Dern: 'Ellen' kiss put me out of work (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ten years after they kissed on the "Ellen" show, Ellen DeGeneres and Laura Dern reunited Monday on DeGeneres' syndicated talk show to reflect back on the smooch and its aftermath.

DeGeneres, 49, made pop-culture history in 1997 by coming out of the closet in real life while her sitcom character did likewise. In her character's coming-out episode, Dern shared a smooch with the comedian during a guest stint on the ABC series as a lesbian love interest.

Dern, 40, recounted Monday how she couldn't get an acting job for more than a year afterward. "There was certainly backlash, I guess, (that) we all felt from it," she told DeGeneres, who said she was sorry and "had no idea" that Dern was snubbed in Hollywood.

Not getting work felt "awfully terrifying," recalled Dern, who said she's grateful for the "extraordinary experience and opportunity" to be a part of the groundbreaking episode, which also guest starred Oprah Winfrey, Demi Moore and Melissa Etheridge.
***
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/24/people.dern.degeneres.ap/index.html

Ooooooooookay ... let me see if I got this straight ... she's not a lesbian, but she played one on TV ? It's called ACTING! Does anyone get snubbed for portraying a murderer? a child molester? a wife beater? ("Gee, do we really want Hopkins in this role? He played a f***ing cannibal, ferchrissakes!" "And very convincingly, too." "Hot damn! Oscar, baby, here we come!") But hey, she kissed a chick on TV, of to Siberia with her. Who would have thunk it of Hollywood?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Maybe she couldn't get work because she's not that talented.

Her role in Jurassic Park probably had more to do with her being blacklisted, IMHO.

[closeupready]

3. Hollywood/talent? They go together?

:D (Just kidding, of course - tons of talented actors and actresses.)

[merh]

4. That is just awful

She is telling what happened to her and her experiences. Your post is as if her experiences don't matter to you because she is not gay? If she were gay, would you discount her comments and ridicule her talent?

[Lerkfish]

9. *scratches head* your post seems mismatched to the post you replied to.

the point of that post, and mine underneath it, was that her lack of work might just be a reflection of her abilities and not one role. As far I could tell, nothing in the post you replied made any reference to whether she was gay or not.

[merh]

12. No it is not, read it again

"Maybe she couldn't get work because she's not that talented.
Her role in Jurassic Park probably had more to do with her being blacklisted, IMHO."

My question is legitimate to the post.

[Lerkfish]

44. well, I carefully reread all the posts and I still disagree with you.

:shrug;

its possible to acknowledge she's not that talented and that could be why she's not working, with or without any gay perception impact one way or the other.

[merh]

54. If she were gay and had trouble getting work after that episode

would the fact that she were untalented be viewed in the same light? Again, your perception of her talent does not match the recognition and awards she has won.

The conversation was about the episode and she mentioned the backlash she experienced, it is what it is. (FYI, no one is going to come out and say "we won't hire you because you were part of the gay kiss on Ellen", if they did that, they would potentionally face a discrimination suit and would most likely face all sorts of bad publicity. To think otherwise is to be living in some odd world that may border, but is not reality.) Of course, this is just my opinion.

[Lerkfish]

55. Did Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve suffer?

all have played gay people in movies. All have or had thriving careers.

:shrug:

[merh]

59. I don't know, I suppose you would have to ask them.

This woman said she felt the backlash, she spoke of the backlash when being interviewed by her co-star in the show, a woman who is gay and who also has spoken of and written of the backlash.

Discount it all you like, it is what it is (as are her awards and recognition which you discount).

[Midlodemocrat]

10. .

:eyes:

Did anyone actually TELL her that her role on Ellen is what got her blacklisted if in fact she was?

[merh]

13. Guess her sharing her experiences with Ellen, the star of the show,

don't matter to you.

Sad, sad indeed.

[Midlodemocrat]

14. Where did I say that?

Don't put words in my mouth.

And if no one told her that the reason she wasn't being hired is because of the kiss, then any excuse she gives is suspect.

Talk about sad.

[merh]

17. Let me be sure to try to find a video of her appearance on Ellen

I would think she did share this with her because of her portrayal of Ellen's lesbian lover and the kiss, but I can't know for sure and neither can you. It is an assumption that is what they discussed given their working relationship on the show and after the show.

[Midlodemocrat]

18. Actually, YOU are the one making assumptions.

My post started with 'maybe', which is usually used in conjecture.

