Jennifer Lawrence vs. Jessica Chastain.

Jennifer is real, relatable, beloved by her peers, can open a blockbuster yet choses amazing side projects like SLP. Doesn't take herself too seriously as has 2 Oscar noms under her belt at age 22. Jessica came out of nowhere last year with roles in Tree of Life and The Help. It's well documented she's lied about her age. Her speech was insufferable..."I've worked years and years and did all I could to get here" while she was in the same category as Naomi Watts who really did work for nearly 20 years to get the recognition she has now. Go Jen!

• Well Chastain did probably work for years and years what with 4 years of Juilliard and 10+ years of looking for work and tiny roles plus Chastain is the actual lead and not a glorified supporting role.

• Jennifer Lawrence is young enough that she'll get more chances at an Oscar. I want to see an older actress win it.

• Chastain was awesome in ZDT. I haven't seen SLP yet, so this thread should be put on hold until I am ready to comment further.

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• Emmanuelle Riva is the clear winner of that match. Runner-up: Naomi Watts. J & J don't deserve the Oscar this year. End of story.

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• Jennifer Lawrence is funny and sad and angry and heartbroken without a single false note in SLP. It's an amazing comic/dramatic performance. It's also a throwback to the great work of someone like Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment or Diane Keaton in Annie Hall. Chastain plays two notes in her film: pensive and frustrated. And her hair is distracting. Lawrence for the win. It's the far more full-bodied performance. Chastain is a little too charisma-free in ZD30. Jennifer Ehle did more with less in the supporting role of the other agent.

• Chastain says that, like jodies, she likes to keep her privacy for being typecast. What?

• I'm out of the loop. What are SLP and ZDT?

• Jennifer Lawrence's Dad isn't Ron Howard.

• R7 Zero Dark Thirty and a movie that is m'eh but everyone's jumped on its bandwagon called Silver Linings Playbook.

• Well said, R5. I feel like any competent actress could have played that role in Zero Dark Thirty.

• [quote]Chastain says that, like jodies, she likes to keep her privacy for being typecast. What? Chastain needs to "come out" about Ron Howard being her dad. That's what bugs me about her, and she looks exactly like Bryce Dallas Howard...her sister!

• Jessica Chastain should have won for "The Help" but not for "Zero Dark Thirty". Jessica didn't really do anything amazing in that film. Jennifer Lawrence had a more difficult role to play.

• R11 The whole time she was accepting her GG, I kept thinking, wouldn't it be great if she pulled a Foster and said, "now for the other elephant in the room..." And made the announcement.

• I haven't seen ZDT so don't know on Jessica, but SLP was a good film, although over-rated. Cooper was surprisingly good and better than Lawrence, IMO, although most of the talk seems to be about her, so maybe I'm wrong. I have no idea why DeNiro and the woman who plays Cooper's mom were nominated though. Leo DiCaprio deserved a supporting nom for Django Unchained way more than DeNiro (and why is Christoph Waltz a supporting performance when he's in the majority of a nearly 3 hours movie?).

• R14 I think SLP was way overrated and I don't really like Lawrence, and dont think her performance was all that difficult... but I liked her performance way better than Cooper. He basically just shouted his way through the entire movie.

• Jennifer Lawrence I totally would have given Chastain the Oscar for The Help but ZDT just isn't a role that required much. Jennifer Lawrence was fantastic and batshit crazy in SLP, and it was completely different than any of her other roles. Plus I just like Lawrence better. She's self-deprecating, a homebody, and has no trace of an ego. Chastain seems cold and mannered. Which isn't an insult, but just makes it harder for me to relate. The REAL race should be between Lawrence and Riva.

• Quvenzhane Wallis is going to pull an Anna Paquin and stun all the older ladies in the Best Actress race at the Oscars.

• Do you think Ron Howard feels hurt that his daughter refuses to publicly acknowledge him? Or is he in on it too, figuring it's better for her career and credibility? Either way, it makes me think less of her. At least her sister Bryce didn't hide her lineage.

• I just read the profile on Jennifer Lawrence in Vanity Fair. I love her. Hope all of this early success doesn't ruin her personality and outlook on life.

• R18 Are you kidding? It seems more likely that Howard, either Ron or his dad, denied any responsibility for Jessica. That's probably why she's so cold.

• When did that Ron Howard rumor start? Is there any proof?

• I'm glad they showed photos. I confuse Jennifer Lawrence with Jennifer Hudson all the time.

