After a handful of anniversary screenings earlier this year, an iconic Wilmington-shot film will soon have a new book marking its 40th birthday.
"Blue Velvet: A Polaroid Diary" by retired movie special
effects artist Jeff Goodwin is set for a December release. Goodwin created many of the gory effects and prosthetics for director David Lynch's masterpiece "Blue Velvet," including a famous severed ear, the discovery of which sets the film's mysterious story in motion.
The book, edited by Tony Nourmand of the UK's Reel Art Press — an indie publisher that specializes in high-end books and limited editions, many of them with a pop culture slant — features Polaroids taken by Goodwin on the set of "Blue Velvet." Many of the shots feature actors Kyle MacLachan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern and Dennis Hopper, as well as Lynch, with stories from Goodwin about the making of the film.
One story, from promotional material for the book, has Goodwin talking about making prototypes of the famous severed ear and showing them to Lynch.
"I made two partial ears and one whole ear and took them into David’s office and placed them on his desk for approval," Goodwin said. "He was like a kid! He picked them up and started playing with them."
"Blue Velvet" shot in Wilmington in 1985 and early 1986, and premiered in theaters on Sept. 19, 1986, going on to earn Lynch an Oscar nomination for best director.
The hardcover book, which is currently available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and other book-selling sites, retails for about $50 and comes sheathed in blue velvet.
"Blue Velvet: A Polaroid Diary" was originally set to be released in October, but the date was pushed back to December, Goodwin said.
Goodwin, who lives in New Jersey, worked on dozens of film and TV projects over the course of his career, many of them, including "American Gothic," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "The Black Phone," shot in the Wilmington area.
In October, Goodwin was scheduled to be an honored guest and jury member of the 59th Sitges Film Festival in Spain, a fantasy/horror/cult film fest that "Blue Velvet" won when it screened there in 1986.
Goodwin said his first scheduled book signing for "Blue Velvet: A Polaroid Diary" in the U.S. is Nov. 9 at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City.
John Staton is the arts and culture reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at jstaton@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New book to mark 40th anniversary of iconic Wilmington-shot film