But go ahead. Knock yourself out. I don't think she's talented. Never did. And, in spite of what YOU say, I get to have that opinion.

[merh]

20. Nope, your post is what it is.

You assume she couldn't get work because she has no talent, though she was interviewed by Ellen, who apologized about her difficult times after her appearance on the Ellen show and after the kiss. I'm basing it on the subject of the OP.

[Midlodemocrat]

22. Read this:

"There was certainly backlash, I guess, (that) we all felt from it," she told DeGeneres, who said she was sorry and "had no idea" that Dern was snubbed in Hollywood.



Looks to me as though Dern mentioned it first. Point. Set. Match.

[merh]

30. Not "Point, set, match"

The entire article and her appearance was concerning the backlash.

[underpants]

5. "I'm hottah than Gohgia asphalt"

Do not speak ill of her or her crazy ass father will come and get you

:bounce:

[Midlodemocrat]

11. Her husband is the best thing about her.

What a talent. His music is unreal.

[Lerkfish]

6. you beat me to it. she's simply not that good of an actress

[Midlodemocrat]

15. Apparently that's not it

:eyes:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

23. Then how does she explain Ellen, who is actually gay, getting work?

[Midlodemocrat]

25. I was being snarky, but my point was that unless someone

actually said that the kiss was the reason she wasn't getting work, she could say it was. Hell, she could say it was her marriage to Ben Harper or the birth of her child.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

27. D'oh! Meant to respond to OP.

Hey, Midlo! :hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

28. Hey, SA!

How are you?

:hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

29. Doing okay.

You?

[HardRocker05]

40. ellen had a hard time finding work for a few years after her show. it was all very predictable;

society had to 'teach her a lesson,' but after they shot their wad of phony indignation, they had to admit, at least to themselves, that it was all a shameful, hysterical witch hunt, and gee, maybe it's not that big of a deal to have gay people starring in their own tv shows.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

42. So why hasn't Dern's career rebounded as well?

She's younger than Ellen and works in an industry notorious for casting away 40+-aged women, and Ellen's an actual lesbian, unlike Dern, so why did roles dry up for Dern and not Ellen?

[pitohui]

69. roles dried up for both at the time, as you'll recall

at this point dern is 40 and she has always been somewhat of a specialty item, you see her in the nerd films like jurassic park, october sky, various david lynch movies

she is supposed to be the star of inland empire but i can't figure out if this film was actually released

she's a good actress but not just a pretty face to be stuck in a slot, i imagine that lynch will always be able to find something for her, other directors who knows

[HardRocker05]

79. anti-gay backlash and Dern being a bad actress are not mutually exclusive. nt

[mudesi]

33. Was she bad in Jurassic Park?

Seemed like an okay performance to me...

[pitohui]

63. she was fine

jurassic park was not about a bravura performance, it was about cgi dinosaurs, it would have been inappropriate for her to be lawrence olivier playing hamlet in that role

her dialogue was shitty in that film but dern didn't write the dialogue nor was the dialogue of any great importance to that film

[Geoff R. Casavant]

37. I read all the posts following, and I'm with you, Midlo

She was pretty much a throwaway in Jurassic Park. But if you want a real groaner of a performance, rent Blue Velvet and skip to the scene where they find Isabella Rosellini naked on the lawn. Dern's crying is like a Sofia Coppolla death scene.

[LostinVA]

60. "Dern's crying is like a Sofia Coppolla death scene."

This made me LOL!

I'm stealing that, okay?

[Geoff R. Casavant]

76. Take it, enjoy!

[merh]

41. And just an FYI - regarding your "no talent" opinion

... In the mid-1980s she gained critical acclaim for roles in films by Peter Bogdanovich (Mask) and David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart) and appeared in the Spielberg blockbuster Jurassic Park. In 1992, Dern and her mother Diane Ladd became the first and only mother and daughter ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in the same film in Rambling Rose (film). They, however, did not play a mother and daughter in the film. Dern also starred as Ruth in the satire Citizen Ruth, the directorial debut of Alexander Payne. Dern also stated that she would reprise her role as Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park IV.

In 1997, Dern was featured in Widespread Panic's music video for their song, "Aunt Avis", which was directed by Dern's then boyfriend, Billy Bob Thornton.

