area.
The film — which won a Grand Jury Prize and a screenwriting award at the Sundance Film Festival — is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell and is directed by Debra Granik ("Down to the Bone"), who also co-wrote the screenplay.
Lawrence says her mother read the book five years before she saw the script and made a prophetic statement: "She said I'd be perfect for it if they ever made it."
"She just sees me as stubborn and maternal and competitive, which are (Ree's) three biggest traits," added the rising talent, who made the New York Times "Nifty 50" list earlier this year.
That competitive side jumped into action years later when Lawrence saw the script for "Winter's Bone" and went through what she calls "very drastic" and "crazy" measures to secure the role of Ree.
"I auditioned and then I flew to New York on a red-eye and forced Debra to hire me, like a psycho," said Lawrence, who's been acting since age 14 and won a best young actress award at the Venice Film Festival for her role in 2008's "The Burning Plain."
"I just thought it was the best female role I've ever read and I loved the script and I loved her and I just felt like I had to have it."
Lawrence learned how to use guns, chop wood and skin a squirrel to play Ree (yes, there's a scene involving a real skinned critter). She also got her teeth yellowed.
"It was like nail polish kind of stuff," the tall, blue-eyed blond said of the product used on her teeth. "But then I couldn't eat, which sucks, because that's, like, all I ever want to do."
Filming took place in the Ozarks in the real homes of area residents. Several cast members are also non-actors from the area, including Ashlee Thompson, who plays Ree's young sister.
"Ashley, the little girl, wasn't even supposed to be in the movie," said Lawrence, whose upcoming projects include the film "The Beaver," directed by and starring Jodie Foster.
"She lived in the house that we shot in and we naturally became close so we thought, 'Why would we try to cast this?'"
