Film: Mulholland Drive
Previous wins for role: L.A. Film Critics Association; Boston Society of Film Critics
Previous Oscar wins/nominations:
Nominated for Best Director, Blue Velvet (1986)
Nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared credit with Christopher De Vore and Eric Bergren), The Elephant Man (1980)
Bio: Depending on your point of view, it is easy to pile on the adjectives when describing director David Lynch’s films. Bizarre. Thought-provoking. Innovative. Highly visual. Did we mention bizarre? From his start with the cult classic Eraserhead to The Elephant Man and Blue Velvet, to his ultra-quirky TV series Twin Peaks, Lynch has consistently pushed the envelope and given us films that challenge and entertain us. He has had a few misses (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me…yikes) and has been laying low over the last few years. Then along comes his critical darling Mulholland Drive (which, ironically, was derived from the TV series for ABC he was working on that was canceled before it even got off the ground). Lynch is back!
Oscar odds: Lynch isn’t a stranger to the whole Oscar machine, having been nominated twice before. Even though the Academy recognizes a great director when it sees one, Drive itself is certainly too odd for the voters’ tastes–and most of the general public, which certainly didn’t turn out in droves to see it–making Lynch’s chances pretty slim. If Oscar history is an accurate predictor, it’s probable that Lynch will win for a film that doesn’t rank in the top of his canon. But no doubt he could care less about it all. He’s just that kind of guy. —Kit Bowen
