Toronto: Weinstein Finds A New 'Silver Lining' For The Oscar Race At Premiere Of Latest Major Contender

As the Toronto International Film Festival keeps its intense pace the race for Oscar is clearly heating up, and after last night's rousing World Premiere for David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook you can chalk up yet another major Best Picture contender. The tweets about its inevitable Oscar potential began almost immediately. The response to this  strikingly original  and human comedy was ecstatic, not only throughout the screening but afterwards with unanimous praise from everyone I cornered at the Soho House after-party including several awards pundits who are supposed to be a little more jaded about these things.

Obviously Harvey Weinstein was in a very good mood when I talked to him. Another of his other big Oscar contenders , The Master had won three big awards at Venice earlier in the day despite controversy about how the jury came to those decisions. Weinstein explained the jury wanted to give it the top prize but also acting awards and when they found out they couldn't do both they awarded Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman both acting prizes and Paul Thomas Anderson the Silver Lion for Best Director (plus it won a critics prize). 'Do you think given the choice of having the Golden Lion or seeing his actors rewarded that Paul Thomas Anderson would want it any other way? We are totally fine with all of this and thrilled about what we got in Venice, ' said Weinstein.

And now Harvey clearly has another winner with Silver Linings which will almost certainly put stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro all in major contention for acting nominations. In fact, in what has previously looked like a pretty weak field for lead actress this year, Lawrence leaps to the top of the pack with a revelatory performance that seemed to knock most observers out.

Cooper and Lawrence , playing two very broken people trying to put their lives back together with the help of each other reminded me of Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine  in The Apartment (1960), deftly navigating the tricky terrain of a film that can change tone from comedy to drama on a dime without ever seeming forced. Both just simply inhabit these characters and make a great screen team. In fact, just like Lemmon and MacLaine did after The Apartment when they reteamed on Irma La Douce, Cooper told me they have already completed a second film together called Serena.

Cooper , who also was terrific in a challenging role in the Friday night World Premiere, The Place Beyond The Pines (just acquired today by Focus Features) had nothing but praise for his co-star who at just 22 years old takes on a part that would even challenge much older stars. In fact Writer/director  David O. Russell (who was in the Oscar race for the first time two years ago with The Fighter  and should be right back in there again this year) says she was actually a last minute casting. 'We were seeing just about every major actress  for the role  but thought she was just too young, then when she skyped in her audition from her home there was no question,' he told me at the party. Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress for Winter's Bone (2009) and she should start preparing to go through it all over again.

The film involves a big (hilarious) dance sequence for Cooper and Lawrence and Cooper says it helped the chemistry between them that any free time they had during the relatively quick shoot they spent trying to learn the complicated steps. The highest praise I can offer is that there isn't a moment either of them can be caught acting. The same goes for Robert De Niro as Cooper's father who both   star and director says 'really brought it'.  The two-time Oscar winner seems more energized by a role than he has in years. It shows on screen. There was immediate talk of a Best Supporting nomination for what is easily De Niro's best work in a long, long time.

Donna Gigliotti, a former Weinstein executive who also won a Best Picture Oscar for Shakespeare In Love, produced with Jonathan Gordon and Bruce Cohen , another Oscar winner for American Beauty. She brought Cohen into the picture to supervise the Philadelphia shoot and the pair were eating up the reaction which included an enthusiastic standing ovation, but in pure Toronto fashion did not go on nearly as long as the marathon standing O's after a Cannes premiere.  She wondered what that meant but i told her Cannes is unique that way keeping the audience applauding and chanting for 10 to 15 minutes of non-stop clapping like its a contest. In Toronto they show the love (and in this case it was genuine) and move on to the next Gala . No time when there's 300 movies to see.

Weinstein marketing head Stephen Bruno told me they are going to open the film wide on November 21, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday and expect word of mouth will be one big factor in getting audiences in to see a film that doesn't translate easily to 30 second commercial spots. Critical response should help too. The film has a certain charm. Some were comparing it to Moonstruck which was a similar kind of crowd pleaser. In a year of a lot of downers , this one will be sold as an 'upper'. Or at least it should be.

Weinstein was clearly thrilled with the response and seems pumped himself to try for a threepeat in 2012 after winning back to back Best Picture Oscars for The King's Speech (2010) and The Artist  (2011). The studios are really gunning for him this year with bigger competition than ever but with The Master, Quentin Tarantino's December release, Django Unchained  and now the little comedy that could, Silver Linings Playbook he has got a lineup that looks like a contender (not to mention several other potential players including  foreign language hope The Intouchables and Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut Quartet which premieres here tonight).  As we talked I could see him getting himself worked up just at the thought of starting another awards  season, his favorite time of year. 'What a race this is gonna be, what a race, what a race!'  he repeatedly said as he walked off to soak up the reaction to another successful night in Toronto for this veteran of the Oscar wars.

Awards Columnist Pete Hammond - tip him here.