NEW YORK: Award-winning director David O. Russell’s latest movie “Joy” is about a woman finding happiness in life despite everyday obstacles.

But the word might also be used to sum up Russell’s relationship with Jennifer Lawrence, the actress he calls his muse, who has starred in his last three movies.

Russell, who directed Lawrence in her 2012 Oscar-winning role as a young widow in “Silver Linings Playbook” and in 2014’s “American Hustle,” said that as an actress and a person, she inspires him to take risks with filmmaking.

“She wants to go to places that are scary for her and do things that haven’t been seen. She is smart and challenging but she also inspires me to make something better. I am happy to explore things the way she wants to do them, and she also will trust what I want to do.

“It’s a deal we make together that we’re going to jump off this waterfall and give it everything we’ve got,” Russell told Reuters.

“Joy,” out in US movie theaters on Dec. 25, is expected to bring Lawrence a fourth Oscar nomination in as many years. It’s inspired by the true story of Joy Mangano, the New York inventor of the Miracle Mop who overcame an early divorce and life as a single mother to become a successful 1990s businesswoman.

The movie is the first time Lawrence, or any female character, is front and center of a Russell film, and the first time the 25-year-old star plays someone who is not crazy.