Michael Burns Calls Jennifer Lawrence “Goddess of Lionsgate”
Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns spoke with Melissa Lee of CNBC’s Fast Money and when asked about the possible benefits of an Oscar nomination for Jennifer Lawrence influencing The Hunger Games, called Jennifer, “truly the Goddess of Lionsgate”. Skip to 29:35 for the part with Mr. Burns.
Source: CNBC
This is a bit exagerated. Franckly, the more I read, the more I have the impression no actress knew how to act before Jennifer Lawrence. It’s a bit too much. she is talented for sure and gifted but a prodigy? a goddess ?
I think that she fits the standard description of a prodigy – someone who shows extraordinary talent at a young age – and I would point to her first three significant movie roles (Poker House, The Burning Plain, and Winter’s Bone) as evidence of this. However, I agree that she is just one of many very very talented actresses out there. Jessica Chastain for example is also very good, and although I want Jennifer to win an Oscar, I won’t be outraged if Jessica gets it instead. Right now the focus is on Jennifer and people are jumping on the bandwagon. There will be a backlash at some point, probably when she inevitably gives a performance that is merely good or mediocre, rather than excellent. This will probably do her no real harm and she would probably even be happier with a little less attention.
Eh, the goddess remark was obviously made tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be taken seriously. It’s not like they’re actually going to erect a statue or altar of her or anything like that. It was just a silly quip!
There is a lot of attention on Jennifer right now but frankly it’s much more Harvey Weinstein’s fault and the media’s than anything Jennifer herself is doing. Jennifer herself said people in Hollywood take things way, way too seriously when there are real problems going on in the world (like the furor over her ‘I beat Meryl’ comment or her SNL monologue, both of which were supposed to be jokes but people blew them both completely out of proportion for no reason. You’d think they’d never watched an SNL episode before).
I agree….THG would have been a major success no mater who was in it. And half the reason why SLP was successful is because JL was in THG.
As far as talent, yes she has it….but she’s not the best out there….she’s not even the best from her generation. Ellen Page and Saoirse Ronan are just as equally as good and Dakota Fanning and Isabelle Fuhrman are stronger actresses.
It was just an expression. I think I know why I don’t usually follow this kind of celebrity media. They never actually say anything. Financial analyst had a bit of an attitude though lol.
I hope Jennifer Lawrence takes these people to the bank.
We certainly can’t argue that Jennifer has helped Lionsgate immensely with her talent. She certainly hasn’t hurt the company haha. Me personally, I think she’s the best actress of this new generation, at least. I’m a huge fan of her talent.
Lionsgate has a lot of potential box-office hits in the pipeline but I have read that they also have a lot of debt. The success of “The Hunger Games Franchise” is key for the success of the company and clearly Jennifer Lawrence is very important there. I have seen less written about “Silver Lining’s Playbook” and Jennifer Lawrence’s importance to the Weinstein Company. So far SLP has made $155,000,000 dollars at the international box office and still has very strong momentum. It is very possible that it will reach $200,000 by the time it finishes its theatrical run.. Since the studio, on average gets a bit over 50% of the box office, and Silver Linings Playbook cost only $21,000,000 to make ,it is clear that it will bring in a lot of money for the Weinstein Company. Django Unchained is their biggest box office success so far. It has made a little over $370,000,000 internationally but cost 100,000,000 to make. Thus the Weinstein company stands to make nearly as much money on Silver Linings Playbook as they will on their huge blockbuster. Jennifer Lawrence is not the sole reason SLP is a hit but she is a large part of it. No wonder the money guys love her.
Wow, people—he doesn’t worship her. I see no altars or statues. It’s obvious Jennifer’s brought Lionsgate huge success. It’s clear she is very talented. But I agree that The Hunger Games would have been popular no matter who was in it. People in Hollywood and the media take things too far—in fact she seems more comfortable out of the spotlight than in it. People have really began to notice her since Hunger Games and Silver Linings. Not saying they didn’t in things like Winter’s Bone and Poker House, but those two are huge (HG and SL). I think once The Hunger Games series is finished, we will see which people truly are fans of the actors, and not just the movie(s) they are in.
I’m not saying you can’t be a fan of somebody for being in a certain thing, but it’s important to realize if you’re going to call yourself a “true” or “huge” fan, that they have been in other productions. And to not just recognize and praise their skill for one thing, but for all of them. The “goddess” thing was a joke—I’d seriously hope no one has taken it that far or that seriously.