Her character was a beloved favourite among fans of the cult TV series Twin Peaks, with her prophetic, bizarre wisdom and emotion for a little piece of wood; and the love for Catherine Coulson extended into real life. Now, there’s a documentary in the works to chronicle her life, and it needs some help.
Director Richard Green, who appeared in David Lynch’s disquieting masterpiece Mulholland Drive, has announced his project I know Catherine, The Log Lady, an authorized documentary telling the life story of Coulson. The documentary will celebrate the major milestones of the renowned stage, film and, TV actress, tracing the life she led dedicated to the arts and spirituality. The project has raised £24,333 as of writing, and has a goal of £186,275 ending on June 16 over on Kickstarter.
Catherine E. Coulson, who played the iconic Margaret Lanterman “The Log Lady” on Lynch's revived Twin Peaks, died of cancer in 2015 at the age of 71. She was a lively, hardworking woman who worked as an actress and as a camera assistant. Lynch and Coulson’s friendship dates back to when the pair met on Lynch's first film, Eraserhead, where she worked as an assistant director. They collaborated on a number of projects, including Twin Peaks prequel film Fire Walk With Me. Coulson died a few days after filming her final scenes for Twin Peaks: The Return.
“When I heard that Catherine died four days after shooting her last Log Lady scenes, a character who was also dying, I knew we had to tell the story,” Green says in the Kickstarter campaign video. “And when David spoke to me so intimately about Catherine, I knew we had a story to tell.”
Lynch said in a statement back in 2015: “Today I lost one of my dearest friends, Catherine Coulson. Catherine was solid gold. She was always there for her friends – she was filled with love for all people, for her family, for her work. She was a tireless worker. She had a great sense of humour– she loved to laugh and make people laugh. she was a spiritual person – a longtime TM meditator. She was the Log Lady.”
Coulson was one of the first women to join the prestigious Camera Union, and had creative credits on films like The Wrath of Khan.
The documentarian plans to interview and feature Lynch in the film, which is currently in pre-production. Some of the funds raised will be used to obtain the licensing of essential Twin Peaks footage featuring Coulson, as well as archive video of her stage shows.
The campaign's pledge rewards include a tree planted in your name at a “Log Lady Grove” in Los Angeles, and for just 185 pounds you can purchase an “Answer Log” reminiscent of a Magic 8 Ball which gives very Lynchian answers. There’s rewards that would have been most definitely Lanterman-approved.
