At the moment, Jennifer Lawrence - Academy Award nominee, comic-book-movie star and the current unofficially anointed It Girl - canbarely catch her breath long enough to have a conversation.
During a recent telephone call with Lawrence - who received herfirst Oscar nomination this year for her portrayal of a steely teenin "Winter's Bone" and will be seen Friday in her first summerblockbuster, "X-Men: First Class" - the actress is all over theplace. Literally. The 20-year-old begins chatting in a dressing roombackstage at "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," then heads into aparking garage where her cellphone briefly loses reception, thenresumes a few minutes later as she rides to her next destination.
Movie stardom apparently requires multitasking. And this is onlythe beginning.
After her turn as young shape-shifter Mystique (non-mutant name:Raven Darkholme) in "X-Men: First Class," Lawrence will star in herbuzziest role to date: as teen warrior Katniss Everdeen in theadaptation of the popular post-apocalyptic young-adult book series"The Hunger Games," a role that has made her the subject of intenseInternet chatter and landed her on the cover of EntertainmentWeekly. (The film began shooting last week in Wilmington, N.C.)
So how has success affected the Louisville native? Given heroften refreshingly unpretentious answers to a reporter's questions,not a whole lot.
Q: Was it strange to go from doing movies like "Winter's Bone" toan "X-Men" flick? Or is there ultimately little difference betweenmaking an indie vs. a comic-book film?
Lawrence: It's all filmmaking. The behind-the-scenes is alwaysdifferent: You have a bigger trailer, there's better food. Thingslike that. I still do the movies for the same reasons. I still lovethe script, I love the director, I love the character and the otheractors involved. So all of the reasons why I was there, they wereall the same.
It's kind of like camping versus going to a resort. They're bothfun, they're just different kinds of fun.
Q: James McAvoy co-stars in "X-Men," and strikes me as someonewho has gone through a similar transition, having appeared in filmslike "Atonement," as well as comic-book movies like this one and"Wanted." Did you seek career advice from him?
Lawrence: No, I think we kind of mostly just joked around andmessed up takes and made fart noises.
Q: I am sure your Oscar experience was a bit of a blur, but doyou have one or two moments that stand out in your memory from thatnight?
Lawrence: I was really excited because Florence and the Machinewas playing. I really remember that performance really well. It wasgreat. I loved being able to sit next to my dad. We just keptlooking at each other like, "I can't believe this is happening."
Q: Have you started to process what's changed in your life in thepast year or two?
Lawrence: I'm still really focused on the work, to be honest. Ipay attention to me being busier. But I don't think of it as "Oh myGod, now I am on all these talk shows." It's just kind of like,work. And then I'm still reading scripts and trying to figure outthe next thing. And when I'm on set, I'm just thinking about thescript and of working.
Q: You've been praised in the media for seeming grounded. Do youfeel like you're more grounded than other people you encounter inHollywood?
Lawrence: I think I run into grounded people all the time. Aslong as you remember what you're here for - you're here for thework, you're here to make a film.
I was talking about it the other day, how there seems to be somevery bizarre habit where as soon as you become big and famous, youthink that you don't have to work anymore. And it's just such aweird trend that I'm starting to see. But I run into grounded peopleall the time. Given, most of them are behind the camera. But Idefinitely by no means think I'm the only one.
Q: There is so much Internet chatter and interest in "The HungerGames." Do you feel prepared for all the added attention?
Lawrence: I don't think there really is a way to prepare, I justthink there is a way to accept it. It's kind of scary, to be honest.I love the movie and I love the books, and I didn't want to justturn away because I was scared [of the scrutiny].
Q: Given your schedule, do you ever have time to relax? If so,what do you do?
Lawrence: Not right now. I just kind of do what I just did, whichis just canceled my flight I was supposed to be rushing to right nowso I could just have a full night's sleep here and then go to worktomorrow.
I don't have full days of rest, no.
No comments:
Post a Comment