One of the delights of last year’s Oscar season was seeing Jacki Weaver receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her chilling, controlled portrayal in David Michod‘s exceptional Aussie crime drama, Animal Kingdom. Though her work in that film was strong enough to never flirt with caricature, it was still showy enough to catch the eye of enough Oscar voters and, since then, has also proven useful in lining up Weaver with potential Hollywood projects.
She’s already been cast in two forthcoming productions — Nicholas Stoller‘s (Get Him to the Greek) The Five-Year Engagement and Chan-wook Park‘s (Oldboy) Stoker — and word has it that she’s in talks for a part in a third notable project: David O. Russell‘s (The Fighter) adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel The Silver Linings Playbook. [THR]
If Weaver does indeed enter the cast, she’d be joining a crew of collaborators that already includes Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro. Weaver would be playing the mother of Cooper‘s “former high school teacher who is institutionalized for depression and is released from a health facility determined to find the silver linings in his life.” Along the way, “he tries to win back his ex-wife but becomes involved with an eccentric neighbor (Lawrence) with problems of her own.”
This would be, to say the least, a tremendous opportunity for Weaver. Not only would it allow her talents to be seen by larger audiences but, considering Russell‘s current place in the industry, this is something that could also return her name to Oscar contention. For my money, this is project that Weaver just can’t pass on, and hopefully we’ll get some confirmation from her representatives soon enough.
What do you think of Weaver’s upcoming slate? Is there any way she can turn this offer down?