Laura Dern was forced to… Blue Velvet #DavidLynch #movies #shorts

Laura Dern recently shared her experience on Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s podcast, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” about having to drop out of UCLA film school after landing the role of Sandy Williams in the 1986 classic Blue Velvet (David Lynch). Although Dern had already appeared in films like Mask, it was Blue Velvet that became her acting breakthrough and marked the beginning of her long-term collaboration with Lynch. [Read: All David Lynch Films Ranked https://flickside.com/david-lynch-movies/]

She was 17 and evidently “ecstatic”, she recalled. It was only after two days of joining UCLA that she’d auditioned for the part. She greatly admired Lynch, who was already an Oscar-nominated director for The Elephant Man (1980). However, when Dern approached the head of her department at UCLA to request a leave of absence to film “Blue Velvet,” she was firmly denied.

“I explained the opportunity, but he said, ‘I’ll read the script, but you’re not getting a leave of absence. This isn’t a medical emergency,’ Dern recounted.
The department head did read the script. She recalled being summoned to his office and told: “If you make this choice, you are no longer welcome at UCLA. You’ll be out. Giving up your college education for this is insane.”
“It was an incredibly shocking script”, Dern said. But today, she added “if you want to get a masters in film at that school, when you write a thesis there are three movies you are required to study. And you know what one of them is?”
The film earned David Lynch an Oscar for Best Director and is today hailed a masterpiece. Blue Velvet is a mesmerizing dive into the shadows lurking beneath suburban America. The film begins with Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) discovering a severed ear, setting off a chain of events that reveals the sinister undercurrents of his seemingly perfect hometown. With the help of Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), Jeffrey uncovers a twisted world involving the vulnerable lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and the terrifying, sadistic Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).

Blue Velvet marked Laura Dern's breakthrough role, which showcased her ability to convey innocence and determination. She continued her collaboration with Lynch in "Wild at Heart" (1990), playing Lula Fortune, a performance that further established her as a formidable talent. [The actress-director duo also later worked together in Inland Empire (2006) and Twin Peaks (2017).]

In 1991, Laura Dern played a young woman named Rose with a troubled past trying to find stability. The film (Rambling Rose) earned her first Academy Award nomination. The part demonstrated her range and depth as an actress.
Dern's performance in Steven Spielberg’s "Jurassic Park" (1993) as Dr. Ellie Sattler made her a household name. Her portrayal of a strong, intelligent paleobotanist contributed significantly to the film's success.
In more recent years, Dern has continued to deliver outstanding performances. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Nora Fanshaw, a fierce and compassionate divorce lawyer, in "Marriage Story" (2019). Additionally, her role in HBO’s "Big Little Lies" (2017-2019) as the assertive and complex Renata Klein earned her critical acclaim and an Emmy Award.
Other noteworthy Laura Dern movies and TV shows/performances include:
Daddy And Them (2001), Wild (2014), October Sky (1999), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Smooth Talk (1985), Certain Women (2016), Jurassic Park (1993), 99 Homes (2014), Little Women (2019), The Tale (2018), Bastard Out Of Carolina (1996), Enlightened (2011-2013), The Fault In Our Stars (2014).

Daughter of actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, both of whom received Oscar nominations of their own, Laura Dern is one of few second-generation Academy Award nominees.
Did you know in 1992, Dern and her mother, Diane Ladd, became the first mother-daughter duo to be nominated for Academy Awards for acting in the same film for their performances in Rambling Rose – Ladd nabbed a Best Supporting Actress nom, while Dern received one for Best Actress.

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