EXTRA! Laura Dern

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Life is for living. Let's partner for all of it. Learn more@edwardjones.com hi I'm over on Sunday morning podcast featuring a memorable story from our latest show is making a big splash with her working two recent films. Little women in marriage story which earned her an Oscar nomination German sat down with our Tracy Smith to reflect on being the child of two Hollywood stars in our life experience has informed her recent performances. When you think of the term, the dirt Renaissance. Not sure what I did. Another lovely, hilarious feel the dirt in the dermis.

People have come up to me with T-shirts on literally just made me laugh so hard and I think that perhaps the take away for me from it is getting to do what I love in the way that my parents advised me about very early on, which is break boundaries doing all different kinds of genres. You don't have to be an independent film actor or a studio film actor or that person does franchises are that person does television. It really is an amazing time of getting to do all of it seamlessly. And as you know any. Perhaps even the last time we got to speak about a career in acting. It was much harder. You noted to be a film actor and also do television or do theater. Now there really is a different kind of freedom even in the last decade. Let's talk about these these films that are out now marriage story you play a lawyer who's kind of bully is that fine. Amazing, particularly amazing with such a humanist as a writer and director is now back you know he is determined to understand each of his characters and if they have three lines. It's that way you feel it in the screenplay, which is flawless and I think we had a lot of conversations.

As he was writing which was already an amazing experience brought in from the beginning. Yeah, myself, Adam driver and Scarlett Johansson all who knew no no and I were friends, and with Adam they had this is therefore thrown together so they were collaborators and so we had dinners along conversations.

As he was starting to think about making a love story and then turned it toward.

I remember at a dinner saying I think I want to love story through the lens of divorce which I thought was so moving and particularly because he said I think I want to make a movie saying that love stories can and but it doesn't make failures and that really touched me, and it even brings tears to my eyes thinking about it as we beat ourselves up in this life so much feeling like something that doesn't last forever is meant to be something as a failing of hours in relationship and so within that inner than looking at what happens when a couple is trying to navigate the end or dissolution of a marriage, while coparenting and wanting friendship to remain what happens when the divorce lawyer particularly may be the really successful LA divorce lawyers stepped into the space into the proscenium and sort of take over because it becomes a whole other level of performing the narrative of the marriage for the people who kinda become victims of their own marriage story and that was like heaven is that character can be all things and I think now I really longed for that in our collaboration was the fun of figuring out why did she get into it.

What were her noble intentions and representing person. A person who didn't feel that it had voice in either the marriage or in this dissolution of marriage and then how do they become manipulative and determined to win. What is that look like and how does it impact child, family, etc. and I've never had so much fun you have this delicious monologue about motherhood. I'm curious what you saw when you first read those words I read it I read the script and I called Don got his voicemail and cried into his machine for about 10 minutes. I was so moved by the script script is perfect and when I read the monologue and called him. I said this is the greatest Christmas present I've ever received and then very boldly because Noah's words are perfect.

I did ask if I could add one more thought to it and he generously you know. Together we we added a little more of a zinger which really makes me laugh that I don't even think I can say is pretty profound about your contribution was God didn't even do the funking which I know cannot be because it CBS ended Sunday as outlined is undeveloped, but Buddhism is such an amazing defining moment for this rallying cry for for women when it comes to gender parity minute says it so perfectly. Here we are in a situation where we will never measure up comparably in the eyes of the law and the court system when it comes to divorce. Mothers are measured differently than fathers. I think it's a brilliant and also the male writer wrote an interesting idea that he wrote many idea of a what is the line the idea of a reliable father. Something wasn't even invented until ask her for this ago but you know when we think about film and television that many of us group grow up. They were very different roles of mother and father than they would ever be today, which is a shared responsibility.

So it's just delicious and amazing him to get to talk about in your deliverance so very well. I had an incredible good time. I want another movie that has to do with motherhood and role of women little women. What appeal to you about playing Marnie I love her.

I mean she for me with such a literary icon I interestingly as an only child being raised by single mom. When I read little women. It wasn't the relationship of the sisters. It was the mother-daughter relationship that moved me so much and Marnie touched me, particularly because she was so honest about how complicated, how complicated it is to be human. How complicated it is to mother and to wish for your daughters to have what you didn't have and have louder voices and more determined truth and and to be comfortable with ambition and yet she's writing this book. In the 1860s and just blew my mind.

