Laura Dern opens up on grief, anxiety and hope after difficult year

Dern said her experience working on the film brought back memories of her long artistic collaboration with filmmaker David Lynch, who cast her in her breakthrough role in Blue Velvet nearly four decades ago. She noted that director Bradley Cooper, who also operated the camera during filming, reminded her of Lynch's hands-on approach. "Your director becomes your partner," Dern said, recalling similar experiences she shared with Lynch throughout her career.

Lynch, one of Dern's closest creative collaborators, passed away shortly before filming began. Dern said the loss came during what she described as a "tender, heartbreaking time", adding that she is still at the beginning of processing his death.

The actor said the past year has been especially difficult for Los Angeles, the city where she was born, raised and continues to live and work. In addition to Lynch's death, the year was marked by devastating wildfires in parts of the city. Dern also lost her mother, Oscar-nominated actor Diane Ladd, who died at the age of 89 last month, as per the outlet.

Speaking candidly about the cumulative weight of these losses, Dern said she has not yet fully allowed herself to process her grief. She said the experiences have been "so compounded", but added that she feels deeply grateful for the legacies left behind. Dern said she is holding on to what her loved ones gave through art, friendship, activism and shared memories.

Dern added that discussing Is This Thing On? has felt particularly meaningful during this period, as the film explores themes of intimacy, grace, longing and grief. She said she feels fortunate that this project aligns so closely with what she is experiencing personally, noting that it would have been far more difficult to engage publicly if the film dealt with different themes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)