Melissa Rivers Playing Late Mother In The Film 'Joy'
Hollywood, CA (CBS Sacramento) - Melissa Rivers is filling in for her late mother Joan Rivers in the movie "Joy."
The movie is directed by David O. Russell and is inspired by real-life entrepreneur Joy Mangano. Melissa Rivers will appear on a QVC show just like her mother did in a scene from "Joy." Rivers said to PEOPLE, "It was David's idea. I literally one day got a call saying David O. Russell would like to meet you. Huh? What?"
Rivers admits she took time to think about playing the role because it sparked a lot of emotions. She decided to be in the film and said, "I thought, 'Seriously when am I ever going to get to work with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell?' I was like, 'Okay, I'm in.'"
Rivers was made up to look just like her late mother with detailed makeup and clothing. "I think I was more freaked out in the hair and makeup tests than I was once I got on set. It was bizarre. I stopped looking in a mirror."
Rivers spoke about her late mom and how she felt about Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, "My mother had a couple lovely encounters with Bradley and she was a fan of Jen's even though there was a situation once at Fashion Police where someone said something and Jennifer didn't like it and kind of fired back. It wasn't my mother who said it and it kind of got lost in translation. The first thing Jennifer said was, 'Even though we had that disagreement that really had nothing to do with her, I was a huge fan,' and quoted back her favorite Fashion Police line ever to me: 'That dress is so ugly it looks like it would be good at math.' So here she is quoting my own show back to me, then she said to David, 'I'm so happy you brought me someone to play with!'"
The greatest part of Rivers being in the movie is she got the opportunity to embody her mother's sense of humor. "Joy" is set to be released on December 25 in theaters.