I was really touched by God and no even being raised as a modern girl. Ambition was still a dirty word. It was not something that was attractive for something that I could have ownership. It wasn't ladylike. You know I could want to be an artist, but we didn't really talk about money or setting yourself up in business or running your own life that those weren't conversations that were had in my childhood by anyone. Frankly, probably until my godmother Shelley Winters talk to me about. She was the first person ever mentioned money to me how old were you 14 and and I was talking about the sacrifice of being an actor how privileged it is as artists to sacrifice for the art just like you have to do that you have to send you a you get to make money. You can have integrity and make really good choices and you can also ask to be paid to do what you love to John that I know but I know also did enter studying and the world of theater and an independent film and none of us were getting paid, but we were all equally not getting paid, so there was lots of equity on said you didn't do it for the love but I didn't even know there was a right there really didn't. And I think my mother and Shelley and many of their colleagues as when in knew that they weren't paid anywhere near what the male actors were. And so it just the way it was the way it was so I was particularly moved as that book unfolded that Marnie was giving Joe his incredible gift and in fact, Greta and I together discovered her ownership of her own anger and end as well with the real reason Alcott's mother Abigail we read beautiful book Marnie and me, which is the letters between Louisa and her real mother that really inspired the movie and for Saoirse and I are our work together and I think Greta and her adaptation because she talked a lot about poverty and about. Frankly, single parenting, these four girls mostly as the father was away and they were in abject poverty and how much rage there is an and rage as you have, you know one of your children so terminally ill and that I hadn't felt in the films before and I loved that Greta felt the revolution in that in that mother-daughter relationship to to explore and expose on mom telling the truth and allowing there for her daughter to be all of herself, not these sort of designated defined sections and I think it's the Amy they Greta wanted to give us now which which involves ambition and money is a conversation on an as well so beautifully played by Emma Ted. She allowed Meg to also have incredible integrity to care so deeply about finding true love and honoring her husband, and loving her babies and making her children.

Her life like each of these girls have their own destiny and it was another who wanted to see that and help grow those qualities as opposed to defining what a woman should be seen incredible writing feel very lucky to play that part end and to give it a useful radical modern energy that Greta really wanted and you and you feeling Greta's adaptation so much I want to talk about your childhood a little bit you were literally conceived on a movie set. Yes, true 100% true. Even better on the Roger Corman biker movie. I feel very proud of the as you should do you think do you believe in destiny. Do you think it was destiny then that you end up doing doing what you're doing. I don't know if was destiny. I had the privilege of seeing Martin Scorsese at the Palm Springs film Festival the other day he was with his publicist of years, and said to she know the story of like the start of your career whatever I said yeah he told me to be an actor.

He was the person who said in front of my mother. Hey, she displayed an extra and she had the 19 ice cream cones because we shot at 19 times she didn't get sick, that girls and actors you to be an actor isolate you know completely recorded that in the brain until I really used it against my parents. Later they were trying to stave me off of the life of an artist, at least till I was grown and I was so determined and it's really good when you get to you Scorsese's words that works but I don't now you know I don't know and it's destiny in that it is the family business and for many of us, we connect to the family business and and you know some of us don't have choice.

It is what sort of given and that's an opportunity for a job and there we are, but probably in in families that have a creative path, whatever that craftsman or women that they are you know it's it is a calling is I think there is something in you that is innately interested in that calling.

But then there is the good fortune of learning from people who have that ability and maybe there's genetic Senate, I mean my kids father is an incredible musician and they all was on holiday with my two stepchildren my two children and all of them were singing and they all have the most incredible voices you've ever heard in your life you know and I don't know if that is a genetic component. Are they all just happened to be incredibly musical. But I envisage that wonderful elusive nature of being raised by artistic families. Could the musical quality come from you or you musically tell them Republicans for me and for you to make a big musical. I mean, you never know, but I know I would never take I read because if others incredible guitar as I remember my son sitting with a lap slide on his lap and playing like five in picking it up and me loving, as we will talk about today having movies, but I've been raised on movies in outline know about back and I share that his father always took him to the movies and they still in love with the movies together and when there is a commonality with your parents that it's deep.

