Mary Sweeney
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.She earned a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Corcoran School of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. After completing a master's in cinema studies at New York University, Sweeney worked her way up the ranks of film editing in New York and San Francisco, on films such as Reds by Warren Beatty, Tender Mercies by Bruce Beresford, Places in the Heart by Robert Benton, Little Drummer Girl by George Roy Hill, and The Mean Season by Phil Boursos.From 1985 to 2006, Sweeney collaborated as producer, writer and editor with filmmaker David Lynch from Blue Velvet to Inland Empire.She developed, produced, wrote and edited The Straight Story, for which Richard Farnsworth received an Academy Award nomination.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.