"Silver Linings Playbook" Goes to D.C.: Bradley Cooper to Press Mental Health Issues

Bradley Cooper, nominated for best actor in this year's Oscar race, is in Washington where he will attend a press conference with former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy about removing the stigma of mental illness.

Cooper and Kennedy will be joined at the Center for American Progress press conference by Barbara Van Dahlen, president of the nonprofit Give an Hour; and Andrew Sperling, director of federal legislative advocacy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The movie, which is also nominated for best picture, is about a man living with bipolar disorder, which affects about 5.7 million adults in the U.S.

Give an Hour is hosting  a screening of the movie in D.C. tonight at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, followed by a Q&A with Cooper.

A number of movies have held screenings in D.C. during awards season, not only drawing attention to the films but to messages they convey. Steven Spielberg screened "Lincoln" at the White House and on Capitol Hill, while "Zero Dark Thirty" had a screening at the Newseum (in addition to sparking a renewed debate over torture).