Further to your note about casting Jane Greer, the same applies to casting Don Murray - a minor presence, a short-lived star, best known opposite Monroe in Bus Stop and the harrowing Hatful of Rain. But who had heard of him since the 50s...
What also has to be factored in is the role played by Lynch's long-time casting director Johanna Ray (the onetime wife of Aldo Ray, as well as the mother of Eric Da Re who was Leo in Twin Peaks). From what I gather, she would show Lynch headshots and from those he would pick out people he was interested in, as he picked out Naomi Watts for Mulholland Drive. But first he had to tell her what he wanted!
Thank you for this wonderful tribute Jake! Would you like to comment on Lynch’s distinctive taste in looks and actresses? Sherilyn Fenn, Mädchen Amick, Sheryl Lee… all memorable faces to be sure, but also facsimiles of past stars. Laura Elena Harring, who oddly vanished after Mulholland Drive, has the deep eyes of Linda Darnell as much as Rita Hayworth. Fenn IS Cleo Moore.
And Joan Chen has something of Dietrich, as well as being styled like Anna May Wong. Amanda Seyfried in the Return resembles Sylvia Sidney -- I don't know if Lynch would have thought of that, but it's not impossible, especially since Seyfried's plotline is a sort of lovers-on-the-run story. Anyway she fits as Amick's daughter. I'm regretful that Chen and Piper Laurie weren't brought back: Laurie often gets overlooked when people talk about Twin Peaks, but in those first two seasons she and Richard Beymer are the ones that really make the soap opera side of things go. Lynch doesn't restrict himself to the one type of woman, physically or otherwise, but I think he probably always started off with an image in his head and looked for someone who fit, which partly explains why so many people in Twin Peaks and in his movies seem to belong to the past. On the subject, I've wondered for a long time how it was that Jane Greer came to guest star as Peggy Lipton's mother, and if she was Lynch's choice -- I would guess so, since it appears Lynch was closely involved in most of the Twin Peaks casting, but I haven't read anything about it specifically. I think that when Lynch used to say he didn't watch a lot of movies and didn't get ideas from them he was being disingenuous, honestly.
He definitely plays Snap with the head shots. Reminds me of some fashion photographers in that way, such as Steven Meisel, in the constant repetition and search for a visual prototype. Amanda Seyfried does look and feel very much like Sylvia Sidney! The same eerily compressed, childish face paired with street smarts… Hopefully she has a noir future ahead of her.
Further to your note about casting Jane Greer, the same applies to casting Don Murray - a minor presence, a short-lived star, best known opposite Monroe in Bus Stop and the harrowing Hatful of Rain. But who had heard of him since the 50s...
What also has to be factored in is the role played by Lynch's long-time casting director Johanna Ray (the onetime wife of Aldo Ray, as well as the mother of Eric Da Re who was Leo in Twin Peaks). From what I gather, she would show Lynch headshots and from those he would pick out people he was interested in, as he picked out Naomi Watts for Mulholland Drive. But first he had to tell her what he wanted!
Thank you for this wonderful tribute Jake! Would you like to comment on Lynch’s distinctive taste in looks and actresses? Sherilyn Fenn, Mädchen Amick, Sheryl Lee… all memorable faces to be sure, but also facsimiles of past stars. Laura Elena Harring, who oddly vanished after Mulholland Drive, has the deep eyes of Linda Darnell as much as Rita Hayworth. Fenn IS Cleo Moore.
And Joan Chen has something of Dietrich, as well as being styled like Anna May Wong. Amanda Seyfried in the Return resembles Sylvia Sidney -- I don't know if Lynch would have thought of that, but it's not impossible, especially since Seyfried's plotline is a sort of lovers-on-the-run story. Anyway she fits as Amick's daughter. I'm regretful that Chen and Piper Laurie weren't brought back: Laurie often gets overlooked when people talk about Twin Peaks, but in those first two seasons she and Richard Beymer are the ones that really make the soap opera side of things go. Lynch doesn't restrict himself to the one type of woman, physically or otherwise, but I think he probably always started off with an image in his head and looked for someone who fit, which partly explains why so many people in Twin Peaks and in his movies seem to belong to the past. On the subject, I've wondered for a long time how it was that Jane Greer came to guest star as Peggy Lipton's mother, and if she was Lynch's choice -- I would guess so, since it appears Lynch was closely involved in most of the Twin Peaks casting, but I haven't read anything about it specifically. I think that when Lynch used to say he didn't watch a lot of movies and didn't get ideas from them he was being disingenuous, honestly.
He definitely plays Snap with the head shots. Reminds me of some fashion photographers in that way, such as Steven Meisel, in the constant repetition and search for a visual prototype. Amanda Seyfried does look and feel very much like Sylvia Sidney! The same eerily compressed, childish face paired with street smarts… Hopefully she has a noir future ahead of her.