•• JOY movie star Virginia Madsen has opened up about the experience of working on the project based on the life of Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the actress recalled the moment she got the call from director David O. Russell saying she was cast for the film.

“He said, ‘Do you have any problem with playing the mother of Jennifer Lawrence?'” Madsen shared. “I said, ‘I’ve never had a problem with aging.’ And I went on to tell him how much I liked her and how without knowing her I felt motherly toward her and I felt proud of her for what she’s done at such a young age. Well, I didn’t realize that Jennifer was sitting there.”

Virginia Madsen also shared what it was like to work with Robert De Niro, who plays Madsen’s husband and Lawrence’s father in the film.

“There’s still a part of me that was going, ‘Oh, my God, Robert De Niro is throwing things at me. This is so cool!'” the actress said. “I grew up admiring him as one of the greatest living actors ever. And there he is and such a dream come true to not just meet him but work with him.”

Russell had also opened up about the upcoming film.

Speaking with the New York Times, the director shared what made him interested in Mangano’s story.

“It’s the first story I’ve done that has a woman at the center of it,” he said. “Jennifer’s usually coming in from the side, like a rogue. [Laughs.] She kind of sneaks in and takes over half the movie. But here, she’s in the middle, not with a bow and arrow, but with her heart and soul.”

JOY will hit theaters on its release date of Dec. 25.

•• On episode 4, Nick chatted with Oscar-nominee and beautiful thinker Virginia Madsen. They answered the following questions:

– Can Cesar Milan and his dogs help you with depression?
– What does it sound like when Nick encourages cats to knock over the microphone?
– How do you stop witches from getting your acting mojo?
– And… why both taking care of yourself and standing up for yourself are pretty essential for a long career.

You can follow Virginia on twitter or on her lovely instagram.
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•• Virginia Madsen is one classy lady! The veteran actress made her film debut in the early ‘80s movie Class, and went on to work with such iconic directors as David Lynch (Dune), Rob Reiner (Ghosts of Mississippi), and Francis Ford Coppola (The Rainmaker). But it was her role in Alexander Payne’s Sideways that earned her an Academy Award-nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Madsen would eventually work with legendary director Robert Altman on A Prairie Home Companion, and then appear in a string of high profile films including Firewall, The Astronaut Farmer, and The Number 23. Her latest film entitled Walter will open in theaters on March 13th.

Walter stars Andrew J. West (TV’s The Walking Dead) as the title character, a ticket-taker at the local cinema that believes he is the Son of God. He has agreed to decide the eternal fate of everyone he comes in to contact with. But when a ghost in purgatory (Justin Kirk) starts to haunt him, Walter begins to question everything he thought he understood about his world. Madsen plays Karen, Walter’s brokenhearted mother. In addition to West, Kirk and Madsen, the movie also features performances from Milo Ventimiglia (WildCard), NeveCampbell (WildThings), PeterFacinelli (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1), Jim Gaffigan (ThreeKings), and William H. Macy (Rudderless), and was directed by first time feature filmmaker AnnaMastro.

I recently had the honor of speaking with the absolutely delightful Virginia Madsen about her work on Walter, as well as her memories of making Sideways and A Prairie Home Companion. The Oscar-nominated actress discussed Walter, how a first time filmmaker gets an Oscar-nominee to be in their movie, what she looks for when she is choosing projects, shooting her scenes with Andrew J. West, our shared experience on Sideways, working with the great Robert Altman on A Prairie Home Companion, and the truth about director Paul Thomas Anderson’s contributions to that film.

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