Mary Sweeney is an American
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
,
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
film editor
Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology.
The film ed ...
and
film producer. She was briefly married to American film director
David Lynch, whom she collaborated with for 20 years. Sweeney worked with Lynch on several films and television series, most notably the original ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...
'' series (1990), ''
Lost Highway'' (1997), ''
The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...
'' (1999), and ''
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...
'' (2001). Sweeney is the Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor in the Writing Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
. She was formerly the chair of the Film Independent board of directors.
Biography
Early life
Sweeny graduated from the
University of Wisconsin, Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
, with a BA in History. She earned a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Corcoran School of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. After completing a master's in film at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, Sweeney worked her way up the ranks of film editing in New York and San Francisco, on films such as ''Reds'' by
Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
, ''Tender Mercies'' by
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.
Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...
, ''Places in the Heart'' by Robert Benton, ''Little Drummer Girl'' by George Roy Hill, and ''The Mean Season'' by Phil Boursos.
David Lynch
From 1985 to 2006, Sweeney collaborated as producer, writer and editor with filmmaker
David Lynch from ''
Blue Velvet'' to ''
Inland Empire''. Her editing credits include ''Blue Velvet'' (1986), ''Wild at Heart'' (1990), ''Twin Peaks'' (1991), ''Industrial Symphony'' (1991), ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me'' (1992), ''On the Air'' (1992), ''Hotel Room'' (1993), ''Lost Highway'' (1996), ''The Straight Story'' (2000), ''Mulholland Drive'' (2001) and ''Baraboo'' (2009). Sweeney is a consulting producer/writer on
Matthew Weiner
Matthew Hoffman Weiner () (born June 29, 1965) is an American television writer, producer, and director best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series ''Mad Men'', and as a writer and executive producer on ''The Sopranos''. ...
's anthology series ''The Romanoffs''.
She won the British Academy Award for Best Editing for ''Mulholland Drive''. As producer, she won the
César Award for Best Foreign Film, and the New York Film Critics Award for Best Film. She developed, produced, wrote and edited ''
The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...
'', for which
Richard Farnsworth
Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in '' T ...
received an Academy Award nomination. As producer, she won the European Film Award For Best Foreign Film, and the film received four nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards; Best Film, Best Director, Best First Screenplay and Best Actor. Her producing credits date from 1995 and include ''Lost Highway'', ''The Straight Story'', ''Mulholland Drive'' and ''Inland Empire'', directed by Lynch, and '' Baraboo'' (2009), her directorial debut based on her original screenplay.
Sweeney continued to write screenplays while collaborating with Lynch. These include ''The Surprise Party'' for Paramount Pictures, and ''Two Knives'', a martial arts film for director
Wong Kar-Wai
Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...
and
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...
.
Filmmaking
She wrote, directed, produced and edited a short, silent film, ''In the Eye Abides the Heart'', filmed in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, which premiered at the 2006 Venice Film Festival, then played the international festival circuit. In 2009, she went on to write, direct, produce and edit her debut feature, ''Baraboo'', which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival and won Best First Feature awards at the Galway Film Fleadh and the Wisconsin Film Festival.
Sweeney has been on the board of directors of Film Independent since 2000, and was elected chair of the board in 2012. Film Independent is a non-profit arts organization that produces the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the Film Independent Series at LACMA.
In 2003, she joined the faculty of the Division of Writing for Screen and Television in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She was installed as the Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor in 2012.
2010-present
Between 2010-15, she was a Fulbright Film Specialist and traveled for the State Department on Fulbright grants to Jordan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar and Cuba to mentor filmmakers in those countries.
Sweeney is vice president and founding member of the DesertX non-profit Board of Directors. DesertX was a site-specific art exhibition in the Coachella Valley, February through April, 2017.
She is a member in good standing of AMPAS, BAFTA, the DGA, and the WGA, where she is on the WGA Independent Writers Committee.
Awards and nominations
*2000: ''
The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...
'' (nominated)
Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
(shared with Neal Edelstein) and
Best First Screenplay (shared with John Roach)
*2002: ''
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...
'' (won)
BAFTA Award for Best Editing
This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, which is presented to film editors, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 1968.
The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nomi ...
*2002: ''
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...
'' (nominated) AFI Film Award – AFI Movie of the Year (shared with producers
Alain Sarde
Alain Sarde is a French film producer and actor.
Early life
Alain Sarde was born on 28 March 1952 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
Career
David Lynch's ''Mulholland Drive'', a film Sarde co-produced, received the Online Film Critics Society ...
, Neal Edelstein, Michael Polaire, Tony Krantz)
Selected filmography
As film editor
*''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...
'' TV series (1 episode, season 2, 1990) (episode #2.7)
*''
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992)
*''
Hotel Room
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
'' TV series (1993)
*''
Lost Highway'' (1997)
*''
The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...
'' (1999)
*''
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...
'' (2001)
*''
Baraboo
Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...
'' (2009)
As assistant editor
*''
Blue Velvet'' (1986) (assistant editor)
*''
Wild at Heart'' (1990) (first assistant film editor)
As producer
*''
Nadja'' (1994)
*''
Lost Highway'' (1997)
*''
The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...
'' (1999)
*''
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...
'' (2001)
*''
Inland Empire'' (2006)
*''Baraboo'' (2009)
As writer
*''
The Straight Story
''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...
'' (1999)
*''Baraboo'' (2009)
As director
*''Baraboo'' (2009)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Mary
1953 births
Living people
American film editors
American film producers
American screenwriters
American women screenwriters
Best Editing BAFTA Award winners
American women film editors
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
New York University alumni