It's not necessarily that it's what they do for a living. I know so many people who weren't necessarily in an acting or film family their mom or sister or grandparents loved going to the movies and talking about film and they therefore went into that industry.

So it has a deep impression when your child. You watch the grown-ups escape or feel empathy or start new conversations with you because of story slide set such a massive impact. I'm curious, you know, we know your parents from their work. But how would you describe them.

How would you describe your mom. My favorite quality about her is that she's in incredibly self-deprecating and as a very rooted serious fiercely empathetic activist spiritual, ferocious goddess.

She's the first person to love to make fun of herself and it's the greatest quality.

It's the saving quality and making now and I'm sure they did in their marriage, do it with each other actors and take himself too seriously would be really tough to be dazed by and they really have fun making fun of themselves are not taking things too seriously or if there under complemented or over complemented.

I they can really take things with a grain of salt.

That's very lucky for me, given that I became an actor to be raised in that energy. So this is an interesting point between your parents and you. You have seven Oscar nominations, I think, but nobody's brought one home. Do you guys tease each other about that. Like I'm in a be the one we we never have, and all I know is my parents take great pride when we're around this space with Matt and others here in the archives of the Academy that we yeah but it's part of the history of the Academy now and when it became part of Academy history.

You know to get a letter or two be told like your family holds the most Oscar nominations is a family of actors were my mother not being nominated together first. Those things matter to my parents.

They thought they were lovely and in a way that they allow for them. They feel like it is a lovely accomplishment and I tried again, sort of. Maybe make fun of things or be silly about stuff that it matters to me that it matters to them. I find that quite beautiful you now and my mother came from a tiny town in southern Mississippi and sacrificed everything to get on a train with $20 in her pocket and go to New York City and that's how you I didn't have to do that.

I was I was raised and my father walked away from this in a prestigious political family in Chicago to serve start this entirely other probably very misunderstood career and so I say whatever they feel holds value and means something is like we went our own way and we built an artistic family than that really moves me that there touched and then therefore I you talk, but how they were risktakers and I know that one piece of advice it's your dad gave you early on was to take risks and it sounds very simple, but I'm sure that actually doing it was not so simple and really pretty tough at times but you did it over and over and over again how let me be clear, this is CBS Sunday morning.

It's the most incredible show. I've learned more from you all about so many extraordinary people taking incredible risks to try to make this world a better place very evasive and broken time where my kids are scared to go to school because we don't have gun safety in this country like that's there. Are people really risking things so I just want to put it into perspective when I talk about taking risks. We understand the wheelhouse where it of risk-taking, but stories matter stories really matter and so I also don't want to not say that I believe movies are healing and restorative and break our hearts open. They certainly done it for me and taught me a great deal and movies do matter and art really matters, especially at times like this, but there are people that are teaching me every day you're doing pieces on that are the real risktakers and they will inspire me forever and in the hope to make the world a better place that yes in risk-taking as an actor. I think my parents wanted me to never be afraid for it to be human, and human means messy, complicated, that same hero is good to be a villain tomorrow depending upon his lenses on this individual and that's how characters are relatable and not to shy away from it because you think audiences can find something more likable because what audiences are teaching us is they want the mass because we want to see ourselves reflected in story messy and more messy we don't get it right and that's what's gorgeous about becoming a grown up which we spend our life time trying to be where learning from our mistakes and our flaws and I love portraying characters that are in that and I love finding humor in the broken moment in the heartbreaking moment, and you know in a year that I'm given this character in marriage story and little women and Renata and big little lies. There's plenty of MasterCard for me to yes to try and take risks and be a very complicated individual verb for people to hopefully relate to some this is intelligence matters with former acting Dir. of the CIA.

Michael Morel bridge Colby is cofounder and principal of the Marathon initiative project focused on developing strategies to prepare the United States burning your sustained great power competition United States put her mind to something, we can usually figure it out what people are saying and what we could've no analytically and empirically as our strategic situational motors, which is not being matched up with follow. Intelligence matters were ever you get your podcasts