Editors’ Note: This article was published in November 2012. But because Google Adsense’s bots keep seeing the word ‘meat’ in the headline, they regard it as Shocking Content. So today, July 11, 2019, almost 7 years later, I’ve retitled it and recoded it. The AdSense bot must be a vegan.
by Paula Schwartz, Special for Showbiz411.com — “Silver Linings Playbook,” like David O. Russell’s last film, “The Fighter,” which was nominated for seven Academy Awards (with wins for Melissa Leo and Christian Bale), should do at least as well this Oscar season, with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence shoo-ins in the best acting category. De Niro should also get a supporting actor nod; Cooper, who plays Pat Solatano Jr., a man who is bipolar, and De Niro, who plays his father, Pat Sr., who has gambling problems, have a poignant scene where tears spring unexpectedly from De Niro’s eyes, the kind of scene the Academy loves.
The romantic drama about two people with mental health issues already won the People’s Choice Award at Toronto.
At the Regency Hotel in Manhattan today, director and stars of the film Jacki Weaver, Robert De Niro (who was more talkative than we’ve ever seen him), Cooper, and Chris Tucker participated in a press conference. (Lawrence, who was in New York last night for a special screening, was unavailable since she had to fly back to the film set for the next installment of “The Hunger Games.”)
Eagle-eyed audience members are sure to notice one scene between Lawrence and Cooper where there is a movie marquee that says “Midnight Train.” When asked about it, before Cooper could reply, Russell said it referred to one of Cooper’s films, “one of his most distinguished works.”
Before shooting Russell asked Cooper what he wanted on the marquee. As a joke Cooper said it should have the title of his 2008 horror film, “The Midnight Meat Train,” adaped from a book by Clive Barker. “I’m very proud of that movie,” Cooper said.
“When I show up on the set, ‘Midnight Train'” was on the marquee, and “the poster was in the entrance way,” Cooper said.
Asked whether fellow castmembers knew what it was and if they had seen the film, Cooper laughed that might be difficult, since, he said, “I own all the copies.”
There are also some nifty dance scenes in “Silver Linings Playbook” between Lawrence and Cooper. When asked if dancing came natural to him or he had to work at it, Cooper replied, “Are you making fun of me? I can’t tell.” Russell interjected that Cooper and Lawrence found “a natural groove.”
Lawrence did the “lion’s share” of the dancing, Cooper said, since he had to be on set every day and didn’t have as much time to rehearse the dance moves, choreographed by two-time Emmy nominee Mandy Moore.
“I actually do dance,” Cooper said, “I do, but I can’t tell if I’m one of those delusional dancers,” who just think they can dance, “but then Pat is not a great dancer so it’s a good thing.”
Last week, Tamara Tunie, who’s played the long time medical examiner on “Law & Order SVU,” made her singing debut at Feinstein’s at the Regency. Tunie is also well known for her 20 years on and off on “As the World Turns.” She’s currently featured prominently with Denzel Washington in “Flight.” Tunie’s husband, Gregory Generet, is a well known and beloved crooner. No one really knew Tamara was a warbler, too, but it turns out she a long history with musical theater, knew Cy Coleman, loves Sondheim, and knows her way around a jazz ensemble. Full throated with an Anita Baker-esque range, Tunie wowed the crowd for two shows. Among her fans: Diana Ross and Berry Gordy’s singer daughter Rhonda; upcoming “Motown” musical star Marva Hicks (she’s going to play Berry G’s sister Estelle); and Gretchen Cryer, mother of Jon, and the great star of the legendary “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it On the Road.”
Rupert Murdoch 
Robin is the funniest man on the planet, and he had no trouble proving it with Steinberg. A little restrained from his normal wildness, Robin goes at it with Steinberg for 90 hilarious minutes. They covered all of Robin’s career, his rehab and addictions, and no topic was off limits. There’s no script, either. Robin told me later: “We know where we’re going, but that’s it. Nothing is written down. It’s just an outline.” Every so often this subtly directed exercise gives Robin a break and Steinberg– who was once a regular with Johnny Carson and now directs “Curb Your Enthusiasm”–gets to tell a couple of stories. Each was great. There’s almost no way to summarize what Williams does. I just hope they film this thing and show it somewhere soon, like PBS…
