Bradley Cooper Jennifer Lawrence Serena P 2015
Evan Agostini/Invision/APThough Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper finished shooting Serena well over two years ago, the oft-collaborators put on their freshest smiles to promote the troubled romantic drama Saturday night in New York City.
“Any male role is going to make me think of Bradley because in my opinion, he’s the best, and I love working with him,” Lawrence told reporters before the Landmark Sunshine Cinema screening, presented by The Cinema Society and Dior Beauty. When asked if they’re each other’s “work husband and wife,” they nodded, yet Lawrence clarified to the reporter, “No sex — I know what you’re thinking!”
Directed by Susanne Bier and adapted from Ron Rash‘s 2008 best-seller, the Magnolia Pictures release follows two newlyweds in Depression-era North Carolina who strive to succeed in the timber industry. It was shot between Lawrence’s and Cooper’s acclaimed David O. Russell collaborations Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.
“I respect her so much as an actor, I think that she’s the best there is,” Cooper noted of Lawrence. “I just learn from her, and you always want to work with people who are better than you.” They both thanked Russell for their working relationship, onscreen and off, since they never argue. “Never about where to go to dinner,” said Lawrence. “We’re both the two biggest eaters in Hollywood!”
The title was released via VOD three weeks before its theatrical release. In discussing the strategy, producer and Magnolia co-owner Todd Wagner quoted Steven Soderbergh‘s words when they released Bubble in 2005: ” ‘I’m not so precious as to worry about how you watch my movie — whether it’s on a small screen or a big screen, I just want you to watch it.’ It’s the way the world is gonna be.”
After the screening, guests including Patricia Clarkson, Victor Garber, Kelsey Grammer, Jeremy Piven and Grace Coddington enjoyed tomato soup, sashimi bites, burgers and Belvedere cocktails at the Top of the Standard.