• According to imdb, Ron married his wife Cheryl in 1975. Jessica Chastain was born in 1977. Back then, I think America would never forgive Opie/Richie Cunningham for cheating on his new bride and getting another woman pregnant.

• Right. Jennifer Larence smugly disses Meryl Streep, and is so full of herself that you just want her to shut up. Chastain is a serious and terrific actress. In "Zero Dark.." she was great. Also, in The Heiress on Broadway. No comparison.

• According to this article Jessica's original last name was Howard before she changed it to Chastain.

  http%3A//www.nextmovie.com/blog/jessica-chastain-bryce-dallas-howard-lookalikes/

• R25 Yes, we know that. That's why it just adds more fuel to the speculation.

• I hope Lawrence doesn't win at 22, that's so young it'd be setting her up for a too-much-too-soon fall. Or for having her career peak at 22, which would be too sad for words. She seems like such a likeable girl, I wouldn't wish any of that on her.

• To me she's either closeted or asexual. For the last few months, lost od boyfriend gossips have appeared. The timing is revealing. To me it's all PR.

• r28, which actress are you talking about?

• Enough with the Ron Howard nonsense. I realize Chastain looks a bit like Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron's actual actress daughter), but come on. From Chastain's IMDB page: One of five children of a fireman father and a vegan-chef mother with a food truck. Jessica was the first member of her family to attend college.

• R30 Yes, because everything on IMDB is true. Including her "age" which was then found to be false.

• How old is she then, r24?

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• "Chastain is a serious and terrific actress. In "Zero Dark.." she was great. Also, in The Heiress on Broadway." She was dreadful in THE HEIRESS. Shockingly bad. Cherry Jones mopped the floor with her. That said, Chastain was very good in THE HELP, TAKE SHELTER, and THE TREE OF LIFE. Her role in ZERO DARK THIRTY was fairly 2-dimensional, though some will say that's a reflection on the kind of person the character is. She was good and focused, but I found Jennifer Ehle (as a fellow agent) more interesting.

• Jennifer Lawrence seems fun and likable (but I hear she did have two helpings of the entree at the Golden Globes dinner)

• cosign with r33. Ehle was charismatic and interesting in a small part. I barely remember the name of Chastain's character.

• Lawrence's attempt to be cute backfired. Fortunately, the nominations were already out before the awards. She could have easily been another Sally Hawkins.

• [quote]Jennifer is... relatable, That's not a real word.

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• Jessica Chastain is a decrepit old hag!

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• [quote]Right. Jennifer Larence smugly disses Meryl Streep, and is so full of herself that you just want her to shut up. Would you stop already? That was meant as a joke. You should be more pissed off at Jessica Chastain for not acknowledging Ron Howard as her father.

• Wallis will win. There won't be a black winner in the other three acting categories and these days at least one black has to win.

• [quote]Enough with the Ron Howard nonsense. I realize Chastain looks a bit like Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron's actual actress daughter), but come on. A bit? They look identical, tell me that's not an accident.

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• I WAS R-R-R-RAPED!!!

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• Gotta agree with The Streep Troll on this one. It's astonishing, frustrating and depressing that the Oscar race is between Jennifer Lawrence (a likable actress who is moderately good in SLP) and Jessica Chastain (a non-entity who is woefully miscast in the generic ZD30). It's shameful that these bland performances are considered more likely to win than the towering performances of Emmanuelle Riva and Naomi Watts; it's thoroughly criminal that the extraordinary performances of Marion Cotillard, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams were snubbed for Lawrence, Chastain and Quebooboo. Worst Best Actress Race Ever.

• I'm kind of hoping Naomi Watts will pull a surpise, like when Jessica Lange won for the tiny film "Blue Sky". I mean, the Academy still owes her one for "Mulholland Drive", maybe that'll get her some votes in a race with such weak front-runners.

• I don;t remember Jessica Lange being surprise that year--it was a weak field, and it seemed to me at the time everyone predicted she'd win because she was due a Best Actress award (and should have won for "Country" or for "Swwet Dreams" a few years back). Naomi Watts is certainly due one, and again it's a weak field. Emmanuelle Riva gave the best female performance of the year, IMO, but it's very rare for people to win acting prizes for foreign films unless the rest of the field was weak. I thought Chastain's role was too small and uninteresting for her to win (though I agree she did a lot with a two-dimensional part), and to me jennifer Lawrence was just channeling Renee Zellweger in JERRY MAGUIRE--she wasn;'t interesting to me at all. And I don;t think childrens hould win for these prizes--a six year-old is not 'acting" the way adults do it. So I'd be happy with a career win for Watts or a win for Riva.

