Laura Dern tipped to win top Oscars post
Actor Laura Dern is shaping as a potential head of the Hollywood organisation that runs the Oscars.
Dern, who has twice been nominated for Oscars, was mentioned in a Variety report as among the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board members under consideration to run for president after the term of Cheryl Boone Isaacs expires in July.
The trade publication cited sources it did not identify as saying Dern was interested. And Dern’s take?
“It was news to me. If it came from anyone at the academy, what a gorgeous compliment,” she said.
Dern joined the board last July amid industry tumult over diversity. She would be the fourth woman to serve in the top spot, after Isaacs, Bette Davis and Fay Kanin. Candidates usually don’t campaign for the unpaid, four-year post.
“I would love to be more and more involved for the rest of my life but don’t know that that should have any predefined title,” Dern said. “I’m definitely learning on the fly a great deal.”
When it comes to motherhood — Dern has a 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter — she’s a fount of support for women and families, serving as an ambassador for the annual Johnson & Johnson and United Nations Foundation digital fundraising campaign called the Global Moms Relay.
From May 3 to June 16, parents, community leaders, experts and celebrities are sharing personal stories about issues affecting families, with J&J donating a sum for every social media, tweet, share or like.
Among five causes that benefit are Unicef and nonprofits that help girls and provide nets in the fight against malaria in Africa and elsewhere.
One of the beneficiaries, Girl Up, is a project in Guatemala to provide girls with bicycles so they can travel to school.
Dern has a role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which opens in December. But she cannot talk about the movie.
“What I can say is I had the time of my life,” Dern said. “I felt like an 8-year-old every day at work, to go to work and be in makeup and hair and walk out in this community of people and, you know, be in a studio where you look down the corridor and you see Chewbacca!”