Jennifer Lawrence kicked off her campaign for a fifth Oscar nomination on Thursday night by appearing at a screening of her new film ‘Mother!’ that was hosted by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
The 27-year-old actress was joined at the event, which was held at at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, by the film’s director Darren Aronofsky, 48, who she began dating after they finished filming the project last year.
Lawrence and her new beau sat through the film’s official Academy screening before taking to the stage for a Q&A session with the audience, where they were joined by producer Ari Handel and moderator Sara Wilkomerson.
It was during that chat with a room full of Oscar voters that Lawrence fired off one of her favorite gestures, throwing up a middle finger to the audience while recounting a story about the making of the film.
Aronofsky was certainly amused by the move, which caused him to break down in laughter as he listed to Lawrence speak.
Honesty: Jennifer Lawrence gave the middle finger onstage while at a screening of Mother! with her director boyfriend Darren Aronofsky on Thursday in New York City
Fancy: Her blonde locks were worn wavy as she stunned in the low-cut frock
Lawrence has long been a big fan of the middle finger salute, pulling it out on red carpets, during interviews and most frequently when encountering members of the paparazzi.
This is also not the first time that she has flipped off audience members at an official Academy event.
The actress famously flashed her middle finger in the press room at the 2013 Academy Awards, just moments after she picked up the Best Actress trophy for her work in ‘Silver Linings Playbook.’
She has also been nominated for her leading roles in ‘Winter’s Bone’ and ‘Joy’ as well as her supporting work in ‘American Hustle.’
A fifth nomination next year for her work in ‘Mother!’ would make her the youngest actor to achieve that feat, with Kate Winslet earning her fifth nod when she was 32 and Meryl Streep not getting there until she was 35.
Golden guy: Jennifer wowed in floral for the Mother! screening on Thursday in New York City, hosted by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Happy: If Mother!’s bad reviews were getting to J-Law, she didn’t show it during the cheery Q&A
Full support: The couple sat on stage and answered questions about the flick once inside
Lawrence was certainly dressed to impress at the event, wearing a floral dress from Brock Collection that just walked the runway in New York City earlier this month as part of their Spring 2018 presentation.
It was a bit of a departure for Lawrence, who due to her long-running and lucrative contract with Dior is almost always seen in looks created by the Parisian fashion house while doing press.
Aronofsky meanwhile kept things a bit more simple in navy blue chinos and a green button down.
Beaming: The star sported strappy black heels for her edgy ensemble
Fan favorite: The 27-year-old Oscar winner happily signed autographs for fans waiting outside
Giving it another push: Jennifer arrived to New York’s Museum Of Modern Art separately from her director boyfriend Darren Aronofsky for a screening of their flop Mother!
Lawrence spoke with Wilkomerson ahead of their panel discussion on Thursday for an interview that ran in Entertainment Weekly in which she addressed the polarizing response to her new film.
When asked if the distaste many have expressed for the movie after seeing it in theaters upset her, Lawrence said: ‘No, not at all. The people who love it LOVE it and want to see it another time. The people who don’t like, absolutely despise it.’
She went on to say: ‘There is no middle ground. We knew that it was divided. That’s what so exciting — everybody is going to feel something. It’s going to create a conversation. It’s going to create a controversy. Nobody is going to leave not getting something from it.’
Lawrence was also sure to express her admiration for Aranofsky, who was previously nominated for his film ‘Black Swan’ in the Best Director category.
That picture earned his leading lady Natalie Portman the Best Actress Oscar, and his previous film ‘Requiem for a Dream’ landed Ellen Burstyn a nod in the same category back in 2000, where she lost to Julia Roberts.
Confusion: The film has a 69 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the website warns the movie is a ‘singularly ambitious artistic vision’ and concludes it may be ‘too unwieldy for mainstream tastes’
Aronofsky also spoke about how his new film has divided audiences in an interview with The Frame earlier this week.
‘We always knew it was a strong cocktail. It came very much from a place of a lot of frustration and I guess a certain amount of impotent rage on what was going on in the world,’ said the director.
‘I just kind of took all that passion that I was thinking of outside of my filmmaking work and tried to turn it into a story. And I think this isn’t a reflection on what’s happening right now in the way we treat our mother.’
He then added: ‘ But it’s also a cautionary tale which I actually like because in a cautionary tale there’s room for optimism and I’m very much an optimist.’