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David Lynchs incendiary fantasia divided audiences from the moment its Palme dOr winprovoked boosat Cannes.
Still, the electricity in Ladds performance was indisputable, especially that barn-burning lipstick scene.
Marietta has murdered before, and shell do it again.
it’s possible for you to watchWild at Hearta dozen times and come away with a dozen different readings.
Wild at Heartwas a modest hit at best, but Ladd made off with a much-deserved Oscar nomination.
Regardless, Marietta has surpassed the test of time.
To commemorate her volcanic turn, Ladd called up Vulture to reminisce.
I adore this movie, and I understand that you do too, right?Yes, I do.
You just go ahead and shoot granddaddy in the knee.
You know what I mean?
David does not make fun of violence.
Its so violent that you abhor it.
What was your first interaction with Lynch like?David told Laura he wanted to meet me.
Shed doneBlue Velvetwith him.
He wanted me to join him for lunch, and I really could not.
But I went by to say hello.
We talked, and I never said, I love your filmBlue Velvet.
And she said, Yeah, she does.
She told me this later, and I said, My God, why did you tell him that?
She said, Well, its the truth.
You tell me always be truthful.
I said, But maybe I want to work for him anyhow.
So it is true that you werent a fan ofBlue Velvet?I was except for one reason.
It wasnt just bad it was really bad.
I thought,Thats a desecration.
Would he do that to the blessed Virgin Mary?
Why would he do that to his own true love?
As a woman, I took exception just to that.
Thats all it was.
But theres a starring role of the mother.
And you know what he says to me?
He doesnt say anything about the past.
He didnt ask me if I could meet again.
He says, I would be honored if you would star in this role for me.
Thats incredibly well said.I said, Of course Ill read it.
And it was a magnificent role to begin with.
The man never, never, never says a dirty word.
A curse word never passes his lips.
He never blows his top.
When hes directing you, hell say, May we try it again?
Were all vulnerable human beings.
And if youve done it, David has a tear in his eye.
And he whispers almost to himself because hes a great artist.
He says, I want to paint a picture.
Wild at Heartis sort of a demented take onThe Wizard of Oz.
How much were you channeling the Wicked Witch of the West?None.
Im a Method actress.
So all of the pain or anything you do is real in a film.
Its not just fake.
Your body relives it.
Marietta, in my mind, had a very hard life.
She thinks hes trouble.
Instead of pulling her daughter up in life, she thinks hell pull her down.
She doesnt care what she has to do.
Shes going to ensure her daughter has a better life.
Shes the tigress mother.
You said she had a hard life.
What biographical details did you fill in for her?
I looked at him and said, David, I dont want to do that.
He said, What do you want to do?
He said okay, I did it, and he loved it.
But the big scene, as we know, was the scene where I painted my face red.
Yes, of course.
Obviously the best scene in the entire movie.
Was that in the script?No.
She was just looking in the mirror.
But heres the thing.
They were starting to really use sex as a weapon to sell cosmetics.
Who are you without powder?It was ticking me off.
So I took the lipstick, and Im holding it to put on my lips.
If I use it all over my face, will the whole world come?
More, more, more.Ill use it all.
So thats what that was and then the whole face became painted red.
Olympia Dukakis and I could work like that.
We were like Frick and Frack.
You start to get a symmetry between you.
I could feel without looking at him that it was okay.
If he didnt like it, I could feel it without having to stop the scene.
They got it, somehow, without me ever explaining it.
It wasnt a joke.
It was a comment on our time.
You know, Im not an actor.
The screen or the stage is my blackboard, and so whatever I taught is whats in you.
Its reflecting you, saint or sinner, male or female, child or old person.
Im reflecting parts of your soul, parts of whoyouare.
The work is foryou.
Another little moment that I adore comes early in the movie.
When Marietta first forbids Lulu from seeing Sailor, you guzzle a martini while looking directly at the camera.
He didnt tell me to do it.
I was just doing my thing.
I said, David, I cant be setting fire to that house.
My whole character has been fighting to save Lula.
Why would I turn around and endanger her?
He said, I dont know, but youve gotta do it.
So I said, Well, theres only one way I can do it.
Ive got to play her stoned out of her gourd so she doesnt know what shes doing.
So I played it like someone had given me something crazy, some horrible thing like ecstasy or something.
What was he like in general?He was very lovely.
Charming to work with.
When I met Bruce Dern, Lauras father, I was very, very young, like 18.
Bruce wore a snakeskin jacket in the play.
Thats a fun connection.
After the movie came out, you said you had to essentially runyour own Oscar campaign.
You took out your own trade ads and hosted a spaghetti dinner for a handful of voters.
I assume that means the studio wouldnt do those things for you.
Do you know why?No, thats not completely true.
Was my first Oscar nominationAlice Doesnt Live Here Anymore?
Thats right.Thats when I had no money.
And I said to her, What are you talking about?
I dont have a big enough part to win that.
Gena is an amazing soul, one of our greats.
And she said, Oh, honey, you do.
She gave me great encouragement.
But at the time that this happened, I was new.
I remember Marlon Brando saying to me, What do you do with all your money?
And I said, What money?
All I was paid for that whole performance was $5,000.
This was my first big movie.
I called up Mr. Scorsese, and I said, Mr. Scorsese, my agents are negotiating.
I just want you to know I dont care what they pay me.
I want to do this part for you, so dont let them give this to anybody else.
WithAlice,some of my friends would throw a spaghetti party.
Theyd invite people over to watch my film, to check that people saw it.
I think thats okay, but everybody has to be allowed to do it.
That helped me get nominated forAlice Doesnt Live Here Anymore.
I won the British Academy Award.
Now, weve changed the rules and you are not allowed to have a showing in your home.
But I didnt have to do much forWild at Heart.
Goldwyn, the company that was doing it, did not send videos to everybody.
So again, I was left without the support that was needed.
Oh, thats funny.
So did you take out trade ads for yourself?Im trying to think clearly.
I tried to do it forAlice, but I didnt have the money.
I said, But I dont have any money, and she hung up in my face.
It was the lady who was the head ofThe Hollywood Reporter.
Now, when it came toRambling Rose, I think people did have some parties for me.
I think Esther Williams had a swimming party.
Some people who were fans who I didnt even know had parties.
ButWild at Heartkind of caught on on its own.
But I feel at Oscar time that all those who are nominated are winners.
They take the work to an elevated stage, which helps prevent mundanity from taking over.
There wasa lot of politicslast year.
Weve had enough of that in Washington.
We dont need that kind of tap-dancing going on in our own Academy.
If you find the truth, then you remember who you are.
So these pictures are to help us all find the truth.
David Lynch is a genius.
I think Mr. David Lynch is gonna stand up and do a new movie soon.
I got that feeling.
Do you have any intel?
But let me just say I just feel like the angels are talking to him.
I dont know everything for sure, but instinct says, Cmon, David, here we go.
Youre not through yet.
Youve got some destiny yet.
He honestly is one of the most pleasurable, wonderful human beings to be around.
That is a real blessing.
