JOY is David O’Russell’s loose biopic about the unlikely rags-to-riches tale of Joy Mangano, the woman who invented the Miracle Mop, Huggable Hangers and several other handy products that millions of households contain. The film reunites Russell with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro – all of whom starred in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and AMERICAN HUSTLE – and it’s the kind of uplifting, against-the-odds success story the director is now known for.
The press junket for JOY was recently held in New York, and I had the opportunity to chat with Russell, Lawrence, and a large portion of the cast. There are several interviews to check out, so let’s get to it!
Naturally, Jennifer Lawrence has to kick things off. The actress, who won an Oscar for her work in Russell’s SILVER LININGS, embodies the can-do spirit and perseverance that made Joy such a force to be reckoned with; the casting probably couldn’t be more perfect. Here we talk about her process of getting into Joy’s head, working with Russell for the third time and what her personal favorite invention is.
David O. Russell has become a natural at telling relatable, human stories with tremendous energy, populating his stories with colorful characters played by A-list stars. JOY is his latest film with Jennifer Lawrence, and the two are becoming an imposing director-actor combination. I spoke to Russell about directing Lawrence and working with the real Joy Mangano in bringing her story to the big screen.
Robert De Niro and Edgar Ramirez play unlikely roommates in JOY; the former is Joy’s old dog of a father who moves in with her, while Ramirez plays her ex-husband… who still lives in her basement. Brought together, the two are caustic companions, but off-screen there’s obviously a great respect shared between the two. (Doesn’t hurt that this is their second film together; HANDS OF STONE comes out in 2016.) In the below video we speak about their amicable relationship (specifically Edgar’s thoughts on working with Robert) and De Niro’s reflections on working with Lawrence, Russell and Cooper once again.
Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini and Virginia Madsen gave me the most enjoyable joint interview of the day. The three veteran actresses were fully on their game during a thoroughly sweet and inspiring interview that didn’t cover the film as much as it did some major life lessons. I could have talked to these three lovely ladies for another hour, I’d probably be a better man for it!
The characters played by Elizabeth Rohm and Dascha Polanco couldn’t be more different, in terms of their relationship to Joy. Rohm portrays Joy’s half-sister Peggy, who’s bitter and resentful about Joy’s success and appears – at first glance – to be intent on foiling her ascension to legitimate businesswoman. Meanwhile, Polanco is Jackie, Joy’s lifelong friend who stands by her side no matter what. I spoke to the actresses about their polar opposite roles and the message they hope the film conveys.