Dern has also done much work on television, most notably Afterburn, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie. She has also guest-starred on The West Wing, as a voice on King of the Hill, and as a lesbian who coaxes Ellen DeGeneres out of the closet in the famous "Puppy Episode" of the television series Ellen. On the April 24, 2007 airing of DeGeneres' talk show, Dern revealed that she did not work for more than a year following her appearance on that episode because of resulting backlash, but nevertheless called her work on the episode an "extraordinary experience and opportunity"<1>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Dern

Apparently not everyone shares your views on her talents.
Most no talents have Goldent Globes, don't ya know :eyes:

Awards
Independent Spirit Award Special Distinction 2007
Boston Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress "We Don't Live Here Anymore" 2004
Sundance Film Festival Piper-Heidsieck Tribute to Independent Vision 1999
Golden Globe Award Best Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series "Afterburn" 1993
Los Angeles Film Critics New Generation Award "Smooth Talk" and "Mask" 1985
http://www.hollywood.com/celebritydetail/Laura_Dern/195526

[Lerkfish]

43. well, you might not want to equate golden globes with talent: Pia Zadora comes to mind.

just sayin.

:shrug:

[merh]

53. She has won more recognition than just the Golden Globe

just sayin :shrug:

And my question remains, if she were a lesbian that sat on Ellen's stage and told Ellen during an interview with her that she felt the backlash because she had portrayed Ellen's gay lover/gave a kiss to Ellen, would the comment about talent be tolerated?

Ellen had trouble getting work after her show ended, in the past she has spoken of the difficulties she had after that show went off the air. I doubt that she considered Dern's comments to be laughable and I doubt she thought to herself "you untalented hack don't blame the kiss."

I just don't understand the lack of understanding.

[Lerkfish]

56. you're accusing me of being intolerant?

buh-bye.

You're completing overreacting.

[merh]

58. I am making an observation based on the posting.

How you respond and defend another's post or interpret their meaning is on you.

:shrug:

[Aristus]

45. Laura Dern? Untalented?

Shame on you! The woman is a GODDESS!


B-)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

47. Dern has on occasion been a Brilliant actress and had been nominated once for an Oscar. eom

[closeupready]

2. Hollywood is VERY homophobic - I know it may seem a contradiction,

given how many gays work there, but surely, you knew that gay actors and actresses or those who play roles of gay characters are later penalized for it? Several incidents I could bring up.

[Marnieworld]

50. I don't think it's homophobia

It's all about the dollars. If they think that gay issues or characters would equal big bucks everything would be gay. They avoided it for so long because they want homophobes money. They don't want to jeopardize that for a greater cause. There is no greater cause. Once it became apparent that it did not equal box office failure or ratings doom suddenly mainstream entertainment reflected reality (more so).

[underpants]

7. One of the top 10 funniest sitcom episodes I have ever seen

I had seen the show about twice before that but I tuned in. Hilarious from beginning to end and then the show pretty much went downhill.

The part at the end when one of her friends asks her "Are you sure? Is this really how you want things to be because you know we will always be here for you no matter what are you sure this is how you want it to be???"

Ellen nods and says "Yes"

she then turns and walks out of screen at which point the friend turns to the other friends and says "I knew it now you all have to pay up"

They had a running bet on whether she was gay or not. Very funny.

[Annces]

8. It is easy to see why people are so conservative

Even a liberal actress such as Dern is scared for her career when she plays a gay person. I remember when Vanessa Redgrave played a gay role, a relative of mine said this would ruin her career, because no one would see her the same way afterwards. But you can't stop Vanessa Redgrave.

[skypilot]

16. I don't buy it.

Did anyone else pick up on the irony that she was making this claim on a show hosted by the woman she kissed? That kiss didn't seem to stand in Ellen's way. I've actually always liked Laura Dern and I have no idea why she hasn't been getting work but I doubt that "The Kiss" had anything to do with it. I mean come on. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has played a gay character THREE times and his career chugs right along.

[Blue-Jay]

19. I don't either.

Since when has portraying a gay character been a Hollywood taboo? Especially a lesbian, since that seems to be more acceptable in the eyes of homophobes. I suspect it has more to do with being 40, not terribly attractive, and not that great an actress.

[Midlodemocrat]

21. You might want to read upthread. Apparently we'll all wrong about her talent

or lack thereof.

:eyes:

[Blue-Jay]

31. Yeah I saw that.

Anything to be contentious, ya know.

[GumboYaYa]

26. I think that Ellen spent a few years looking for work after that episode.

Wasn't her comeback kind of monumental for that reason?

