Anne Hathaway and Mark Wahlberg were initially wanted for the film

Jan 16, 2014 10:19 GMT  ·  By
Jennifer Lawrence replaced Anne Hathaway in “Silver Linings Playbook,” says Harvey Weinstein
   Jennifer Lawrence replaced Anne Hathaway in “Silver Linings Playbook,” says Harvey Weinstein

“Silver Linings Playbook” came out in late 2012 and won the hearts of millions of moviegoers and of the critics as well, landing Jennifer Lawrence her first Oscar award. Had Harvey Weinstein had his way, the film would have looked very differently from how it turned out.

In a new interview with Howard Stern, which you can check out in full here, the film mogul (and one of Hollywood’s most influential players, by the way) says that he initially wanted Anne Hathaway for the feminine lead in the film.

She came in and she auditioned and she was great as expected but, as the days went by, it became clear that Anne’s “creative differences” with director David O. Russell were going to be a big problem. So she had to be replaced.

“Anne wasn't doing it. And she's marvelous, and wonderful and she was my choice, I love her,” Weinstein says.

To Stern’s remark that she must be “kicking herself in the head” for passing on such a major film opportunity, Weinstein is practical saying, “Well, whatever, I don't think so. She went on to win the Academy Award for ‘Les Miserables.’ Maybe we're kicking ourselves in the head.”

Once Anne was out of the picture, they set out to find the perfect actress who could make the role come to life. They didn’t think it possible but, then again, they hadn’t seen Jennifer yet.

“The minute we saw Jennifer Lawrence's tape... because I said, how the hell are we going to replace Anne? And then this amazing creature walked in who's a brilliant actress and so much fun and she won the Oscar,” Weinstein explains.

In the same interview, he reveals that Bradley Cooper wasn’t supposed to be in the film either because Mark Wahlberg was in talks for the role.

In the end, everything worked out for the best and, as a side note, it’s not that uncommon for movies to go through the casting process several times before they get their perfect lead or leads. Last year’s “Gravity,” for example, starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, was initially supposed to feature Robert Downey Jr. and Angelina Jolie.