Lost on Mulholland Drive - "This is the Girl"

Adam Kesher

David Lynch's  cinematic masterpiece Mulholland Drive features a wealth of  memorable scenes  in which Lynch seems to be meditating on the esoteric significance of career paths in Hollywood.  Producers, Directors, Casting Agents, Actors and their machinations all figure into the plot.  Many people have noted the stylistic parallels between Lynch's character Director Adam Kesher and real life director J.J. Abrams. From the overall look, to the details like hair and eyewear, Kesher seems to be a stand in for Abrams, and the other young guns with clunky eyewear  who yell "Action!" on set.

J.J. Abrams 

An interesting anecdote related to the casting of Abrams' ABC sci-fi/drama project "LOST" bears a striking similarity to the scene in Mulholland Drive where  director Adam Kesher declares "This is the girl", after being set straight by his shadowy Producers. Abrams championed Canadian actor  Evangeline Lilly for the role of Kate Austen, even though she was an unknown at the time, and didn't have a work visa. Why?

"Encouraged by a friend" / "That's the girl!"

Evangeline Lilly

"This is the Girl" 

So, what is this all about? Why does one actor get chosen instead of another? What value do actors have in our culture? What do Studios and Networks and Nations stand to gain by controlling the mouthpieces and muses of our movies? Tellingly, Abrams' handpicked hottie is still making news headlines 15 years later, but now the stakes have been raised all the way up to national socio-politics of the utmost importance:

Evangeline Lilly/Kate Austen/Tauriel the Elf/The Wasp takes a dangerous stance.

Lilly as Middle Earth's Tauriel, and her quote that sounds quite a lot like a defiance of pandemic 'social distancing'. "We will hide within our walls.../When did we let evil become stronger than us."

Freedom is a double edged sword, indeed.

Of course, there are other heroes in the mix, chosen by other Directors and Producers for different Projects. Now we see princess Sansa Stark/Dark Phoenix enter the fray, sent to battle Tauriel/The Wasp on the battlefield of public opinion:

Sansa Stark urges the townsfolk to heed the warnings.

Lilly's quote as Marvel's The Wasp seems tailor-made as a response to Sophie Turner. 

Stay tuned to see what hero will deliver the decisive blow in the Pandemic Wars.