[skypilot]

32. Did Ellen make a "comeback"?

Honestly, I must not have been paying that much attention because it just seems to me that she's always been around one way or another. I never felt her absence, but that could be because I'm not much of a TV sitcom person and I never even watched her show. I've always liked DeGeneres, don't get me wrong, but I've never really followed her. I just tend to enjoy her wherever she pops up.

[closeupready]

34. Her comeback was voicing that character for "Finding Nemo".

n/t

[renate]

35. in her interview with Barbara Walters after the Oscars, she said she did

She didn't work for years, she thought her career was over. It sounded like the years after her show ended and before her HBO show (the start of her comeback) were very difficult for her.

I love her to bits and it was sad to hear how hard that time was for her, so it was extra nice to hear in that interview how happy she is now.

[skypilot]

39. It's because I'm getting older.

Time is just flying by. It doesn't even feel as though it was years ago that her show was on. I swear it feels like I blinked and there she was in "Finding Nemo" and on her own talk show and doing commercials and hosting the Oscars. Like I said, I never even felt her absence.

[LostinVA]

61. I think it was getting rid of Anne Heche -- seriously

I think the woman is toxic. AS soon as she was gone, Ellen "came back."

[pitohui]

66. yeah there's that

i realize heche is mentally ill and not in control of her actions but still i sometimes feel that she was using ellen

[Jamastiene]

78. Anne Heche is psychotic.

There is something really really "off" about that woman. Notice how she conveniently went from "gay" to "straight?" I can't stand her.

[LostinVA]

82. And, treated her soon-to-be ex just like she treated Ellen?

And, the whole being form another planet thing???

OMG.

Ellen now has a very nice, smart, sexy GF.

[pitohui]

65. yes i'm amazed people don't remember the struggle she had EOM

/

[KamaAina]

24. What's she complaining about? At least she got her toaster oven.

:sarcasm:

Does anyone get snubbed for portraying a murderer? a child molester? a wife beater?

What would happen to someone who played the lead in "The American pResident: The Gee Dubya Bush Story"? I hear Reagan's costar from "Bedtime for Bonzo" is available... :P

[SoCalDem]

36. Um.. maybe it's because she's annoying, and not an "A" list-er to start with?

Playing against type did not hurt this actress

[HardRocker05]

38. not surprising at all; it used to be very dangerous to 'play gay' on tv/movies. those people who

have taken the risks and blazed the trail have made it possible for others now to play gay (well, lesbian, at least) with no harm to their career. it is still takes a lot of courage for male actors to play gay characters (in anything other than a spoof), because there is indeed a backlash.

[Evoman]

46. It probably had a lot to do with her getting older.

Not that hollywood isn't homophobic. It very well could be (although I think that their biggest problem is stereotyping gays, rather than excluding them). But it is notably age-ist...I think a lot of actresses are left without jobs as they get older, and its pretty dumb. Especially when you see a dinosaur making out with a younger actress...its just gross.

[Madspirit]

48. I like Laura Dern

I think she's a good actor. I like Ellen. I loved the coming out episode. I have nothing more to say... : P
Lee

[slampoet]

49. Why would someone who was the female lead in the biggest blockbuster ever (Jurrassic Park 1994)

at the time then take a momentary role on a television show just three years later?

Lara Dern was not doing TV at that point so this sounds like a gamble that bit her in the ass more than anything else.

Also recall that Dern also did "Citizen Ruth" a movie that skewered and pissed off BOTH sides of the abortion debate. This may have also cost her some clout.

[treestar]

51. Not credible

1 - Ellen didn't suffer, and you'd think it'd be worse for her.
2 - Hollywood is one place where you might find a good attitude - isn't it that liberal hell the conservatives are always whining about?

[genie_weenie]

52. I think Dern pissed too many people off

with her role in the abotion movie Citizen Ruth.

[pitohui]

62. i think so too, but both women report a problem after the episode aired

i do think the yahoos are not fond of ms. dern of "citizen ruth" and david lynch fame -- that's just not their kind of woman

what surprises me is that so many people forgot that degeneres too experienced a lot of crap after the episode before her career re-surged

look, people suck, and a lot of people at the time were really freaked out about the episode, it seems so harmless now that we have rewritten history and completely forgotten the hysteria of the time

they are both courageous women, terrific actors, deserving of every good thing in life as far as i'm concerned

[aikoaiko]

57. She would know better than I, but it looks like her big screen hiatus came after Citizen Ruth

A lot of people on both sides of the abortion issue had problems with the film.