• Naomi Watts goes around screaming and bleeding during the first half and during the second is bound to a bed with an oxigen mask. That is not a "towering performance". The kid is the only lead in the film. Cotillard was robbed. People here are quick to dismiss Lawrence and Chastain just because they have no "GIMME AN OSCAR!!" scene like "I Dreamed a Dream", they are not playing a historical character or someone with a physical disability or because they don't go around hamming it up like Sally Field or Jessica Lange (Blue Sky is a POS and her win was ridiculous), so they call them "non-entities" or "bland". They gave two of the best performances of the year and most of the critics agreed.

• [quote]and most of the critics agreed I see someone does not have much faith in his own opinions.

• No, bitch r47, just stating the facts because some of you act like it was a surprised that the race came down to these two, when they've been getting praise since the beginning.

• *surprise

• R45 Well, it may be rare that a foreign actor/actress wins... but Marion did it in 2007 and that was by no means a weak field. So did Robert Benigni and again, it wasn't considered a weak field. So, Riva has three things going for her... people readily admit she gave one of the strongest performances, Voters might just throw their vote her way thinking that Lawrence or Chastain have it in the bag... and she's old. Fingers crossed.

• Watts is amazing in The Impossible because it's both a tremendously physically demanding role and her character goes through hell and back. She portrays that with respectful subtlety. It's a glorious performance in a magnificent film. The winner better be Watts or Riva or the Academy will be a laughing stock.

• JL was great in SLP, but I think that she plays the same role - the plucky young underdog that takes on the big adults. She great at this, very charismatic, but she hasn't really shown a huge range. JC was great in ZDT. The character doesn't have much dimension, but she was compelling and pretty scary.

• Barbara Lawrence!?

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• R37. Bless you--I've been campaigning against that word for years.

• I liked Jessica in ZD30. I thought she played the right balance between obssessive and competent. I especially loved her final scene. I also think Kathryn Bigelow did a good job directing. I don't think Jennifer did a single damned thing to deserve an Oscar except hook up with Harvey and David O Russell. I don't want Jennifer to win because I can't stand either guy, and I won't be able to listen to her thank them. Especially Russell who is a pig as far as I'm concerned. There are few people in H'wood nastier than David O Russell. If the final outcome at the Oscars is Jessica Chastain, Daniel day lewis, Alan Arkin and Sally Field I will be fine. Put it another way. I don't want Jennifer or Bradley Cooper, or Anne Hathaway to win. Ugh.

• R55 Totally agree.

• ZDT was great, as was Chastain. Silverlining was good, but overhyped. Jennifer Lawrence was good but nothing to write home about. The Oscar should definitely go to Chastain.

• I haven't seen either of the films so here's my uninformed and shallow opinion; Jennifer Lawrence seems full of herself and looks a bit like Rene Zellweger. Another vote for Chastain.

• why do you queens always insist on pitting women against each other? There is enough room for more than one actress to be successful. Stop acting like you know where they've been, who they are, how deserving they are or are not. Stop insisting that people choose between one or the other. Go wash your asshole and get rid of that nasty gay face.

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• I loved Shilver Linings!

  Liza

• Me too, Iiza!

• I haven't seen either film yet, but I'll say this...a friend of mine worked on The Help and said JC was super nice. She was friendly and real with everyone and spent a lot of time talking with the extras. I like JL a lot but friends who have seen SLP say ther performance isn't really Oscar worthy. Little Q. Wallis was great and I'm thrilled she was nominated, but again, not worthy of a win.

• How old is Chastain? She looks really old. I don't plan on watching that torture porn film she stars in anytime soon.

• "How old is Chastain? She looks really old." She doesn't look "really old", you moron. Lawrence was good in SLP but too young for the part.

• Riva should win. My hunch is that Watts will win since Chastain will split the vote with Lawrence. Lawrence is good but not great. The love for her is just odd--very odd.

  ranger

• Part of why people love Jennifer Lawrence is because she has a very tiny, tiny waist. Such a tiny waist is an ideal body characteristic to men who find it ultra-alluring. And women covet and envy her tiny waist.

• [quote]Right. Jennifer Larence smugly disses Meryl Streep, and is so full of herself that you just want her to shut up. It wasn't a diss, you twit. The line is from The First Wives Club. Bette Midler picks up an award on Goldie Hawn's apartment and it says something like "I Beat Meryl Streep". Please turn in your GAY card on the way out the door.

• David O Russell gossip please!