Jennifer Lawrence: Decision to accept 'Silver Linings' role was a 'no-brainer'

TORONTO, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Actress Jennifer Lawrence says the decision to star in the Philadelphia-set dramedy "Silver Linings Playbook" was a no-brainer.

The 22-year-old Kentucky native credited the talent of the people involved and the film's well-crafted screenplay for initially attracting her attention.

Her instincts proved excellent.

She earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tiffany, a troubled young widow who befriends Bradley Cooper's former psychiatric hospital patient Pat, in the film, which is a current nominee for the Best Picture Oscar.

Cooper is up for Best Actor, while Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver -- who play Pat's loving, but frustrated parents -- are in contention for Best Supporting Actor and Actress.

David O. Russell is nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for his big-screen version of Matthew Quick's novel, which began generating Oscar buzz at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.

Asked at a festival press conference how she picks what projects to do when she is not working on "The Hunger Games" franchise, Lawrence told reporters, "Fortunately, there aren't that many amazing scripts out there, so it hasn't really been too difficult.

"When you find a script like ['Silver Linings'] and an opportunity to work with these people and this director, it's a no-brainer. There's no real difficult 'Should-I-do- it? Should-I-not-do-it?' There aren't that many incredible scripts like this to choose from, so that makes it easy," said the actress, who earned critical acclaim for her work in the independent films "The Burning Plain" and "Winter's Bone" before winning the coveted role of Katniss in the "Hunger Games" trilogy.

"I don't really feel that much pressure because either way I'm going to get paid whether I find a good or a bad one," she quipped. "I've always wanted to work with David O. Russell. He's probably my favorite director since I started watching movies or watched one of his movies, so that was a really easy decision. I just really wanted to work with him."