[Colobo]

64. I don't even remeber this woman.

Anybody has a picture of her?

[pitohui]

67. you are no david lynch fan, are you, -- sure i got pix

[Colobo]

68. Oh! Jurassic Park! I was in 6th grade when that came out!

[pitohui]

72. surely you would be the only 6th grader in america who did not see the film?

i mean, dinosaurs! :-)

yeah she's been in a few nerd type films, october sky being another

[Atman]

70. I am SO SAD that this is the top story in GD.

Two women kiss.

OMFG! :wow:

With everything going on, THIS is the top story on DU?

:scared:

And we wonder why the freepers are opposed to gay rights...it's still a freak show to many lefties, too.

.

[pitohui]

71. the story is 2 women kissed, then both struggled to get work again

if you think this is not important, then i'm going to take a wild guess and assume, you are a man?

look, it is actually a big deal if you are supporting yourself and suddenly you cannot get work for an entire year (as dern reports) or even longer (as degeneres reported)

it is easy to say, yeah, they're on top of the world now, degeneres more than dern, but it should not have cost them a year or more of anxiety and loss of income

the issue is not wimmen kissing, the issue is any excuse out there to deny women who take chances and take their work seriously an opportunity to keep working and taking chances

[Colobo]

73. Are you sure this woman's career suffered because

of kissing another woman in a comedy show? I mean... it's possible, but I wouldn't rule other factors.

Are the guys who did Brokeback Mt. still around or have they been boycotted as well?

[Atman]

74. You guess I'm a man?

Who is showing their biases here, eh? Jesus!

Look, I cannot believe for a moment that Dern lost work because she kissed a girl. Not for a moment. She sure didn't lose work from any male directors, that's for sure.

Both her parents, Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, are not without controversy. Her own choice of movie roles (Citizen Ruth) might have played a role, just maybe. I simply cannot believe that even in the day of her kiss that such a thing would cost an actor a job in Hollywood. Not for a minute. It's not like she kissed Dick Cheney or something...she kissed Ellen DeGeneres. American Family Association or Hallmark Films might have been freaked, but I'm not buyin' it that that's why she lost work in Hollywood. No way. She's a bit "out there" in other regards. Could it be *gasp!* that there is some other reason she couldn't find a job for a year?

Noooooo. Couldn't be. But what do I know...I'm just a man.

:eyes:

.

[Midlodemocrat]

75. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

And if you think differently, you're a, well, a, ummm.


You get my drift. :eyes:

[HardRocker05]

80. I am so sad you think so; and F you if you think gays are a 'freak show.' nt

[Atman]

81. Yesterday was a bad day for posting, I guess.

Holy shit, I just finished reading another thread wherein a poster thought I was SUPPORTING John McCain because I called him a "colossal" asshole. And now I read this one, wherein the poster says "fuck you" to me because I stated that some people on the left still think women kissing is a "freak show." Please re-read my post, dude. Do you deny some on the left feel that way? Can you point out where I said I feel that way? My initial post even belies that claim, if you had taken the time to actually read it -- I said that I found it sad that such an issue as two women kissing still draws such attention in this day and age. Not that the kissing itself was sad. Jesus H. Christ!

You are so totally barking up the wrong 'gay hater' tree here! I'm an artist and worked in the women's fashion industry for years -- I probably have more gay friends/associates than straight ones! LOL!

"Put down the caffeine and slowly step away from the keyboard!"

.

[Matariki]

77. Have you seen Inland Empire?

Laura Dern's acting was AMAZING.

[Tesha]

83. Andy Robinson, playing the Scorpio Killer in "Dirty Harry"...

> Does anyone get snubbed for portraying a murderer?

Andy Robinson, who played the Scorpio Killer in "Dirty Harry",
has stated that playing the killer in that movie severly damaged
his career.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Robinson

"Critical reactions to Robinson's role were generally positive.
Box Office Magazine wrote that, "Andy Robinson is the maniacal
Scorpio ... a good blending of cunning and savagery." His role
as Scorpio gave him widespread exposure, but Robinson also found
himself typecast as "psycho" characters. He has also claimed that
the role severely limited his casting options, as film producers
were reluctant to cast him as any "good guy" roles."

Ttesha