You may know Laura Dern from her iconic roles in films such as “Wild at Heart,” “Jurassic Park” or, most recently, her Emmy winning performance in “Big Little Lies,” but what you may not know is that she’s also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors. In fact, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Hanks she’s one of just three members that represent the actors branch, the largest branch in the Academy. Dern has also spent much of her adult life as a social and political activist. So, when speaking to Dern this weekend in conjunction for her role in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” it was appropriate to ask her about where the Board of Governors and The Academy currently stand in their commitment to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace. Especially after they announced that the Board would continue “to work to establish ethical standards of conduct that all Academy members will be expected to exemplify” after it expelled Harvey Weinstein in October.
Dern wasn’t prepared to offer specific details, but she had no problem communicating how important an issue it is to her at the moment.
“Every single day there are discussions. Every single day there are discussions about how to protect everyone from abuse of power,” Dern says. “The conversations are happening in our industry, in your industry and now in the music industry. I talked to some flight attendants the other day and they were saying they are seeing it in their industry. I think certainly the U.S. Olympic [Committee] is discussing it deeply. I think it’s a really exciting time to really look at that and may we be able to respect those we admire, as well as, our leaders and hold them all accountable to be respectful for their fellow male and female partners in life.
She continues, “In terms of the Academy, the conversation has continued [and SAG as well]. I’m working most closely with our producer Kathy Kennedy. We’re working hard with a group of women in this industry. People in this industry, but particularly females to try to figure how to create not only a code of conduct, but law to protect people in the future from abuse of power.”
For more on Laura Dern and her role in Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi,” click here.